Form

MOD ESF: instructions and guidance

Updated 9 August 2022

This form was withdrawn on 22 August 2022

This information is superseded by ‘MOD Education Support Fund (ESF) for schools with service children’.

Please note: the launch of the Armed Forces Families Fund AF3 is imminent. The ESF in its current form will cease and be absorbed by the new scheme. Further details will be added here in due course.

Important caveat

1). In January 2022, the MOD published its 10-year strategy for improving support to armed forces families. As part of the MOD’s efforts to support the implementation of this strategy, existing grant funding schemes designed to support Service children are being reviewed.

2). Please be aware that the ESF is currently under review and that your application may have to be submitted again through a new scheme.

Background

3). 2011 saw the launch of the Ministry of Defence’s Education Support Fund (ESF) (formerly the Support Fund for State Schools with Service Children). The ESF was £6 million per annum until 2017/18 and has been made available to assist publicly funded schools, academies and free schools^{[footnote 1]} throughout the UK, to mitigate negative impact of mobility and/or separation^{[footnote 2]} on their Service communities; Regular and Reserves^{[footnote 3]}.

4). In light of the ongoing drawdown from Germany and to provide time for the educational authorities across the UK to bring in longer-term provision for Service children, the Secretary of State for Defence in July 2018 announced the extension of the ESF, on a limited basis, for an additional two years. The fund consisted of £3 million in 2018/19 and £2 million in 2019/20.

5). Minister for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel clearance and support of a further extension was received on 31 March 2020 and with further unit and personnel moves and associated disruption expected, Defence Children, Young People and Families (AFFS) secured £3 million per annum to fund a further extension of the ESF. Up to £3 million will be available for the 2023 bidding round^{[footnote 4]}.

6). Armed Forces Families & Safeguarding (AFFS), the MOD’s professional focal point for all matters relating to children, young people and families associated with the Armed Forces, are the lead organisation supporting the ESF^{[footnote 5]}.

7). Successful applications to date have been for a wide range of initiatives and included strong evidence of how their proposal would help Service children and the school overcome negative impact of mobility and/or separation; successful bids also demonstrated a good relationship with their Service community.

Eligibility

8). To be eligible for a grant a school needs to be in the UK and have children of Service personnel^{[footnote 6]} on roll whose parents are subject to mobility and/or separation (see Criteria). Applicants should include clear evidence of the negative impact of mobility and/or separation which regional panels can then use to accurately score applications.

Applications can be accepted from:

a. Maintained schools

b. Academies

c. Free schools

d. Sixth Form colleges

e. Groups of schools as described above (referred to as ‘Cluster bids’ and strongly encouraged – full details of all schools in the cluster need to be provided)

f. Local authorities on behalf of the publicly funded schools in their area

9). If applying as a cluster, an individual school can also submit their own separate bid, provided it is for a different initiative. Full details need to be provided on the application form. A cluster bid may be stronger than an individual school bid as resources are being shared; helping to achieve better value for money outcomes. Where possible, applicants are to make their local authority aware of their application.

Not eligible

10). The following are not eligible for funding from the ESF:

a. Childcare providers (including early years).

b. Colleges of higher education or further education.

c. Commercial organisations or those that would seek to charge for their solution to be provided to a school, for example - an organisation could not be awarded a grant to develop a training course which it then charges schools to attend.

Criteria

11). Schools need to provide evidence of the negative impact mobility and/or separation has on service children and on the school. See Annex A for detailed information about mobility and separation.

12). The ESF cannot be used for infrastructure projects. Contributions to smaller scale refurbishments, such as adapting current spaces, and indoor or outdoor equipment are acceptable.

13). Any successful application that requires the hiring of staff should ensure that all parties are aware they are not being employed by the MOD, but by the successful applicant (school/local authority).

14). The award of a grant from the ESF is not a commitment to future funding and should be regarded as a one-off payment. Repeat funding requests for projects previously funded by an ESF grant cannot be considered without clear evidence of why this funding is vital and why the school/LA could not secure it via other means.

15). Applicants are entitled to make one individual bid each and can also be included in a joint cluster bid with other schools; providing it is for a different initiative.

Purposing of the ESF

16). Schools and local authorities that can show clear evidence of how the negative impact of mobility and/or separation is affecting schools and its pupils, can apply for funding from the ESF in line with the bid criteria below (see examples at Annex B):

a. To provide support for schools directly affected by mobility (including rebasing activity) and/or separation (parent/s away from the family for a continuous period of one month or more on operational tours, long exercises, training courses, weekending etc).

b. To meet staffing and training needs due to unforeseen increases in Service pupil numbers.

c. To provide community support to help build and maintain relationships between schools, local authorities and Service families.

d. To provide educational resources linked to Service pupil intake.

e. To provide funding for refurbishment of existing resources within the school (no capital works).

17). Each application will be scored on its evidence by a regional panel.

Application Form Guidance

18). Bids for the ESF can be for a range of projects, schemes and initiatives (see examples at Annex B) and should articulate:

a. How the negative impact of mobility and/or separation will be addressed.

b. Engagement with Service and civilian communities.

c. Planned outcomes.

d. Value for money.

e. Sustainability.

19). Supporting material should not be included with the application and panel members will not read any additional information attached to the application form. The application will be judged only on the content of the application form and it is very important that applicants adhere to the character count.

20). Application forms should be completed and submitted electronically. Handwritten applications cannot be accepted.

21). No personal data relating to children should be included.

Application Form Notes for Completion

Note 1

If you are submitting a joint bid, please provide a list of all schools included in the bid with their address details, last inspection grade and date, total number of children, total number of Service children, admission number, Service Pupil Premium allocation (England only).

Note 2

Please separate out any parts of the bid and cost them individually to enable the regional panel and ESF MOD panel to easily identify partial payments. There may be a delay in funding allocation if a breakdown of costs is not provided.

Note 3

The level of admissions and departures of Service children within schools outside that of the standard entry and exit groups for the previous academic year; as a number and/or percentage.

Note 4

Armed Forces sponsor. The Armed Forces sponsor is vital and will give context to Service community in the location, type of units and expected training and operational tours. The sponsor should be a uniformed, serving member of the Armed forces where possible, not below the rank of Captain (Army/RM), Lieutenant (RN), Flight Lieutenant (RAF). See Annex C for more detail.

Note 5

Due to high demand, partial funding may be awarded so it is helpful to know the priorities of the bid. For easiness, please include serial numbers from the Financial Information table in Section 3 of the application form.

Scoring

22). All bids are reviewed and scored by regional panels and recommendations are made to the ESF MOD panel who has the overall funding authority.

23). Each bid is considered on the evidence provided and is not linked to the success of a previous bid.

24). There is no appeals process – applications are scored on the strength of the evidence. Applications which are not successful will receive feedback informed by comments from the regional panels.

Payment Details

25). In order to process successful applications in time to disburse funds, bank account details need to be provided at the time of application. If there are any subsequent changes to bank details, please advise AFFS immediately. All bank details will be stored securely and will not be shared with third parties. Bank details will only be retained for successful applications and only until payment has been processed. Please complete Annex A to the application form and submit alongside your application.

26). If you choose not to provide bank details with your application, payments may be delayed and if not completed within the relevant financial year, there may be a danger of funding being lost.

Submission

27). Applications will need to be received by Friday 30 September 2022. Any application received after this date will not be considered.

28). Applications to be considered by the English, Scottish and Welsh regional panel should be forwarded to: People-AFFS-ESF-Mailbox@mod.gov.uk.

29). Applications to be considered by the Northern Ireland regional panel should be forwarded to: RC-AWS-N-38X-0mailbox@mod.gov.uk.

30). Each application will receive an acknowledgement with a unique bid reference number – this number needs to be quoted in any subsequent correspondence. It is the applicant’s responsibility to chase this unique bid reference if not received within five working days of submitting an application.

31). The applicant will need to inform AFFS of any change to their email/contact details via the ESF Mailbox People-AFFS-ESF-Mailbox@mod.gov.uk.

32). AFFS will inform all applicants of the outcome of their application by early January 2023. Successful applicants will receive payments no later than 5 April 2023.

33). Successful applicants can start planning their projects as soon as they have received the offer letter and accepted the ESF funding in line with the relevant terms and conditions; they can start spending the grant as soon as it has been transferred.

Audits

34). Funding allocated from the 2023 ESF will be audited in April 2024. AFFS will request evidence from the applicant to ensure that the funding was used as per their application and to assess the impact of the grant. Applicants should contact AFFS if there is a danger of the funding not being spent in full by April 2023.

35). As part of the audit process, there will also be the opportunity for successful applicants to take part in case studies designed to share good practice.

Questions

36). For additional queries applicants should contact AFFS via email: People-AFFS-ESF-Mailbox@mod.gov.uk.

Annex A

MOD education support fund (ESF) additional guidance: mobility & separation

Schools need to provide evidence of negative impact from the mobility of Service children and/or have Service children whose parents are away from the family for any continuous period of one month or more due to Service life (including operational tours, exercises, residential courses or weekending). The application should contain clear evidence of what that negative impact is, both on the children and on the school.

What is Mobility?

Mobility may be defined as the whole family moving from one location to another resulting in a change of school for the child.

Implications of mobility on Service children, families and schools

Service personnel often need to move for career and strategic reasons. They may move as individual families (known as ‘trickle posting’), typically every 2 to 3 years or as whole Unit moves. Service children may have changed schools several times and it is important to understand the history of that child and seek information from the previous school. They can bring experiences of living in different locations and add a richness and interest to a school’s community which should be embraced. There may be gaps in learning, differences in curriculum covered (especially if they come from different devolved regions or overseas) or they may have SEND/ASN/ALN. Early assessment of the child is key. Individual children may take time to settle in and classes that have high levels of mobility may find it disruptive. Parents may need encouragement to become engaged with the school and be less inclined to participate in the extra activities as they are unfamiliar. Knowing that the school understands and caters for Service children’s needs can be a great comfort to parents. Schools may have added administrative burden or funding gaps because of fluctuating numbers.

What is Separation?

Separation may be defined (for the purpose of applications to the ESF) as the Service person being away from home for a continuous period of one month or more, either on an operational tour (not exclusive to conflict zones), a long-term training exercise or course, or an assignment that means that they are unable to live in the family home during the working week (also known as ‘weekending’).

Implications of separation on Service children, families and schools

Separation can be anything from one month to up to 12 months, can place a strain on family life and have an impact on the education and wellbeing of children. Parents should feel able to inform schools of any upcoming extended periods of separation so that the school can effectively assist the child with the challenges. Each child will have a unique way of dealing with or responding to the separation. Schools can help children and parents through these periods in several different ways. Awareness, planning and communication are key. The Service person may have increased periods away prior to an operational tour for training, they may come home for a short period of Rest and Recuperation (R&R) mid-way through and finally after the homecoming they will usually have a period of post operational leave. Each period can be disruptive to the family routine and can unsettle the child. Schools may wish to help children keep in touch with the parent or have a named member of staff whom the child can talk to. Service personnel may also be assigned away from their family home for extended periods of time, returning at weekends when they are able to. This ‘weekending’ lifestyle can also disrupt family dynamics and be the cause of additional stressors.

Annex B

MOD education support fund (ESF) additional guidance: examples of qualifying projects and what doesn’t warrant ESF funding

The below is not exhaustive and is meant to be used as a guide only, giving applicants an idea of whether their planned project can be considered for ESF funding.

Repeat funding requests for projects previously funded by an ESF grant cannot be considered without clear evidence of why this funding is vital and why the school/LA could not secure it via other means.

ESF can be used for	ESF cannot be used for
Funding for temporary staff (teachers, teaching assistants, Service Pupil Liaison Officer, breakfast/after school staff)	Capital works (large infrastructure projects, building works – toilet block replacement, building a community café)
Staff training (ELSA, Thrive, Forest school)	IT refresh (large ICT requests including PCs, tablets, whiteboards)
Classroom resources (books, sensory items, Forest school)	Any funding shortfall unless linked to increase in service pupil numbers after the census date (in-year bid recommended, see ESF application pack on gov.uk for more detail)
Refurbishment of existing spaces (library, sensory room, forest school)	Funding for multiple years (Family Liaison officer for 2 years, licences for 5 years)
ICT when this forms part of the project applied for (i.e. tablet for library/reading bus)	Outdoor classrooms, playing surfaces and playground equipment
Breakfast and after school club resources	Musical instruments
Temporary licences for numeracy, literacy and maths programmes	School trips and uniform
Educational Psychology support (requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis)	Purchase or lease of any vehicle (i.e. school minibus)

If still unsure whether a planned project meets the eligibility criteria, applicants should email People-AFFS-ESF-Mailbox@mod.gov.uk for further information prior to submitting their application.

Annex C

MOD education support fund (ESF) additional guidance: the armed forces sponsor

A supporting statement from an Armed Forces sponsor will strengthen any application for funding from the ESF.

The Armed Forces sponsor should be a uniformed^{[footnote 7]}, serving member of the Armed forces, not below the rank of Captain (Army/RM), Lieutenant (RN), Flight Lieutenant (RAF) and could be:

• the Station/Unit Commanding Officer

• the Unit Welfare Officer

The Armed Forces sponsor’s supporting comments should not single out individual Service children (including their own if they are the parent).

Early engagement with an Armed Forces sponsor is vital as they can give context to the Service community, type of units and expected training and operational tours; they will also be able to refer to any known rebasing plans. For example: Within the school’s catchment is a large multinational Staff HQ with constant trickle postings, or, various units with regular overseas commitments and significant foreign and commonwealth personnel. This information will assist regional panels in understanding the Service impact on the school, cluster or local authority. Evidence of this important engagement will be reflected in the regional panel’s final score.

Always include the Armed Forces sponsor’s name and contact details on the application form. Applicants are to submit their application to AFFS and copy in the Armed Forces sponsor. AFFS will issue result letters to both the applicant and the sponsor.

All schools (including small schools, away from a military base or garrison area) not currently engaged with a sponsor from the Armed Forces, should contact AFFS by emailing People-AFFS-ESF-Mailbox@mod.gov.uk. AFFS has access to Unit Welfare Officers/Community Development Officers and will be able to help establish a suitable local link.

1. For school throughout this document read publicly funded school, academy and free school. ↩

2. Separation for the purpose of the ESF means any continuous absence of one month or more where Service personnel are away from the family due to Service life (including operational tours, exercises, residential courses or weekending). See Annex A to Instruction and guidance document for more detail. ↩

3. Service throughout this document refers to Regular forces or Reserves (Full Time Reserve Service (Full Commitment). ↩

4. Future funding availability to be reviewed annually. ↩

5. The ESF is different from the Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant scheme which seeks to forge closer ties between the community and the Services who form a part of that community, and which is open to a wider variety of organisations to apply once a local community covenant has been signed. It is also different to the Service Pupil Premium, which is provided within England by the Department for Education in respect of children of members of the Regular Armed Forces. ↩

6. Dependent children of Regular Service personnel (including FTRS FC). ↩

7. If a uniformed, serving member of the Armed Forces is not available, a Civilian equivalent sponsor with sufficient knowledge of the garrison/area may be used. Contact AFFS for clarification if still unsure. ↩