Dear

Thank to everyone who came to our Make Childcare Make Sense conference at City Hall on Tuesday looking at how can we make childcare and early education more accessible and affordable for low-income families in London.

Our wonderful speakers generously gave their time; sharing their experiences of childcare from their perspectives as parents, providers, researchers and policy experts and the feedback we had from those who came was that they found it both informative and energising.

A key takeaway from the event was that despite this Government attaching strong value to early years and its commitment to putting in place a child poverty strategy, significant further reform to the early education and childcare system is required so that it can effectively contribute to tackling child poverty.  There was however welcome resolution from those in the room, who included Joanne McCartney Deputy Mayor for Children and Young People and representatives from a number of London Boroughs, to take action to remove barriers to access to childcare for families on low incomes, including especially those with disabled children, families with no recourse to public funds and single parents.

If you weren’t able to join us its not too late to check out and share our research report and campaign video. Please do get in touch if you’d like to chat more about this topic.

Katherine, Emily and Maddie  

Calls To Action

• SUFRA are launching a new community well-being service for families living in poverty in Brent. For £4 a week they will have access to a food shop, free meals, welfare advice and well-being support. Applications are now open, more details here.
• London Plus and London Lifelines are calling for people to give comment and make suggestions on the draft London Vision and Action Plan for Volunteering  
• The Government are calling for evidence to support the development of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill
• No Child Left Behind are calling for people to ask their MP to back Free School Meals For All
• Shelter are asking people to sign their petition 'To end child homelessness, we need more social homes'

Training and Events

• Joseph Rowntree Foundation are launching their UK Poverty 2025 report, at a webinar on 30 January 10.30 - 12.00. Register here.
• Resolve Poverty are hosting their Annual Conference on Thurs 13th March, 10:00am to 4.30 pm
• CYMPH are holding two lunch and learn webinars open to everyone:
  • Leaders Unlocked: the experience of shame in racialised groups Feb 26, 2025 12:00 - 1:00 
  • Words Matter: Improving mental health by ending verbal abuse, Mar 26, 2025 12:00 - 1.15
• Voluntary Action Islington are hosting the latest in their series of Local Wellbeing Networks Meetings:
  • North: Tue 4 Feb 2025 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM, Brickworks Community Centre, 42 Crouch Hill, N4 4BY
  • South: Thu 6 Feb 2025 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM, The ARC Centre, 98 B St Paul Street, Upper Holloway N1 7DF
  • Central: Wed 12 Feb 2025 12:45 PM - 3:00 PM, Elizabeth House 2 Hurlock Street Highbury Vale, Highbury N5 1ED
• Community Southwark are hosting a series of training sessions including specifically a session with Superhighways on Power BI by Microsoft
• Media Trust and The Marketing Trust are offering free marketing knowledge training, various dates are available
• Clean Slate Ltd have rolled out their Money Guidance drop-ins across more of London (Haggerston, Leyton, Lambeth, Croydon). The full timetable can be accessed here
• Ambition Aspire Achieve are hosting several drop in events at the Glyn Hopkin Abbey Hub for children, young people, and families. Some examples are:
  • Lego Club (ages 5-11)
  • After School Club (5-11)
  • SEND Youth Club (ages 10-25)
• Money Guiders Network have webinar called Fight the Bite: Biting Back Against Loan Sharks on Tue Jan 28, 11am - 12:30pm
• Made of Money are hosting a series of training courses called 'Money Springboard - Supporting care-experienced young people with money' on the following days:
  • Wednesday 26th February 2025: Working sensitively with young people about money
  • Wednesday 5th March 2025:  Having positive money conversations with young people
  • Wednesday 12th March 2025: Supporting young people to making a budget for leaving care

Reports, Data and Resources

• Changing Realities have written a report of their meeting with the Minister for Employment and the Secretary of State for Education
• The London Housing Panel have released a 'Statement on Temporary Accommodation' 
• Gingerbread have some advice for parents that are struggling in January
• Quaker Social Action (which hosts 4in10) have released their latest impact report
• KCL and others have shared this presentation on numbers of households and children trapped in TA by housing-related debt rules
• The House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee met on 21/1 to take evidence from Minister Rushanara Ali as part of its inquiry into children in temporary accommodation
• The Education Policy Institute have produced a report called 'How can we reduce food poverty for under-fives? Building on recommendations with expert input.'
• Trust for London have released two articles:
  • Sustain - Lessons from two decades of campaigning on food poverty
  • London's challenges in 2025 - and how to tackle them

Jobs and Trustee Vacancies

Funding Opportunities

• • The Greggs Foundation is a grant-making charity which aims to build stronger and healthier communities in the areas served by Greggs. They amount of the grants vary based on which program you apply for. They offer grant programs which work to address three key challenges facing our local communities - addressing issues of poverty and inequality, ensuring food is at the heart of communities and supporting local community organisations to make a difference
  • Clothworkers Foundation runs the Open Grants Programme which accepts applications from UK registered charities or not-for-profits for funding towards capital projects. They aim to make a decision within twelve weeks for grants and projects of £15,000 or less, or within six months for grants of more than £15,000.The work of the organisation making the application must fit within one or more of our specified programme areas which are:
    • Buildings: purchase, construction, renovation or refurbishment.
    • Fittings, Fixtures, and Equipment
    • Vehicles: This includes (but is not exclusive to) minibuses, cars, caravans, people carriers, 4x4 and boats.

  • The BlueSpark Foundation supports the education and development of children and young people by providing grants for educational, cultural, sporting and other projects. Funding provided by BlueSpark must be crucial to your project rather than marginally incremental to its funding. They generally support areas including: drama, music, sport,art and design, debating, public speaking, academic education, vocational training, community projects, enterprise projects, educational excursions 

  • A B Charitable Trust provide grants to smaller charities registered in UK with annual income of between £150k and £1.5m. They have four priorities which they fund 'The Human Rights Framework', 'Access to Justice', 'The Criminal Legal System and Penal Report' and 'Migrants and Refugees'. The next deadline is 31st January 
  • The Baobab Community Fund supports groups working to challenge oppression and disparity. Applications are welcome from Black and Global Majority individuals, organisations and collectives who are working towards racial justice. Grants range from £5,000 - £30,000 per year, for up to five years. Deadline for applications: 11:59pm on Monday, 3rd February 2025 
  • Wise Music Foundation provides financial support for people experiencing hardship, distress and illness, with a focus on children, the homeless and people living in poverty. The deadline is the end of February
    
  • The Masonic Charitable Foundation's Charity Grants programme is on a rolling basis and is open to registered charities in England and Wales working with any of their four main priority groups:
    • Improving the health and wellbeing of older people with dementia and their carers
    • Early years (0-5) with a focus on poverty and neglect
    • Children affected by domestic abuse
    • Children with special needs and disabilities

    The Foundation offers two sizes of grant - small unrestricted grants range from £1,000 – £5,000 per year, for up to three years and arge grants restricted for specific projects with defined goals and budget - usually ranging from £10,000 to £60,000.

You are welcome to pass this newsletter onto your networks. We welcome new members and although much of what we do is available to members and non-members, members are the first to know and get first chance to book training and so on.

As well as your reports, news and data, please send us information about small local grant givers, discounts and vouchers available, new support services, in fact anything that might help alleviate the impact of poverty in small ways and support other organisations to do their work. We will continue to demand systemic change but hope that these tips will be of immediate use. Anything you can share send it our way!

Check your entry on the 4in10 database of all voluntary organisations changing and challenging the impact of poverty on London’s children and their families. Let us know of any errors or changes you would like and please tell us about any organisations we may have missed.

With very best wishes

Maddie, Katherine & Emily

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