Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund

The Happy Early Years (HEY!) Fund was 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 could nominate a parent to lead on a project, however we required 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 didn’t have to be part of a constituted group to apply. You just needed 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.

No. Funds are 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 needed 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.

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.

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.