Learning & Skills Fund - Cambridgeshire Community Foundation

Overview

IMPORTANT NOTICE: the deadline has passed and this fund is not accepting new applications. We will announce new application dates later in the year.

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority is offering funds to enrich the lifelong learning and skills offer for adults who are aged 19+ and residents of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

This six-month pilot programme offers grants between £5,000 and £30,000 to increase and broaden participation in adult learning and skills development, particularly to reduce inequalities in access to adult education. Project participants must be residents of Cambridgeshire (this includes Peterborough). Organisations which are already in receipt of funding from the Adult Education Budget are not eligible.

Please note: There is a one month application window. The deadline for submission of applications is midday on 8 March 2024. Projects must be ready to start in June 2024 and finish by 30 November 2024. There will then be a short timeframe for submission of reporting (three weeks).

Who can apply?: Non-profit organisations
Maximum grant: Up to £30,000 for 6 months
Eligible area: Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough)
Deadlines: Currently closed

Fund criteria

The fund will prioritise projects supporting disadvantaged residents in the most deprived wards across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and those who are furthest away from learning or employment, including:

People living in rural areas who have additional barriers e.g., mental health, learning difficulties and disabilities, low essential skills*, travel, connectivity, isolation etc.
Potential learners that have been missed by ‘traditional’ providers, including economically inactive residents
Learners who need support to progress to higher levels of skills to access specific local job opportunities

*Essential Skills are literacy, numeracy, ESOL, Essential Digital Skills and work-readiness.

In addition to the above, funds can be used to support adults with no or low formal qualifications to access their entitlement to learning.

Outcomes

Projects should aim to achieve some or all of the following outcomes for participants:

Improved engagement in learning and increased confidence
Improved health and wellbeing
Improved community connection, civic engagement and volunteering
Attainment of formal qualifications, progression to higher levels of learning, or in-work progression
Development of Essential Skills (literacy, numeracy, digital, work readiness)
Achievement of ‘first step’ qualifications (as appropriate)

Projects may also demonstrate how they can build capacity and capability within the third sector to deliver adult learning and skills.

Reporting

To help inform Year 2, all successful pilots from Year 1 will be expected to report outcomes by 20 December 2024.

The exact scope of the reporting is still being defined, but the main purpose is to understand the learnings from your pilots. It could also include quantitative data, such as attendance records, for example:

No. of people participating in informal learning
No. of people participating in formal learning and/or achieving accredited qualifications
No. of people from deprived neighbourhoods participating in learning
No. of people participating in Essential Skills
No. of local/home-grown Cambridgeshire and Peterborough third sector organisations delivering learning

Successful applicants will also need to share contact details of participants for the purposes of feedback surveys.

Apply for a grant

Read our application guidance Applications are now closed

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If you require other variations of the Foundation’s logos, please refer to our application guidance for more options. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, please email info@cambscf.org.uk