Signposting information
Apply for grants to extend support for families
Hampshire County Council and Isle of Wight Council are opening the Christmas 2022 Signposting Grant and are urging organisations from the private, voluntary and public sectors to apply for grants that will help them provide advice, guidance and support to families enrolled on this Christmas Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. The HAF Signposting Grant is being made available to those who can support families on a range of issues including finance, health and wellbeing, housing and employment, with a particular focus on cost-of-living support.
Signposting grants are now available to organisations best placed to provide suitable support services, working in partnership with HAF providers local to them. There is an indicative total grant value of £25k for Hampshire and £17k for the Isle of Wight and this forms part of the £10million HAF funding awarded to the area from the Department for Education for 2022-2025.
Individual grants of up to £4,500 are on offer and can be used to deliver a range of activities, including face-to-face or virtual advice sessions, printed or digital resources and more. Organisations eligible to apply may include Citizen’s Advice, healthcare providers, family support services, housing support services, Jobcentre Plus and more.
The deadline for applying for a Signposting Grant is Sunday 9 October 2022.
Full grant guidance can be found below, as well as a link to the online application form and draft Grant Agreement form.
HAF Signposting Grant Guidance
Draft HAF Signposting Grant Agreement
For those requiring support, please contact sharon.bartholomew@hants.gov.uk
Apply here: Online Application Form (Available from 19 September to 9 October)
The projects awarded under the summer 2022 signposting grant are listed below:
| Organisation | District | Project summary | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westside Community Association | Basingstoke and Deane | For a designated person for 3 hours per day during the HAF project located on their site in Basingstoke. The designated person will support parents / carer's to access additional services by supporting them to make contact with the outside agency and complete referral forms where possible. A computer will be available for families to use so that they can access the internet to take part in online training sessions, support local support groups, access citizen advice bureau, meal and budget planning, nutritional advice etc. Families will have access to a printer and photo copying facility. | £2,020 |
| Eastleigh Citizens Advice Bureau | Eastleigh | To develop information packs for families with children attending the HAF summer holiday clubs. These will be packed with tools and information to assist them to ensure that they are aware of the services available locally and give the parents tools to help themselves. A 24-page booklet will be developed providing details on the benefits available to those with children, ways to maximise income, details of our debt services and ways to manage energy use. They will also heavily promote their debt services, details of grant services for individuals, household support fund available from the local authority and a special section for those that have no recourse to public funds. Packs will also include, for example, a room thermometer, a radiator bleeder. | £2,000 |
| Citizens Advice Hart | Hart | For an Adviser to attend HAF sessions across Hart to share information directly to HAF project workers and to be available to speak to parents. They will show parents and HAF workers how to use the public Citizens Advice website where they can find a wealth of information and support. They will also produce social media content to share information and promote the HAF project partnership. | £3,500 |
| Hart & Rushmoor Local Children's Partnership (through Hart District Council) | Hart | To enable the LCP to work with at least one lead agency to provide a physical presence at each HAF provision over the period. The LCP will set up a stand in a visible location and at an appropriate time at each provision, with two staff / volunteers attending. IAG will be offered mainly via signposting materials from a number of local services. | £2,500 |
| Freedom4Kids | Havant | To deploy the Home School Link Worker from one of the local schools to hold face to face workshops and drop-in sessions. They will also be holding workshops with 'guests' form specific organisations such as the local food bank. They will be asking parents/families if they would like virtual sessions and link this with the signposting details already on their website. An area will be available on their website for parents to ask anonymously for advice and details of where to go. | £4,150 |
| Park Community School | Havant | To design and develop a HAF-specific booklet that will provide families with useful signposting services. The content will be adapted to support HAF families across the whole of Hampshire and Isle of Wight areas. The booklet will be printed for the Leigh Park area and will be available electronically for the wider distribution. The booklet will consist of a range of support including easy recipes to make at home on a budget, free activities to do with your children, craft to do at home, growing vegetables, support links to; benefits checks, energy grants, food insecurity location of pantries, foodbanks, websites to save money, energy saving tips, training providers to support moving into employment, well-being tips etc. | £4,352 |
| The You Trust | Havant | To provide face-to-face support to families, linking directly with HAF schemes in Havant. Two staff members will attend each HAF scheme twice. They will run a general advice / signposting session and a follow up money workshop. The families will also be welcome to attend Advice Portsmouth for a face-to-face appointment if they require more specialist support. The You Trust will also provide full contact details / signposting information for Advice Portsmouth. The families will be able to access their specialist social welfare advice through at their own convenience and will be able to arrange a virtual or telephone appointment as required. | £4,500 |
| Aspire Ryde | IOW - North and East | To create an Information Point to signpost people locally to Citizen’s Advice, Health, Social Care, Housing and Employment specialist services. The Information Point is a one stop shop for anyone who needs advice or additional support with an issue or crisis. The Information point will provide access to telephones and Computers to enable staff to support people with online applications, virtual meetings or telephone calls without any cost. This will be available for other local HAF providers to signpost to also. | £3,568 |
| Freshwater Parish Council | IOW - West and Central | To work with identified Providers across the West of the Isle of Wight to provide flexible, face-to-face support to HAF families, and support specialist signposting and specific expertise. Subject-specific support will be driven by need but will likely focus on helping those on low incomes, employment, poverty relief and also the opportunity for Families to speak to Barnardos and Health visitors. | £4,500 |
| Citizen's Advice New Forest | New Forest | To develop and produce 2000 pocket-sized fold out leaflets detailing all the food and fuel, utilities and household items support services across the new forest for low-income families. The signposting 'z card' will help the resources of low-income families stretch further by making them aware of the low-cost options available for food, utilities, furniture, white goods and children's items such as clothes, uniforms and toys. it would also have a side benefit of strengthening links in communities. | £1,750 |
| Hart & Rushmoor Local Children's Partnership (through Rushmoor Borough Council) | Rushmoor | To allow the LCP to work with at least one lead agency to provide a physical presence at each HAF provision over the period, aiming for a total of ten appearances across the four weeks. The lead agency offer will be shared with organisations such as Citizens Advice Hart, Hart Voluntary Action, Social prescribers, Hart Community Safety, Home Start, Family Support Service, etc. | £2,500 |
| The Carroll Centre | Winchester | To provide a discreet space for 2 x 3 hour weekly face-to-face drop-in support sessions with a support worker with CAB First Aid training. They will also provide a room with telephone and internet access to assist HAF parents with contacting support agencies and taking up signposting advice. In conjunction with this they will launch an online/social media signposting campaign to provide information and support for vulnerable households in their local community. Hard copies of information and posters will be displayed in their Food Pantry, Community Library and Café, and information packs will be provided for HAF Playscheme participants and Pantry Members. This opportunity will also be promoted to other local HAF schemes. | £2,500 |