**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.
Mentoring is increasingly being recognised as a powerful form of early intervention, offering vital support to young people. Christine Roxburgh, Fund Manager for intandem — a mentoring programme for young people experiencing Scotland’s care system and proudly delivered by Inspiring Scotland — shares her recent reflections and highlights why mentoring really matters. Recent high-profile programmes like Idris Elba:
Read More
At Inspiring Scotland, we are committed to supporting the third sector to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. As part of this commitment, we have launched a new initiative: Inspiring Change with AI – a collaborative pilot project designed to explore how artificial intelligence can help address common operational challenges across the sector. This initiative brings
Read More
People with learning disabilities are being supported to fulfil their potential through new funding awards totalling almost £1.6 million. The Learning Disability Support Fund is allocated to community projects working directly with people with learning disabilities to provide opportunities and build a more inclusive society. The fund will run for 30 months from October 2025,
Read More