Children and families

Early years provider grants are now closed

The application window for the early years expansion grant, wraparound childcare capital grant and wraparound childcare revenue grant closed at midnight on Tuesday 2nd October.

Wraparound Childcare Capital Grant

The Government has awarded us money to increase before and after school care for primary school children from September 2024 until March 2026. This funding has two element – capital and revenue. This page tells you how to apply for the capital amount.

Application window opens: Wednesday 28th August 2024
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 2nd October 2024

Who can apply for this grant?

To apply for this grant you, as a provider, must:

  • be a private, voluntary or independent childcare, childminder or school operating in Liverpool
  • be registered with Ofsted, an independent schools’ inspectorate, or childminder agency
  • have an Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, or prove you can achieve either rating if you are a new setting awaiting inspection 

We cannot offer grants to a provider rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted and will only award funds to providers rates ‘requires improvement’ in exceptional circumstances.

In addition, you must:

  • prove you can offer wraparound care from 8am and 6pm from September 2024
  • prove the care you offer will be accessible for children with a range of needs
  • state the hours of operation and the number of new places you can offer, and why you think these places are needed 
  • prove you can provide transport where provision is off site 

What can this grant be spent on?

This grant is split into two elements – the ‘capital’ element and a ‘revenue’ element. This grant is solely for the capital element. Find out how to apply for the Wraparound Childcare Revenue Grant.

The capital element which you are now applying for, can be spent on:

  • building work to improve the use of the space or build new spaces – for instance, to improve or secure access to previously unused areas, or create indoor floor space or add outdoor classrooms to increase the number of childcare places
  • building work to deliver additional, inclusive, early years childcare places
  • improve storage to enable indoor space to be used more effectively in the delivery of additional childcare places
  • new physical assets such as additional tables, chairs, shelving and essential resources – these assets must continue to be in a useable state for more than one financial year

If your childcare setting also has domestic premises, we must be satisfied that the grant will be used to improve the childcare provision.

What must this grant not be spent on?

You cannot apply for this grant to do the following:

  • carry out routine maintenance or refurbishment of premises
  • pay for revenue expenditure of any kind, such as training or staff costs, or resources and assets such as toys, books or clothing
  • maintaining or improving the condition of a school estate 
  • improve or enhance areas that have no direct relation to increasing childcare places 

Please read the full conditions for the Wraparound Childcare Capital Grant.

How to apply for this grant

Please use the form linked below to apply for the grant before Wednesday 2nd October 2024. You will need the following documents to hand to upload as evidence to complete your application form:

  • insurance certificate
  • business plan
  • current and previous years accounts
  • cashflow forecasts for three years
  • at least one itemised quote for the building work which demonstrates value for money - two further quotes will be requested before grant funds are released, if your application is successful
  • an itemised, costed list of essential resources needed

We can only consider the actual costings and number of places listed in your application form, so please make sure these are correct before you submit it.

Read our privacy notice which tells you how we use your data.

This application form is no longer available - the grant closed on 2nd October 2024

What happens next?

Once we have received your application, we will review it and the evidence you have submitted. If we need to ask you any additional questions, we will email you with them.

Your application will then be sent to the childcare grant’s panel which will determine if it is successful.

A decision on whether you will be awarded a grant will be made by Wednesday 6th November 2024.

This first grant is solely for the capital element. Find out how to apply for the revenue element. 

How much will be awarded?

If your application is successful, the minimum amount awarded will be £10,000.

How are decisions made?

Applications will be discussed by a panel which will rate the application using the criteria below:

  • creation of places based on demand and sufficiency within the ward: 30%
  • value for money: 30%
  • financial sustainability: 20%
  • deliverability timescales: 10%
  • quality of provision: 5%
  • inclusivity: 5%

What happens if an application is unsuccessful?

There is no appeals process, the panel decision is final due to limited funds, resources and a restrictive timescale for processing these grants. 

We can provide feedback on your application, highlighting the areas that received a lower score, if you email childcaregrants@liverpool.gov.uk.

Please note that there may be further rounds of funding allocations based on available funds and changes in sufficiency up until the March 2026 when the programme is due to end.

Further information and help

For help with this grant application, please email childcaregrants@liverpool.gov.uk.