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More information

• NSport Advice Guide
  • General Advice on Development
  • Key Contacts and Websites
  • The Lottery Sports Fund in Detail
  • The Community Fund in Detail
  • The Football Foundation in Detail
  • The New Opportunities Fund in Detail
  • Awards For All in Detail
  • Support from your Local Authority
  • Ensuring Equity
  • Good Practice Guidance
  • National And Local Updates

The New Opportunities Fund in Detail

The New Opportunities Fund is a Lottery Distributor created to award grants to education, health and environment projects throughout the United Kingdom.  Many of their grant programmes focus particularly on those in society who are most dis-advantaged, they have offices in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as a presence in each of the nine English regions.

New Opportunities in PE and Sport

The New Opportunities for PE and Sport Programme aims to bring about a step-change in the provision of sports facilities for young people and their community generally.   It is not just offering sporting solutions but will also have a long-term impact on issues facing communities such as education, health crime and drugs misuse.  The programme will ensure that new and modernized facilities funded through the programme will:

• Incorporate and support wider local strategies to improve PE and school sport
  
• Combine sport, education and health outcomes
  
• Encourage innovative approaches that make use of best practice in the design and management of facilities

The programme will play a key part in helping to increase the levels of physical activity among young people and local communities.  It will also play a vital role in developing the relationship between sports clubs, schools and the wider community.  Funding for this programme is allocated on a pro-rata basis to Local Education Authorities, the amount allocated to Northamptonshire County Council was approximately £5.3million.  Since the allocation was made in 2002, a comprehensive bidding and selection process has been undertaken to democratically identify the priority projects across Northamptonshire.
 
The start of building works should begin during 2003, it is unclear at this stage if further funds will be allocated in the future under this stream of funding.

Out of School Hours Childcare

As part of NOFs third round programmes, this Fund has a further £198.5 million for childcare projects UK-wide, part of which will go towards extending the out of school hours childcare programme so that they can offer grants of longer duration in area of particular disadvantage.

The Programme

865,000 children across the UK will benefit from this childcare grant programme.  NOFs aim is to fund the provision of good quality, affordable and accessible out of school hours childcare in a range of settings which may involve the public, private and voluntary sectors.  £20 million of this money is available for integrated childcare and learning schemes, which will link into both educational and childcare needs.

Extension to the Programme

NOF are very pleased to announce that they have been able to add two extra rounds to the childcare programme in 2003.  It was due to close in February/March 2003.  However, to build on the success of what they have achieved so far, two additional rounds have been added with the closing dates of 15 April 2003 and 15 June 2003.
 
If the Fund receives a large amount of applications for the remaining funding they will use the priorities set out in their guidance, which are projects which represent good value for money which in turn will help the Fund reach its targets, and projects which address the needs of disadvantaged areas.  Of course submitting good quality applications that address unmet demand, at the earliest possible opportunity, still affords applicants the best chance of success.  The revised timetable will be:
 

Application Forms

The information for applicants booklet and application forms are available on the New Opportunities Fund website, which is www.nof.org.uk, they are also available in hard copy and you can obtain a copy by calling: 0845 0000 121

New Opportunites for Health & Environment

Under these two themes the majority of funds are progressed through a closed bidding process whereby certain organisations are allocated the funds to distribute locally.  An example of such a programme would be the School Fruit Pilots Programme, where Local Education Authorities in deprived areas received funding to then strategically allocate to their schools.

A number of new programmes are looking to come on line under Health and Environment to gain the most up-to-date information either look on the NOF website or call their information line on:

Tel: 0845 0000 120 
Web: www.nof.org.uk