Policy paper

Educational Resources Grant Scheme: prospectus

Updated 3 December 2021

This policy paper was withdrawn on 21 March 2022

This content has been withdrawn as this scheme is now closed. See information on the Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) welcome programme.

Applies to England

Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme

Prospectus for applicants for: Educational Resources Grant Scheme

Introduction

A new immigration route opened on 31 January 2021, providing British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders and their eligible family members with the opportunity to come to the UK to live, study and work, on a pathway to citizenship.

This new route reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BN(O) status at the point of Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is leading delivery of a £43.1 million HMG funded national ‘Welcome Programme’ to support BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members to help them to successfully settle in their new communities.

The Welcome Programme has the following elements:

• English language and destitution support: funding is available for local authorities to support BN(O) status holders and their family members in need, and has also been provided to deliver similar activity in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• An online resource providing all those on the BN(O) route with information, on how to access services and understand life in the UK. Similar resources are being produced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• 12 new Welcome Hubs, across the whole of the UK, to prepare for the arrival of BN(O) status holders and their families, ensuring they have their own ‘welcome’ in place and local areas have capacity to integrate the new arrivals into communities. This is using the existing infrastructure of the Strategic Migration Partnerships.
• National and Regional Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) funds to bolster community led activities, from befriending to employability support.
• As part of the national VCSE fund, MHCLG in collaboration with the Department for Education (DfE), will support the development of dedicated Hong Kong educational resources for schools so that they can teach young people about our historic connection and commitment to Hong Kong and its people, and celebrate the contribution of the Hong Kong-British diaspora to the UK.
• Funding is also being provided to deliver a hate crime reporting service for BN(O) status holders and other people of East and South-East Asian descent, to deliver hate crime reporting services and a hate crime helpline and website.

The aims of the Welcome Programme are to:

• Enable BN(O) status holders and their dependants to fully contribute to life in the UK, both economically and socially, enriching our society.
• Provide support to both resident communities and BN(O) status holders and their families to feel safe and welcome, as well as ensuring any hate crime is tackled in a timely way.
• Allow BN(O) status holders and their families to feel fully part of British society, able to mix confidently with people of all backgrounds and provide a positive contribution to the UK and the areas in which they settle.
• Ensure that any instances of destitution and underemployment in the BN(O) status holder cohort is minimised and addressed through effective support.

Objectives

The Educational Resources Grant Scheme will support projects in line with the high-level outcomes of the UK Welcome Programme. It will ensure positive outcomes for central and local government, resident communities and BN(O) status holders by:

• Enabling all new arrivals to fully contribute to life in the UK, both economically and socially, enriching our society.
• Allowing BN(O) status holders to feel a valued part of British society, fully able to mix confidently with people of all backgrounds and provide a positive contribution to the UK in the areas in which they settle.  
• Providing support to both resident communities and BN(O) status holders so that they feel welcome.
• Promoting greater awareness and understanding of Hong Kong and the role it has played in the UK to support the integration of BN(O) status holders.

What are we looking for?

Up to £100,000 is available to develop educational resources for schools and Further Education (FE) settings which:

1. Factually inform about the historic connection and commitment of the UK to Hong Kong and its people. 2. Celebrate the contribution of Hong Kong-British diaspora to the UK. 3. Support the integration of the BN(O) community – enabling schools to ensure new classmates are welcomed.

We would like the successful organisation to provide tools to support the delivery of the resources into schools and FE colleges that can easily be accessed and used by teachers and pupils across the phases of education (primary, secondary and FE college) such as guidance/videos for teachers on how to use the resources and other materials for use with pupils and students that will fit within assembly and lesson plans.

Key principles

The Educational Resources Grant funding scheme is available to a VCSE organisation to develop and make available a collection of educational resources for schools and FE colleges.

We are looking for an organisation to:

• Provide educational resources that can be used in schools across the whole of the UK.
• Utilise existing experience and expertise to provide national resources which can be disseminated and used widely by teachers and pupils (these should be to a professional standard and accessible in different formats).
• Develop resources and trial them with practicing teachers so they are relevant, high quality and easy to use.
• Be able to provide initial resources that can be available to schools from mid October 2021, with all resources ready later in the school year. MHCLG recognises the timing for delivery is ambitious, but necessary, reflecting the imminent and projected arrival of BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members in the school year 2021/22.
• Work closely with MHCLG and the Department for Education to:
  • Ensure methods of engagement with schools are age appropriate.
  • Ensure resources provide a factual balanced perspective in line with schools’ duties on political impartiality.
• Demonstrate commitment to teaching children and young people about historic connections between the UK and Hong Kong and its people, teach pupils about the contribution of the Hong Kong-British diaspora to the UK, and explain the situation in Hong Kong, and why the UK is providing a new home to BN(O) status holders and their dependants.
• Demonstrate commitment to providing sustainable resources which are available beyond the lifespan of the project.
• Develop resources that are suitably aligned with the statutory curriculum in England, including the national curriculum, and that can be used or adapted by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure UK wide reach.

Eligibility

We welcome applications from groups who already have experience supporting the integration of BN(O) status holders as well as groups with less direct experience who have the relevant skills and resources to support effective integration and to help build strong community cohesion. We also expect groups to include individuals with curriculum development expertise.

Organisations must be based in England.

We would expect applicants to be of good financial standing irrespective of the grant, and, through due diligence procedures, would expect that successful organisations do not receive the majority of their funding from Central Government.

All groups selected will be required to undergo mandatory due diligence checks as a means of ensuring the government is not subject to potential reputational damage.

A full list of eligible groups can be found below.

• ‘Charity’ – A registered charity with a UK charity number or a registered CIC (community interest company).
• ‘Community group’ – A group which meets all the following criteria:
  • Established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes;
  • Has a governing body with at least three members;
  • Has a governing document which they are able to produce;
  • Can provide accounts for the last two financial years.
• ‘Community Interest Company’ - a special type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders.
• ‘Social enterprise’ - a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.
• Other voluntary and community organisations.
• ‘Consortium’ – a group of bidders, with a designated lead partner to manage the programme, and a system for dividing the work and funds appropriately and effectively. The lead partner must be a charity or a community group with a charitable purpose.
• Groups must be based and registered in England.

Individuals are not eligible to apply but should work with the groups set out above.

Groups applying to other Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Program grant schemes are eligible to apply for the Education VCSE grant scheme but must present a distinct offer as part of this scheme.

Organisations chosen to receive grant funding must ensure that they comply with the with the UK’s international obligations in respect of subsidies.

Funding

We are looking to fund one project to deliver the educational resources. The total amount of funding available for the Educational Resources Grant Scheme is up to £100,000.
We are encouraging applicants to submit proposals for projects that can be up and running swiftly after being notified that they are successful. Delivery of your project will need to be completed by the end of March 2022. MHCLG will consider continuing elements in future financial years, subject to the Spending Review process

Timelines and process

Overview: Timelines (subject to change)

• 29 July 2021: Applications open
• 1 September: Applications close
• September: MHCLG assess bids and conduct due diligence
• 27 September: MHCLG award grant
• 27 September: Delivery commences
• Mid October: First set of education resources available for schools
• December – March: Further resources available for schools
• 31 March 2022 – Core delivery ends and all funds committed

The selected project will be expected to commence and complete core delivery in line with the dates set out and to have committed all funds by the end of March 2022.

Roles and responsibilities

MHCLG is providing funding for the VCSE Education Grant Scheme. MHCLG will assess bids, with input from the DfE, and provide funding directly to chosen VCSE organisations.

MHCLG Role 

• Promote the Educational Resources Grant Scheme
• Review funding proposals against the scoring criteria set out in section 6
• Undertake due diligence.
• Determine allocation of funding based on the published scoring criteria
• Notify VCSE applicants of funding decisions
• Establish grant funding agreements with selected VCSE organisations.
• Provide funding as agreed in the grant funding agreement
• Establish and undertake monitoring and evaluation regime for the duration of the project

VCSE Role

• Ensure proposals submitted are in the standardised form provided and contain clear costings, outputs, and outcomes for activities.
• Cooperate fully with the assessment and due diligence process.
• If selected for funding, sign a grant funding agreement with MHCLG.
• If selected for funding, deliver proposals in line with agreed plans, within timescales and to budget including a first set of educational resources available by October half term.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation as required.

Scoring Criteria

Bids will be assessed against the 9 criteria listed below with a maximum of 3 points available for each criteria. MHCLG will be consulting with DfE on the assessment of the criteria. After each criteria is scored the results will be totalled to give the bid a score out of 27. Further details about the assessing of bids can be found in Section 9. Scoring Process. The 9 criteria bids will be assessed against are:

1. Proposals should detail the governance structure of the proposed project, this should include details of oversight and accountability.

2. Proposals should detail the knowledge and experience the applicant has in delivering a national support offer. If an applicant does not have direct experience of delivering similar projects, they should outline how they will mitigate this inexperience.

3. It is essential that projects include clearly defined outputs and outcomes these should be specific and identify how they will be measured.

4. Proposals must include a timetable for delivery that meets the requirements set out in section 5 Timetable and process. Proposals should expand on this and detail all their proposed delivery dates.

5. The project should have a lasting impact and look to develop educational resources available beyond the lifespan of the project. Proposals should demonstrate how they will achieve this.

6. Resources must provide a factual balanced perspective in line with schools’ duties on political impartiality and other statutory requirements and to be available for both primary and secondary schools. Projects should set out clearly how the resources will help teach young people about the historic connection between the UK, Hong Kong and its people, celebrate the contribution of the Hong Kong-British diaspora to the UK, and explain the situation in Hong Kong, and why the UK is providing a new home to BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members

7. Proposals should demonstrate how the organisation intends to engage with schools and how they will disseminate and promote the resources.

A minimum score of 1 for each of the criteria Value for money and risk is required for proposals to be considered for funding. In addition, a minimum score of 3 when the scores for Value for money and risk are combined is required for proposals to be considered for funding.

8. The proposal should demonstrate strong value for money. The cost specified should be proportionate to the outcomes achieved, the resources produced, the reach and the longevity of the project. Value for money could be demonstrated by detailing the following:

• the use of experience to provide robust costings, including costs per output (i.e. costs per learner, cost for digital technology) to present the best use of money.
• all costs and any other funding are profiled in a sensible way to provide confidence in capability to commit all funding to activities by 31 March 2022.
• describe any match funding that they have secured. Lack of match funding will not disqualify a project from the program.

9. Applications should show evidence of a realistic understanding of potential financial and delivery risks, including counter fraud and mitigations to address them.

Summary of scoring process for award of funds

MHCLG will combine the scores for criteria 1-9 for each bid, creating a combined score out of 27 for each bid. Bids will be placed in priority order based on their score out of 27. Scores generated from the scoring process will be used to arranged bids in a priority list, from highest total score to lowest total score.

This priority list will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government as a recommendation as to the allocation of funding. The final decision as to which applications receive what level of funding will rest with the Secretary of State.

Evaluation and monitoring

Groups selected must comply with evaluation and monitoring requirements.

Evaluation: each project will be expected to complete an evaluation at the end of the delivery period. MHCLG will provide a template for each project to complete. Successful organisations will also be asked to produce a statement of grant usage upon completion of the grant period.

Monitoring: at bi-monthly intervals, projects will be expected to provide a reporting update to MHCLG. This reporting template will ask for an update on project progress, information on any delays and reasons for these, key risks, and upcoming milestones.

How to apply

Please send completed applications to HKEducationalGrant@communities.gov.uk by 23:59 on 1st September 2001. If you have any questions about the application process, please send these to the same email address, HKEducationalGrant@communities.gov.uk

Scoring process

Assessment of bids will be carries out by MHCLG and DfE following the end of the submission period.

Proposals will be assessed how well they meet each scoring criteria using the table below. Proposals can receive up to 3 points for fully meeting a criteria requirement. Proposals will be marked against the 9 scoring criteria to generate a total score out of 27.

A minimum score of 1 for each of the criteria Value for money and risk is required for proposals to be considered for funding. In addition, a minimum score of 3 when the scores for Value for money and risk are combined is required for proposals to be considered for funding.

Criteria	Criteria Description	Score Guide
1. Governance structure	Proposals should detail the governance structure of the proposed project; this should include details of oversight and accountability.	No governance structure outlined in proposal Score = 0 Governance structure poorly defined, no details of oversight or accountability. Score = 1 Governance structure defined, linked to oversight or accountability. Score = 2 Detailed governance structure is present. Clear explanation of oversight and accountability linked to job roles. Score = 3
2. knowledge and experience	The project should use and build on existing knowledge and experience to provide a comprehensive national support offer.	No experience of delivering national projects, no detail of how this would be mitigated. Score = 0 Some knowledge of operating national grant funded projects, this may be in a different area. If no experience the proposal shows some awareness of how to mitigate this through staff, networks, or other solutions. Score = 1 The proposal builds on knowledge gained from delivering similar grant funded projects. The proposal shows awareness of how the project will be delivered. Score = 2 The proposal is based on experience of delivering multiple successful projects in a similar grant funded area. The proposal is logically structured and shows where experience is being applied. Score = 3
3. outputs and outcomes	Proposals should include clearly defined outputs and outcomes these should be specific and identify how they will be measured.	No method of measuring outcomes or outputs outlined. Score = 0 Outputs and Outcomes are defined along with method for measuring. However, the methods are not specific and do not define how outputs and outcomes will be measured. Score = 1 Outputs and outcomes are defined and there is a specific method for measurement. Score = 2 There is a specific method for measuring outputs and outcomes that feeds into the project and enable the project to adapt its delivery. Score = 3
4. Timetable	Proposals must include a timetable for delivery that meets the requirements set out in section 5 Timetable and process of the attached prospectus. Proposals should expand on this and detail all their proposed delivery dates.	Proposal does not outline a timetable. Score = 0 Proposal includes a timetable that will deliver resources but not at the required times. Score = 1 The proposal includes a detailed timetable that will meet the delivery requirements. Score = 2 The proposal includes a detailed timetable that will meet the delivery requirements. This includes further project delivery point and links project actions. Score = 3
5. Lasting Impact	The project should have a lasting impact and look to develop educational resources available beyond the lifespan of the project. Proposals should demonstrate how they will achieve this.	Resources are not available past the project end date. Score = 0 There is assurance that the resources will be available but no strategy or actions to guarantee this. Score = 1 Legacy has been considered and planned for, resources will be available either for a limited time or have limited accessibility after the project ends. Score = 2 Legacy of the project has been considered and is part of the main project plan. There are detailed actions that will ensure resources are available and accessible to all for a defined time period. Score = 3
6. balanced perspective	Resources must provide a factual balanced perspective in line with schools’ duties on political impartiality and other statutory requirements and to be available for both primary and secondary schools. Projects should set out clearly how the resources will help teach young people about the historic connection between the UK, Hong Kong and its people, celebrate the contribution of the Hong Kong-British diaspora to the UK, and explain the situation in Hong Kong, and why the UK is providing a new home to BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members.	No outline of resources or no commitment to providing factual balanced perspective in line with schools’ duties on political impartiality and other statutory requirements. Score = 0 Resources outline limited with no clear rational. Proposal must include a commitment to providing factual balanced perspective in line with schools’ duties on political impartiality and other statutory requirements. Score = 1 There is a description of the planed resources and a rational why they will be developed. Resources will fulfil the project requirements and the project includes a commitment to providing factual balanced perspective in line with schools’ duties on political impartiality and other statutory requirements. Score = 2 There is a plan for well thought out and differentiated resources, suitable for all age groups and abilities. Resources will fulfil the project requirements and the project includes a commitment to providing factual balanced perspective in line with schools’ duties on political impartiality and other statutory requirements. Score = 3
7. engage, disseminate, promote	Proposals should demonstrate how the organisation intends to engage with schools and how they will disseminate and promote the resources.	Proposal does not cover the how the project will engage with schools to disseminate or promote the resources. Score = 0 Proposal is vague about how the project will engage with schools to disseminate or promote the resources. Score = 1 Proposal has a clear, planned approach about how the project will engage with schools to disseminate or promote the resources. Score = 2 Proposal has a clear, planned approach about how the project will engage with schools to disseminate or promote the resources. The proposal includes plans to reach UK wide and has a clear timeline and actions. Score = 3
8. value for money	The application should demonstrate strong value for money. The cost specified should be proportionate to the outcomes achieved and expected number of BN(O) status holders reached. Value for money could be demonstrated by detailing the following: - the use of experience to provide robust costings, including costs per output (i.e. costs per learner, costs per club participant, cost for digital technology) to present the best use of money. - all costs and any other funding are profiled in a sensible way to provide confidence in capability to commit all funding to activities by 31 March 2022. - describe any match funding that they have secured. Lack of match funding will not disqualify a project from the programme.	Proposal does not include costings, there is no cost profiling. Score = 0 Proposal includes costings and details the numbers of BN(O) status holders the project could support. Funds are projected to be fully committed by 31st March 2022. Score = 1 Proposal included detailed costing and profiling for the length of the project. These costs are linked to the project plan and number of BN(O) status holders reached. Funds are projected to be fully committed by 31 March 2022. Score = 2 Proposal included detailed costing and profiling for the length of the project. These costs are linked to the project plan and number of BN(O) status holders reached. Funds are projected to be fully committed by 31 March 2022. Match funding has been secured. Score = 3
9. Risks	Applications should show evidence of a realistic understanding of potential financial and delivery risks, including counter fraud and mitigations to address them.	The proposal does not identify or address any risks. Score = 0 The proposal identifies potential risks, some mitigations outlined. Score = 1 Proposal outlines delivery and financial risks and has planned mitigations listed. Score = 2 Proposal outlines delivery and financial risks and has planned mitigations listed. There is a method of monitoring and controlling risks listed, further risk policy documents are referenced (contingency plans, risk register, anti-fraud policy etc). Score = 3