**PLEASE NOTE: Applications for this fund have now closed. To find out more about Thrive Outdoors and how we can help you, please visit this page.
New £1 million children’s winter clothing fund.
New funding of £1 million will mean more children can reap the benefits of outdoor play and learning, whatever the weather.
Nurseries and other Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings can apply to the fund for help to buy winter clothing for young children who need it.
Children’s Minister Maree Todd said:
“Our guidance advises ELC settings to reduce the risks of coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission by maximising the time that children spend outdoors. We also know that playing, learning and having fun outdoors helps to improve children’s wellbeing and resilience, as well as their physical and mental health.
“However, not every family can afford to provide suitable outdoor clothing for their children and not every ELC setting can fill the gap, which can present barriers to outdoor play in colder weather. This funding will mean more young children will be able to enjoy the many benefits of playing and learning outdoors in winter.”
The fund will be open to any setting delivering funded ELC and will ensure that three and four year olds and eligible two year olds have access to suitable outdoor clothing during their time in ELC, reducing inequalities in accessing the outdoors.
The Scottish Government already supports outdoor play and learning through funding to Living Classrooms for their Virtual Nature School (VNS) programme, providing training and support to ELC practitioners.
More than 1000 practitioners have benefitted from this training, which supported the delivery of outdoor play sessions to 40,000 families over the period of restrictions when many were unable to access childcare. A further 500 teams from across the ELC sector have been offered a place on the programme’s winter cohort, to support the continued delivery of high quality, all-weather, outdoor experiences.
Background
The £1 million winter clothing fund, which is part of the Scottish Government’s £100 million winter social package, will be open to ELC settings delivering the universal funded ELC offer.
Inspiring Scotland’s role
The fund will be open for applications in January 2021. Inspiring Scotland has been appointed as administrators of the fund. Inspiring Scotland has worked extensively with the ELC sector to support outdoor play over the past few years and has administered numerous funds on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Further information on the fund can be found here.
“We are deeply grateful for this opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of survivors, guiding them towards a brighter and more hopeful future.” A new phase of the Scottish Government’s Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support (SOCAS) fund has now started. 22 third sector organisations across Scotland will share the £3.3m over
Read More
The first 14 projects supported by the Neighbourhood Ecosystem Fund will kick start their local nature restoration projects this month. Ecological surveys, wetland restoration, pond excavations, peatland restoration and biodiversity surveys are just some of the projects that will benefit from the £146,000 of funding. Additionally, each project will receive £1,500 to be spent on
Read More
(Tuesday 26th August) the First Minister and Minister for Higher and Further Education Graeme Dey, joined Inspiring Scotland to launch the mid-point impact report of its 10-year youth employment fund. The fund, Our Future Now (OFN), delivered by charity Inspiring Scotland is focused on supporting the bedrock of circa 40,000 young people in Scotland that
Read More