Resilience, Ideas & Innovation Fund July 2019

What is A Better Start Southend? A Better Start Southend is a £40m 10-year test and learn programme funded by The National Lottery Community Fund to transform children’s services in Southend-on-Sea.   At A Better Start we trust in local people’s ability to make great things happen. So we’re investing £40m to develop and test new and improved children’s services for Southend. We want to give every child the best possible start in life. And we’re working with local people – parents, carers, volunteers and professionals – to decide how best to do it. Lasting impact: We want to create better services for Southend’s children that will last for years to come, long after A Better Start is over.

Our locations We are focusing on families within six local wards in Southend: Kursaal, Milton, Shoeburyness, Victoria, Westborough, and West Shoebury. You can paste your image into this shape

Our strategic priorities   Diet and Nutrition: We want all of our children to be healthy because their mums and dads enjoyed a balanced diet during pregnancy and families had all the help and support they needed to give them the best possible start in their early years. Communications and Language: We want all children to be able to use speech  and language skills confidently so that they are ready to learn and able to succeed when they start school. Social and Emotional Development: We want Southend’s children to enjoy good relationships, and develop the skills they need to build healthy relationships in the future. We also have a focus on System Change and Building Community Resilience too.

How we work Co-production - Involving people in designing the services they use makes them better. We’re involving parents and carers every step of the way: raising the problems that need solving, coming up with some of the answers, and working alongside paid staff and volunteers to help us test good ideas in practice. Parent Approved Marketing logo. Service Design - Developing new ideas and turning them into fully functioning test and learn projects. We work with suppliers in Southend to deliver our programme (for example Southend-on-Sea Borough Council). We are currently delivering 17 live projects (e.g. Work Skills, HENRY, Engagement Service [SAVS]) with more to begin over the course of the next 12 months.

The Resilience, Ideas & Innovation Fund: Who can bid? Local individuals, voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and groups Groups of parents and carers working together New and emerging groups – provided they meet our basic quality assurance checks Early years settings in ABSS wards and their feeder schools Any other groups or teams prepared to work in partnership with ABSS – but only where the proposed activity adds value to and enhances the ABSS programme and does not replace or replicate already funded provision

Main criteria Proposals must have two or more partners engaged (e.g. a PTA or school, working together with a faith group or a Residents Association) Proposals must have clear involvement of parents and the community in the design and delivery of the work Proposals must meet one or more of the three ABSS strategic priorities Proposals can have either a geographic response (e.g. partners working in a specific locality) or a thematic response (e.g. focussing on Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), etc.) Projects must work with or support delivery in Southend’s Children’s Centres in ABSS areas Proposals must demonstrate they can generate additional resources (e.g. cash or 'in kind') Proposals must have a clear exit strategy and an outline for how the work will be sustained after the period covered by the ABSS support ends Financial envelope must not exceed £10k p/a for up to three years (i.e. £30k max) Three main ABSS strategic priorities: • Social and Emotional Development • Communication and Language • Diet and Nutrition

The ABSS Resilience, Ideas and Innovation Fund cannot… Offer a grant (e.g. towards regular running costs, etc.) Fund work which is already being undertaken on an ongoing basis as part of a statutory service (i.e. a service that must be legally provided)

Fund timetable Ideas, interviews, selection meetings ABSS Resilience, Ideas & Innovation Fund opens 24th July Ideas, interviews, selection meetings 21st November Initial shortlisting of submissions 13th November Decision making panel 13th December Project mobilise and live 17th January Projects Network Event and showcase 31st January 2020 Deadline for submissions 30th October Project Agreements 10th January Explain how parents sit within the governance – Parent Forums, Ward Panels, Partnership Board…

Fund Proposals As outlined above… the Resilience, Ideas & Innovation Fund is open for proposals from: Wednesday 24th July 2019 (midday) The closing date for submissions is: Wednesday 30th October 2019 (midday) As part of co-production we will have Parent Champions co-designing the shortlisting, evaluation and decision making process for the fund, alongside ABSS staff. For more information and to request a Proposal Pack please email: absspmo@eyalliance.org.uk

Further information: www.abetterstartsouthend.co.uk Facebook: /abetterstartsouthend Twitter: @ABSSouthend LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/a-better-start-southend