Grant News

Special needs schools and colleges can apply for grants between £25,000 and £75,000 for new buildings, refurbishment projects, or equipment. The funding is available through the Wolfson Foundation's Funding for Special Schools and Colleges grants programme.

The funding is available for projects focused on helping pupils at secondary level develop skills that will help them gain employment or live independently after leaving school or college.  

The applicant organisation should meet all of the following criteria:

• be a registered charity, local authority
• be registered with the relevant regulatory authority, where applicable, and have at least a good rating

The project should be for a new building, refurbishment work or equipment and aim to produce one or more of the following outcomes:

• Increased access to services for new and existing users
• Improved quality and range of services
• Improved financial stability of the organisation

Previous projects supported include:

• a grant of £16,000 to the Lindsworth School in Birmingham for the refurbishment of an on-site house for Independent Living Skills programme;
• a grant of £25,000 to BeyondAutism for the Redevelopment of Rainbow School’s Earlsfield Campus, South London; and 
• Victoria School and Specialist Arts College in Birmingham which received a grant of £35,000 towards a Food Technology Room.

Projects requesting £50,000 or more need to have matched funding in place.

The closing date for Stage 1 applications is the 5th January 2025. Applications successful at this stage will have until the 1st March 2025 to complete the stage 2 application.