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Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
1 | P a g e
GUIDANCE NOTES:
THE PATHWAY FUND 2018/2019
Stream B - Application for
Funding up to the value of
£15,000
Content relates to the Pathway Fund arrangements for 2018/19. Arrangements beyond 2018/19 will be determined at a later date.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
2 | P a g e
Contents
Page
3 Introduction
5 The Pathway Fund Overview
8 The Application Form
9 Summary Table
11 Section A - About Your Organisation
12 Section B - About your Proposed Project
13 Section C - Eligibility Criteria
17 Section D - Assessment Criteria
20 Section E – Checklist
22 Pathway Fund Scoring System
23 Completed Applications
24 25 27 29
ANNEXES Annex 1 Annex 2 Annex 3 Annex 4
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
3 | P a g e
Introduction
There will be one open call for funding applications in 2018/19 – new, current and
previous applicants may apply.
Your organisation is only eligible to apply to the Pathway Fund under one category;
either Stream A or Stream B. These Guidance Notes are to assist those making
applications to the Pathway Fund under Stream B. Funding will be subject to
availability within the Department of Education.
We invite application from groups who require funding up to £15,000.
The closing date for Stream B applications is 9th March 2018.
Stream A application is for funding over £15,000 up to £30,000. Stream A of the
Pathway Fund 2018/19 follows a separate process and associated application and
guidance notes are available. The closing date for Stream A is the 16th March 2018.
Stream A and Stream B applications will be ranked separately.
It should be noted that the Pathway Fund is a competitive fund and you are strongly
advised to commence preparation for your application well in advance of the dead-
line.
Please note that applications will only be accepted by post and you need to plan for
this when preparing your application. Please ensure two copies of the completed ap-
plication form are enclosed.
In support of the DE vision “every young person achieving to his or her full potential
at each stage of his or her development” the outcomes of the Pathway Fund are:
• Improved development of children aged from birth to four years who are at risk of
not reaching their full potential within the school system; and
• An enhanced more sustainable early years sector.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
4 | P a g e
Key Dates
Friday 16th February
Application process open
Monday 19th February Pathway Fund Information Session
NICVA, Belfast, BT15 2GB
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Tuesday 20th February Pathway Fund Information Session
Tullyglass House Hotel, BT42 1HJ
2:00pm to 4:00pm
Tuesday 20th February Pathway Fund Information Session
City Hotel Derry, BT48 7AS
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Tuesday 20th February Pathway Fund Information Session
Newry Early Years Centre
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Wednesday 21st February Pathway Fund Information Session
Omagh Enterprise Centre, BT78 5LU
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Thursday 22nd February Pathway Fund Information Session
The Junction Dungannon, BT70 1BS
4:00pm to 6:00pm
Friday 9th March 2018
Stream B Closing Date
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
5 | P a g e
The Pathway Fund Overview
Stream B of the Pathway Fund will support all registered providers or facilitators of
early years (0-4) education and learning provision such as:
• Registered Sessional Day-care settings (including Out of Schools,
Summer Schemes, Playgroups, Crèches)
• Registered Full Day Care Providers (Day Nurseries)
• Registered Childminders
• Family Support Organisations.
Applicants will need to meet the following eligibility criteria for Stream B:
• The setting is a registered provider/ facilitator of early years education and
learning, focused on children 0-4 years
• Financial need for contribution from the Pathway Fund – including
assessment of available reserves
• Cost per child should not exceed £1,500 (calculated by dividing the total
amount requested from the Fund by the number of children in the proposed
project). In exceptional circumstances, up to £2,000 per child (amount
requested divided by number of children in project) can be allowed where
there is a compelling case to show that higher average costs per child are
essential to meet costs associated with provision to children with complex
needs e.g. severe development delay for a child on the ASD spectrum. If an
applicant does not demonstrate and evidence clearly the compelling need to
meet the additional cost per child element, and the setting scores highly
enough to receive an award, the average cost per child will be restricted to
£1,500 and the award adjusted accordingly.
• Additionality – the applicant is not receiving funding from another source for
the provision in the application and that, without grant funding, the project
could not begin, or could only begin at a later date, or could only begin on a
smaller scale
• Is registered with the Health and Social Care Trust (if a provider of Early
Years services).
• Appropriate Management and Financial governance policies and procedures
in place
• No duplication of existing early years education and learning facilities in the
area;
• The project is compliant with the requirements of The Minimum Standards for
Childminding and Day Care (if a provider of Early Years services).
• Appropriate governance and safeguarding policies in place
Stream B applicants are eligible to apply for funding up to £15,000.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
6 | P a g e
If eligible, applications will be evaluated and scored against the four priority Pathway
Fund criteria:
i. Providing quality education and learning services in areas of social
disadvantage to address both educational and social disadvantage;
ii. Ensuring children with additional needs receive appropriate early years support;
iii. Provision of services/support to children at risk of harm;
iv. Addressing access to/improvement of infrastructure of services in rural areas
and other areas where there is little or no provision.
Once evaluated and assessed, applicants will be placed in ranked order in respect of
the overall score against the criteria.
Department of Education - National Fraud Initiative – Fair Processing Notice.
The Department of Education is required by law to protect the public funds it
administers. It may share information provided to it with other bodies responsible for
auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud.
See guidance notes ANNEX 1 – Department of Education Fair Processing Notice
Where the funding requested from the Pathway Fund is one of a number of funding
streams contributing to the project, applicants should demonstrate how it will
complement and not duplicate the other funding streams.
Joint applications from organisations proposing to work together are welcome. All
applicants would however need to be registered with the Health and Social Care
Trust (if applicable).
A project will not be funded if:
• It duplicates services for which the applicant is already receiving funding from
another source;
• The application relates to activity that has taken place in the past (i.e.
retrospective funding);
• There is no demonstrable evidence that public funding is required to implement
the project.
DE provides PSEP funding to support the delivery of its Pre-School Education
Programme. PSEP funded settings can apply for Pathway Funding for activities not
related to the PSEP funded activities. The project for which the setting is seeking
funding from the Pathway Fund must be in respect of provision which is additional to,
and does not interfere with, that funded under the PSEP.
Funding will be allocated on confirmation of need, in ranked priority against the
established criteria and will include a contribution towards the overall costs of a
project highlighted by the setting towards meeting the total cost of salaries, running
costs, specified equipment etc.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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Funding will be allocated to applicants that meet the eligibility criteria, demonstrate
financial need and for ranked priority in accordance with the Code of Practice for
Reducing Bureaucracy in The Voluntary and Community Sector (2015).
https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/publications/financial-systems-and-controls-
assessment-voluntary-and-community-organisations
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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The Application Form
Please write clearly in black ink or type. Please refer to the guidance notes when
preparing your application.
If you experience any difficulties, please contact the Pathway Fund office on 028 90
387950/ 028 90 387941 or email: [email protected]
You must not change any of the questions or alter any part of the form. If you do, we
will not accept your application.
The Application Form cannot be amended after submission to Early Years HQ.
Assessment of the application will be based only on the information contained
therein and evidence provided.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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Summary Table
Please record the total amount of Pathway Funding you have requested (as outlined
on Page 14 of the application form).
Please record the Cost per Child (as outlined on Page 14 of the application form)
In exceptional circumstances, up to £2,000 per child (amount requested divided by
number of children in project) can be allowed where there is a compelling case to
show that higher average costs per child are essential to meet costs associated with
provision to children with complex needs e.g. severe development delay for a child
on the ASD spectrum.
Please describe how there is compelling need for the provision of the project you
propose to children with complex needs e.g. severe developmental delay for a child
on ASD spectrum.
Outline why, taking account of essential costs to deliver your project, the average
cost per child is higher than £1,500 (up to £2,000);
You will need to describe why you are currently unable to meet this need.
You will need to detail how the Pathway Fund will enable your setting to provide for
the child/ren attending.
Please note;
• You should not name individual children on this application.
• You will need to provide evidence in support of each child with complex
needs which you have referred to in your application. The evidence re-
quired for each child is a referral from a medical/educational specialist
who knows/ has known the child.
• You should not provide the evidence with this application. If your appli-
cation is successful, sight of evidence (each referral) will be required on
the first site visit. This will be within two months of award of funding.
You should ensure that the evidence you will provide at site visit is pro-
vided in accordance with Data Protection principles.
• If appropriate evidence is not provided at initial site visit, the amount of
award may be adjusted.
Assessment:
- In cases where the applicant is requesting additional support for e.g. one of
20 children attending the programme the panel will review how the response
and evidence provided supports the compelling need and ensure the funding
requested reflects an average cost per child taking account of the number of
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
10 | P a g e
children in the project and the evidence provided for those considered to have
complex needs. If an applicant does not demonstrate and evidence clearly the
compelling need to meet the additional cost per child element, and the setting
scores highly enough to receive an award, the average cost per child will be
restricted to £1,500 and the award adjusted accordingly.
- If an applicant does not demonstrate and evidence clearly the compelling
need to meet the additional cost per child element, and the setting scores
highly enough to receive an award, the average cost per child will be
restricted to £1,500 and the award adjusted accordingly.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
11 | P a g e
SECTION A - About Your Organisation Name of your Organisation - Please record your organisations name as it appears
on your governing document or set of rules, e.g. Constitution.
PSEP URN – You will have this Unique Reference Number if you are funded through
the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP).
PSEP Funded Places 18/19 – This is the number of funded preschool places you
offer through the Department of Education Pre-School Education Programme for the
year 2017/18.
Government Funding Database URN – You will have this Unique Reference
Number if you receive any other government funding e.g. PSEP, Neighbourhood
Renewal
Bright Start Reference (e.g. SAC/01/N) - You will have this reference if you are
funded through the DE Bright Start School Age Children Grant Scheme.
Charity Number – You will have this number if you are a registered Charity.
VAT Registration Number – You will have this if you are registered for VAT with
HM Revenue and Customs.
Contact Information - The main contact for the application must be someone who
can describe the project and respond to queries from the Pathway Fund Team
during normal office hours. You should also provide an alternative contact to be
used in the absence of the above person. The address you provide will be the
address to which all correspondence will be sent. Should you wish to change the
correspondence address, after you have submitted the application form, you must
inform the Pathway Fund office in writing of the new correspondence address.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
12 | P a g e
SECTION B - About Your Proposed Project
Details of the services you intend to provide as a result of grant funding should be
set out here.
The project must commence on or after 1 April 2018.
The project must be completed on or before 31 March 2019
You must tell us how many existing early years places will be supported and how
many additional early years places will be created by the project for which you are
applying for funding.
Children who are at risk of not developing their full potential within the school
system.
Various groups of children for a variety of reasons may face additional barriers to
education and learning, making it more difficult for them to reach their full potential.
These include children who are experiencing poor home learning environments,
children with additional physical or intellectual needs and children where English is
not a first language. Support for physical, emotional, social, health needs and home
learning environments improves the opportunities for children at risk of not
developing their full potential.
You must tell us how many children your Pathway Fund project will support;
• who are at risk of not developing their full potential within the school system
• who have additional needs
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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SECTION C - Eligibility Criteria
1. Financial Assessment
Please provide clear and comprehensive responses to questions in this section.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate a financial need for Pathway Funding in
order to deliver the project. Failure to demonstrate financial need for Pathway
Fund support, will result in the application being deemed ineligible.
The Financial Assessment will be conducted prior to scoring the application and
scoring will only proceed if the project meets all eligibility criteria.
Income
The Pathway Fund is a contribution towards the overall costs of a project.
Applicants must demonstrate that no alternative funding is in place to provide the
service outlined in this application and that without support from the Pathway Fund
the proposed project will not go ahead.
All applicants are required to detail all current sources of funding received by their
organisation and separately and all sources of funding to support the project for
which Pathway Funding is sought.
You should specifically tell us if you have applied for or are in receipt of Bright Start
School Age Childcare Grant Scheme funding and provide the Bright Start reference
as it appears on offer letters you have received from the Childcare Partnerships (ex-
ample: SAC/N/01).
You should specifically tell us if you are in receipt of, or waiting for confirmation of
PSEP funding; or if your project is in the Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP)
or linked to provision of the PSEP. The DENI reference must be provided for PSEP
funding. If linked to delivery of the PSEP the application must clearly state the link-
ages.
Applicants should also indicate if other grants have been applied for, note the ex-
pected date of decision and affirm that Early Years - the organisation for young chil-
dren will be notified as soon as the decision is known. Any funding awarded may be
adjusted if other funding is received.
Applicants must also advise Early Years – the organisation for young children if they
apply for other funding before their Pathway Fund application is assessed/ awarded
and report the outcome of that application. Any funding awarded may be adjusted if
other funding is received
Detail the income you expect your project to receive and the sources e.g. fees, dona-
tions, sponsorship, grants etc.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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Annual Accounts
Please provide details of your most recent annual accounts, no earlier than 2016/2017.
Reserves
The available unrestricted amount of reserves will be taken into account when considering your eligibility for financial assistance. In order to make this assessment we have asked for the level of reserves you hold and their purpose.
A Reserves Policy must also be submitted along with the application form.
Your reserves policy needs to set out:
• How much your group needs to hold in reserve and why
• How and when your reserves can be spent
• How often your reserves policy will be reviewed
• Your reserves policy needs to be signed and approved by management committee/owner manager
Restricted Funds – These are funds that are restricted and include funding lines that are for a particular purpose and therefore cannot be used for other purposes.
Long Term Reserves- these are funds that are expected to take longer than one year to liquidate and can include fixed assets and are therefore unavailable.
Unrestricted Reserves – These are reserves which are unrestricted and are available for use and may be depleted in line with your purpose and objectives.
Designated Funding – These are funds which are designated or set aside for a particular purpose and are targets for a specific use and therefore unavailable. The designated amount should be reasonable for the purpose and evidence provided that the designation has been agreed by the management committee.
Management & Financial Controls
Financial management entails planning, organising, controlling and monitoring the financial resources of an organisation to achieve its objectives. Please provide details regarding your financial controls and associated policies and procedures e.g. financial systems used, Cash Lodging policies, details of Invoicing and Payments.
Expenditure
Applicants should complete these tables as accurately as possible. The information provided by you in these tables is final and no further clarifications will be sought by Early Years – the organisation for young children.
Expenditure must be essential in respect of The Pathway Fund project and the application must clearly demonstrate why it is essential.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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Staff Costs
A full job description including salary scale and qualifications required should be included for every post related to the project for which you are applying funding.
Applicants should detail all costs associated with staff in relation to the project. Please ensure accuracy of information provided and be cognisant of start dates of staff members and apply pro-rata entitlements as appropriate.
Operating Costs
Applicants should detail all operating costs in relation to the project for which you are applying for funding where these are shared with other projects, an apportionment should be applied.
Resources and Equipment Costs
Pathway Fund is not a Capital Fund, so large items of equipment will not be funded. Applicants may detail minor equipment/resources i.e. items which would not appear as a capital item in the organisations accounts.
Training Costs
Costs for training that is essential to the outcomes identified in your project should be detailed.
Total Expenditure
Please complete the table to indicate the total Staff, Operating, Resources/Equipment and Training costs as outlined previously for Current year.
3. Cost per Child
Cost per child is calculated by dividing the total amount requested from the Fund by the number of children in the proposed project.
The standard allowance for cost per child is up to £1,500.
In exceptional circumstances, where there is compelling need for the services (this must be evidenced), up to £2,000 per child may be allowed.
4. Registered Provider / Facilitator
Applicants must be a registered provider or a facilitator of registered provision of early years education and learning, focused on children 0-4years.
If a provider, please record your Health and Social Care Trust registration details.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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5. Duplication of existing early years
Please provide details of other registered provision in your area and demonstrate that you are not duplicating that provision.
6. Displacement of existing provision
Please describe details of other registered provision in your area and demonstrate that you are not displacing that provision. N.B: children not receiving a place on the Sure Start Developmental Programme for 2-3 Year Olds will have their needs met by alternative Sure Start provision in accordance with the Sure Start Progressive Universalism model. Unless an applicant has evidence that a Sure Start project is not meeting this requirement, they should not use unmet Developmental Programme for 2-3 Year Olds (or other Sure Start) demand as evidence of need for their project. A list of the current Sure Start Developmental Programmes for 2-3 Year Olds is at Annex 4
7. Minimum Standards for Childminding and Day Care
You should provide details of the dates of your most recent Social Services and Education and Training Inspectorate inspections, including the outcome.
8. Safeguarding Policies and Governance
As a minimum we expect you to:
• Have safeguarding policies in place that are appropriate to your organisation’s work and the project you are asking us to fund.
• Review your safeguarding policies at least every year and demonstrate that they are being complied with.
• Complete a rigorous recruitment and selection process for staff and volunteers who work with children, young people or vulnerable adults, including checking criminal records and taking up references.
• Follow statutory or best practice guidance on appropriate ratios of staff or volunteers to children, young people or vulnerable adults.
• Provide child protection and health and safety training or guidance for staff and volunteers.
• Carry out a risk assessment, if appropriate.
• Have appropriate fraud prevention and detection policies and procedures in place.
• Secure extra insurance cover if appropriate.
You are affirming that these are in place by signing this document.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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Section D - Assessment Criteria Your application will be assessed against the four priority criteria of the Pathway Fund. You must describe how and to what extent the project you are proposing meets the criteria in the following section.
(i) Providing quality education and learning services in areas of
social disadvantage to address both educational and social
disadvantage (30 marks)
Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 Northern Ireland (MDM)
Education Skills and Training Deprivation Domain (EDM)
http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/AreaProfile.aspx?Menu=True
Please see Annex 2 for a full visual walkthrough of navigating this website and gathering the correct information relevant to your Super Output Area(s).
This criterion asks you to focus on how you will provide quality education and learning services in areas of social disadvantage to address both education and social disadvantage
You are asked to identify the Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 and the Education, Skills and Training Deprivation ranking for the Super Output Area(s) in which you deliver your service.
You should tell us the percentage of the project’s services which will be delivered in the top 25% most disadvantaged areas for each measure.
You should tell us the number of children to be supported by the Pathway Fund within the project, within the top 25% most disadvantaged areas.
You may also use relevant statistics, research or consultation to demonstrate that you are addressing social and educational disadvantage in your area. You should tell us about what the education and learning service is and how you will ensure that it is of high quality e.g. you may be using an evidence based or informed programme or you may be implementing a quality improvement programme with measurable benefits.
You should tell us how you know that the education and learning service you propose is a quality one and how it will address education and social disadvantage.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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(ii) Ensuring children with additional needs receive appropriate
early years support (30 marks)
You should tell us how many children with additional needs your project will support,
describe the needs your project will address and describe how your project intends
to address the identified needs.
SEN is defined in the code of Practice (DENI 1998) as:
“A child has SEN if he/she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational
provision to be made to him/her”
A child has a learning difficulty if he/she:
• Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of a
similar age
• Has a disability which hinders the child from making use of the educational
facilities of a kind provided for children of the same age
• Is under five and falls within (1) or (2) above or would if special provision was not
made for the child
SN/Additional needs - is the full range of significant needs a child may have:
• Learning Difficulties
• Specific learning Difficulties
• Emotional or Behavioural Difficulties
• Medical Condition
• Physical Development
• Visual Impairment
• Speech or Language Difficulties
• Hearing Impairment
You should tell us how your project will provide improved early years support for
children with additional needs.
You should tell us what the situation is now (your baseline) and how you will improve
it, e.g. you may want to include more children with additional needs, you may want to
improve the type of service you offer for children with additional needs, you may
want to further develop the range of people you work with to support children with
additional needs.
You need to tell us how you will improve the support for children with additional
needs and how you will know that you are doing that.
You need to tell us how your project will enhance greater understanding of the
identification of children with additional needs.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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(iii) Provision of services and support to children at risk of harm
(30 marks)
You should tell us about the risks that children are experiencing and how your
project intends to address those risks and improve the situation of these children.
Children who are at risk of not developing their full potential within the school
system.
Various groups of children for a variety of reasons may face additional barriers to
education and learning, making it more difficult for them to reach their full potential.
These include children who are experiencing poor home leaning environments,
children with additional physical or intellectual needs and children where English is
not a first language. Support for physical, emotional, social, health needs and home
learning environments improves the opportunities for children at risk of not
developing their full potential.
You should describe the improvements that your project will make to address key
risks and barriers to children’s future development and improve their chances of
overcoming these barriers.
You should tell us how you know that your proposed project will overcome these
barriers e.g. are you using an evidence based or evidence informed approach, have
you in place a method of establishing how you are doing now in relation to this and
the improvement you will bring about.
You should tell us how your project will promote greater understanding of children’s
future development and the factors that influence that.
(iv) Addressing access to/improvement of infrastructure of
services in rural and other areas where there is little or no
early years provision (30 marks)
You should describe the nature of your area (rural/other) and tell us what other
provision there is in the area and how your project will improve access
You should follow this link:
http://www.nisra.gov.uk/geography/UrbanRural.htm
and select the ‘Settlement 2015 Look Up Table’ (this will open in a separate Excel
spreadsheet). This table will allow you to identify whether the Super Output Area(s)
in which your project is delivered is classified as rural or urban. Please see Annex 3
for a full visual walkthrough of navigating this website and gathering the correct
information.
You should describe the range and type of existing early years provision in your area
by identifying the type of service, the numbers and age range of children it caters for.
You should tell us why you consider that there is little or no early years provision in
your area.
You should describe the gap in service in your area e.g. target age range, type of
service, numbers of children and how you believe your proposed service will address
this gap in your area.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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Section E – Checklist Please check through the list and make sure to include all the required documents
when you send us your application form. Make sure you tick each box that is
relevant to your application.
All questions on the form have been answered.
Two copies of completed application form enclosed to include one signed original and One copy
Supporting documentation
Job description for all posts included in your project costs.
Reserves policy
Evidence of Designated Funds (If any)
Governing document or set of rules enclosed.
Latest Annual Accounts or statement of projected income and expenditure enclosed.
Three consecutive months of original bank/building society account statement
N.B: If you have stated costs per child of more than £1,500, do not send evidence with this application form – this will be viewed at site visit if an award is made.
Copies of all the above supporting documents should be posted with your
application.
Any supporting documents received after the closing date will not be considered.
Only applications that are accompanied by all necessary documentation will
be assessed.
Applications that do not include the required documentation will be deemed
ineligible. There will be no further opportunity to submit documentation
available to applicants.
Declaration
One signature is required to endorse your application. This should be the lead
member of staff or member of the Management Committee.
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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Selection Process
An eligibility check will be carried out on each application in line with the guidance
provided on pages 13-16. Only those applications meeting all eligibility factors will
be assessed and scored.
All eligible application will be assessed and scored according to relevant criteria us-
ing the scoring system set out within these guidance notes.
Funding will be allocated in ranked priority in line with this scoring process.
Successful Applications
Successful applicants will be subject to pre-contract checks to ensure their eligibility
to handle public funds.
Applicants will be issued with a letter of outcome from the Pathway Fund setting out
whether or not they are successful and if successful the amount of award.
Successful applicants will be further issued with a Letter of Offer from the Pathway
Fund, setting out the conditions under which funding is offered to support the pro-
posed activity, the amount of funding offered and the payment terms.
Successful applicants will be required to provide evidence which informs of
achievement of outcomes for children ages 0-4 years.
The Letter of Offer will specify how much money an applicant has been awarded, the
length of the funding period, how payment will be made and the conditions attached
to the funding award. In accepting the funding, the applicant will be required to sign a
form indicating that they are prepared to fulfil these conditions.
The Letter of Offer Acceptance Form should be returned within one week of issue.
No funding will be issued until this form is received and all (as necessary) pre-
conditions are met. Successful applicants will be required to abide by any conditions
set out in the Letter of Offer and to comply with any monitoring and evaluation ar-
rangements. Where allowance of higher than £1,500 average costs per child has
been given, the offer is provisional and subject to review of supporting evidence on
site visit.
Funding is awarded for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 only. There
should be no inference of funding or commitments made on the basis of Path-
way funding beyond this period.
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Pathway Fund Scoring System
Criterion Maximum Score
1 Pathway Fund Criteria 1.1 Providing quality education and learning services in areas
of social disadvantage to address both educational and social disadvantage;
1.2 Ensuring children with additional needs receive appropri-
ate early years support;
1.3 Provision of services and support to children at risk of harm
1.4 Addressing access to/improvement of infrastructure of
services in rural and other areas where there is little or no early years provision
30
30
30
30
Maximum Total Number of Marks
120
Pathway Fund Guidance Notes for Stream B Applications 2018/19
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Completed Applications should be sent to:
Completed applications forms and supporting documents should be sent to:
The Pathway Fund
Early Years – the organisation for young children
6c Wildflower Way
Apollo Road
Boucher Road
BELFAST
BT12 6TA
Applications for Stream A must be received by 4:00pm on Friday the 9th March 2018
Postal (Royal Mail or Courier Service) applications ONLY. Please retain proof of postage
You cannot submit the application form or any supporting evidence after the closing time and date.
Hand delivered or emailed applications will not be accepted.
NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE
Acknowledgement of receipt of your application will be emailed within five working
days of the closing date for application.
Should you not receive this acknowledgement you should contact Early Years,
providing your proof of postage.
Please note only applications received by post will be considered and you need to
plan for this when preparing your application.
The Application Form cannot be amended after receipt at Early Years Headquarters
and evaluation will be based only on the information and evidence contained therein
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ANNEX 1
Department of Education - National Fraud Initiative – Fair Pro-cessing Notice
The Department of Education is required by law to protect the public funds it administers. It
may share information provided to it with other bodies responsible for auditing or
administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud.
Data matching exercises
The Comptroller and Auditor General audits the accounts of the Department of Education.
The Comptroller and Auditor General is also responsible for carrying out data matching
exercises under his powers in Articles 4A to 4G of the Audit and Accountability (Northern
Ireland) Order 2003.
Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other
computer records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. This is
usually personal information. Computerised data matching allows fraudulent claims and
payments to be identified.
Where a match is found it indicates that there may be an inconsistency that requires further
investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other
explanation until an investigation is carried out.
The Comptroller and Auditor General currently requires us to participate in a data matching
exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide
particular sets of data to the Comptroller and Auditor General for matching. Details are set
out in the Northern Ireland Audit Office’s website, www.niauditoffice.gov.uk.
The use of data by the Comptroller and Auditor General in a data matching exercise is
carried out with statutory authority. It does not require the consent of the individuals
concerned under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Data matching by the Comptroller and Auditor General is subject to a Code of Practice. This
may be found at www.niauditoffice.gov.uk.
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ANNEX 2
About Your Project - Super Output Area information
Please visit http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/AreaProfile.aspx?Menu=True
Please follow the steps below to provide the information required on your application.
Step 1: Insert your postcode and select SOA under the ‘Geography’ drop down. Click the arrow
highlighted to continue to next step.
Step 2: From the results click on your ‘geography’.
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Step 3: The next screen opens with the ‘Population 2015’ tab as default. Please select the
‘Deprivation 2010’ tab for the information required for application.
Step 4: The information required for application is highlighted below:
• Multiple Deprivation Measure Rank
• Education Skills and Training Deprivation Rank
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ANNEX 3
1. Select the Excel Spreadsheet icon as shown below:
https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/settlement-2015-documentation
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2. This will open a separate Excel Spreadsheet document. Select the ‘SOA2011’ tab as
shown below.
3. Find the Super Output Area/s your project will be delivered, under the ‘SOA Name’ col-
umn as shown below, to identify whether it is classified as ‘Rural, Urban or Mixed Ur-
ban/Rural’ e.g. Super Output Area ‘Aldergrove_1’ would be classified as ‘Rural’.