Parent-infant relationship support grant

A baby’s brain is making one million neural connections every second, making pregnancy and the first 2 years so important for their healthy development. These connections are formed as a result of the interaction between parents and their babies, laying the foundations for their physical and emotional wellbeing, now and in future. Secure relationships with parents and carers positively impacts child development outcomes and reduces the likelihood of mental health difficulties.  

Approximately 50% of babies are not securely attached to their parents/carers. Attuned, responsive parenting supports secure attachment.

There is £70,000 of funding available with this grant.

Grant purpose

We are seeking to develop provision in at least 6 main Family Hubs across Dorset (at least one per locality) for parents/carers together with their babies, aiming to:

• build on existing parenting strengths 
• develop new capacities to provide the sensitive, responsive and appropriate care that their babies need to thrive

Read more about our Best Start in Life plan, Family Hubs, and the local operating context.

Reporting requirements

The project group would like to keep in touch with the grant recipient regularly during the initial delivery in the Autumn and meet quarterly thereafter. The indicators to be measured and reported are:

• number of parents and carers accessing support.
• improved understanding of parent-child relationships and attachment.
• parents and carers feel confident to use their family hub, participate in community activities and access services.

We would also like organisations to design their own additional impact measures, such as number of parents becoming volunteers, and qualitative reporting such as case studies or video pieces.

Guiding Information

Bonding with your baby - Start for Life - NHS

Evaluation of bids for this project

Evaluators will score each bid across the following five areas, each equally weighted at 20% of the total score.

• skills and experience in this field demonstrated, with an existing workforce in the Dorset area.
• robust plan for delivery detailing how the support will be offered across Dorset’s Family Hubs, and what evidence-based approaches will be used. 
• clear understanding of how this support aligns to the Mental Health pathway.
• robust systems in place for assessment of need, identification of those who require additional support.
• inclusivity, understanding the different needs of parents, carers, and their children.

Terms and conditions

All applicants will need to evidence the following prior to confirmation of award and release of funds (documentation upload at the point of application is mandatory for the larger grants projects):

• Constitution, articles of association, or set of rules 
• Public Liability and Employers Liability Insurance where applicable
• Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment policy
• Asset Lock Statement (CIC’s only) and charitable objectives clause

We reserve the right to request further documentation upon the advice of our Legal or Contracts team.

The terms and conditions for all awards are:  

• the grant can be claimed in full at the commencement of the project. To claim the grant the recipient must accept all the terms and conditions of the grant offer
• applicants will be asked to sign a standard grant agreement with full details of their grant award including terms and conditions
• applications must be submitted on the online form provided by Dorset Council
• decisions made by the grant evaluation panel for the spending of this funding are final and there is no appeals process
• Dorset Council will not accept/consider any applications received after the closing date of 11:59pm on Sunday 8 September 2024  
• partial grant awards may be made (if this has a detrimental impact on the delivery of the planned intervention, we will be open to a discussion about a change to the proposal)
• we will accept collaborative partnership applications between VCSE organisations. However, one organisation must be prepared to act as the lead organisation with which the grant agreement can be made
• we reserve the right to make changes to the guidance after its launch. We will communicate any changes as quickly as we can