The Happy Early Years (HEY!) fund has been set up to help parents, grandparents and other adult carers in the Better Start Bradford area to apply for funding up to £2500 to develop ideas and initiatives to help expectant parents and local families and their children aged 0-3 to:
- Eat well and be healthy
- Talk and communicate well
- Be confident, friendly and understand their emotions
Parents, including mums, dads, adult carers and grandparents, plus families expecting a baby.
Applicants must live in the Better Start Bradford area.
Community groups can nominate a parent to lead on a project, however we would require the community group to show evidence of how the parent will be supported to run the project and how the parent’s skills will be developed.
No, you do not have to be part of a constituted group to apply. You just need to be a parent* living in the Better Start Bradford area of Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor or Little Horton.
* An adult carer, for example, parent, foster parent, grandparent.
You need to complete a simple application form telling us your idea and how much funding you need to bring your idea to life.
The application form is available to download here on the Better Start Bradford website or you can collect this from the Better Start Bradford office.
We recommend that you read the guidance notes before completing the application form.
Please note that you need to be able to complete delivery of your project by end of June 2025.
You can apply for up to £2,500. The project needs to be completed by the end of June 2025.
No. Funds will be loaded onto a pre-paid Happy Early Years Fund card and you will use this to purchase the resources (that were approved on your application form) that you need to deliver your project.
You will need to download an app to a mobile device so that you can keep track of your spending.
The deadline of June 2024 is the final round of funding, so there will not be a further opportunity to apply for more funding.
Your project will need to be completed by end of June 2025.
No. Only parents* living in the Better Start Bradford area of Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor or Little Horton can apply to the HEY! Fund.
*An adult carer, for example, parent, foster parent, grandparent.
Yes as long as you are a parent* and live in the Better Start Bradford area of Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor or Little Horton, and your initiative benefits expectant parents and families with 0-3s, then you can apply to the Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund.
Use our postcode checker to check whether your postcode is in the Better Start Bradford area.
*An adult carer, for example, parent, foster parent, grandparent.
Yes. A ‘parent’ is an adult carer, for example, parent, foster parent, grandparent.
If you live in the Better Start Bradford area of Bowling and Barkerend, Bradford Moor or Little Horton, then you can apply to the Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund.
Use our postcode checker to check whether your postcode is in the Better Start Bradford area.
You must have delivered your intiative by end of June 2025.
However, it is up to you to decide how long your project runs for. We would not want to fund a group for less than 12 weeks, unless it is a one-off initiative.
The deadline of 14 June 2024 is the final round of funding, so there will not be a further opportunity to apply for more funding.
Your project will need to be completed by end of June 2025.
You only have to have a DBS check if you are working unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults.
If you are working with other staff that are DBS checked and you are not alone with children then you may not need a DBS. If you are the lead parent and you are working alone then you need to get a DBS check.
An initiative is a project or activity that has been developed from an idea. We want to see initiatives that help expectant parents and local families and their children aged 0-3 to:
- Eat well and be healthy
- Talk and communicate well
- Be confident, friendly and understand their emotions
Read the guidance notes for examples of initiatives that could be funded. We also suggest that you look at the HEY! Fund projects page on our website.
We accept there may be situations where an older sibling may have to attend an activity. You will need to ensure that the majority of the children involved are aged 0-3 years.
If older children are coming along remember to ensure that you have appropriate activities for them too or an activity that involves them playing alongside their younger sibling.
No, please don’t turn families away. As long as the majority are from within the Better Start Bradford area, then that would be okay.
We would still love to hear your idea, so please share it with us and we will try to buddy you up with a Better Start Bradford parent that may be willing to support your idea.
Your initiative cannot start until your HEY! Fund agreement has been signed and you have attended the ‘Before You Start’ session.
Once the agreement has been signed, we can load your funds onto your pre-paid Happy Early Years Fund card and you will use this to purchase all of your resources (that were approved on your application form).
Your project will need to be completed by end of June 2025.
The next and final deadline is Friday 14 June 2024. There will not be a further opportunity to apply for more funding.
Your project will need to be completed by end of June 2025.
