Henry Smith Foundation Announces New Early Years Parenting Fund

This new fund is part of the Henry Smith Foundation’s Getting Started funding priority, which supports families to give young people a strong start in life.

This is the first year of a five-year programme where the focus is on improving children’s outcomes via parenting support. It is expected that the fund will be adapted during the next five years, for example, the next round in 2027 will focus on organisations with the same strong community connections but with developing evidence bases. Future rounds might focus on different parent groups.

The funding aims to improve the development of children most at risk of poor Early Childhood Development (ECD) outcomes, by investing in effective parenting support. The first round is focused on communities where outcome gaps are largest.

Charitable organisations should be working closely with and understand parents with children aged newborn to five years from:

  • Black (Caribbean or African, Any Other Black), Pakistani, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveler communities and/or
  • Growing up in the most deprived 20% areas nationally (using the official deprivation index for that nation).

The funding aims to support organisations that are trusted by the communities they serve and that can evidence the difference their work makes.

Charitable organisations with an annual income between £100,000 and £5 million can apply for a total grant of £225,000 (£56,250 per year for four years). The fund also provides support and relationship-building.

The funding is flexible – grants can be used towards general running costs – and is to be used for work that helps achieve the following objectives:

  • Improve children’s outcomes across physical development through support for effective parenting
  • More families accessing support that feels culturally relevant, safe and responsive
  • Learn what works best for groups most at risk of poor early childhood outcomes to influence public sector service and other support

In this fund, ‘parents’ refer to anyone with a primary caregiving role for a young child. Applications are welcome from organisations supporting a wide range of caregivers of children aged newborn to five.

A live launch webinar will be held on 2nd June 2026 (11am to 12pm) with a recording and transcript available for those who are unable to attend the live event.

For more information and how to apply visit their website.

Expressions of Interest will be accepted from 3rd June (9am) to 1st July 2026 (5pm).

Share
LinkedIn
Facebook
WhatsApp
Email
Print

See More...

Subscribe

VAC + Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

40% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

25% Discount on Virtual Office – Perfect for start ups or smaller organisations, our Virtual Office service offers a postal address, pigeonhole and reception facilities.

25% Discount on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.  As a VAC + Member, you will receive a considerable discount on all VAC Training and Events.

VAC Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector. 

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.