Registration FAQs
Registration process will be as follows; Youth organisations and youth groups complete the registration form online or request a paper copy for submission. EA Children and Young People’s Services will approve Child Protection Policies and where applicable Adults at Risk from Harm policies.
An EA officer will carry out a visit to your youth organisation or youth group to verify your youth work delivery model. Following approval you will be considered for funding.
There is no minimum number of young people.
It is the decision of the youth group as to how they wish to register with EA. Youth groups may also wish to seek guidance from their Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation.
If an organisation is registering as seperate sections, a separate email and account will be required on our online registration and funding portal.
The minimum requirement is one person with contact details
For Regional, Project and Regional Development there is no requirement for applicants to be registered with EA. However, for Regional Strategic, Local Area Based, Local Project and Generic/Non-targeted Funding applicants must be EA registered. The benefits of EA registration are as follows;
- enables you to apply for EA Funding
- provides authenticity and gives public assurances in relation to your governance, compliance and workforce development
- ensures that quality youth work is delivered
- ensures youth groups receive quality support
- ensures that safeguarding standards are met in relation to DE requirements
- ensures there are checks against financial accountability.
For public accountability purposes Regional Voluntary Youth Organisations within Regional Strategic Funding will be funded to work with EA registered youth groups only. The benefits of this are;
- appropriate and bone fide support services will be accessible to EA registered youth groups for the delivery of local youth work
- local EA registered youth groups will have appropriate support from, and affiliation to a bone fide and recognised Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation
- these Regional Voluntary Youth Organisations will have measures in place to provide the necessary governance, safeguarding and other processes and procedures required by local EA registered youth groups.
No. Local voluntary youth groups can register without a Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation.
Yes. you must nominate only one as your primary Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation for strategic regional support.
EA will carry out a sampling exercise of visits to youth groups in relation to numbers provided on the registration forms.
Principles FAQs
EA will adhere to the funding scheme key principles as identified for the scheme. These include an open and transparent funding scheme, equality and inclusion and flexibility in responding to emerging needs. In addition the scheme is open to new groups who did not have the opportunity to apply before therefore promoting equality and parity.
The funding scheme has been developed to continue to support universal youth work. This is very specific to Generic/Non-targeted Funding but is also applicable in funding Local Area Based Funding.
The funding scheme gives due regard to the Code of Practice for Reducing Bureaucracy in Grant Funding and will also make up front payments at the outset or after key reporting has been completed. In addition there have been proportionate monitoring and reporting processes established to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.
Local Area Based, Local Project and Generic/Non-targeted Funding will enable youth organisations and youth groups to apply for funding to support the building of links between youth and local communities.
Benchmarking will be utilised to determine levels of funding for example salaries will be benchmarked against JNC and NJC salary scales.
EA will implement a process where appropriate, for funding direct costs such as project salaries and indirect or shared costs such as overheads, based on the apportionment of the service used for the programme.
More information on full cost recovery can be found here.
EA will use the Regional and Local Assessments of Need to establish specifications for the delivery of youth work to address the identified needs. Levels of funding will therefore be based on the needs identified and services required as per specifications.
Specifications apply to Regional Project, Regional Development, Local Area Based and Local Project Funding.
Youth organisations and youth groups making application and delivering youth work will be expected to underpin their work and their plans with CRED and CRED Addendum and specifically for Regional Strategic, Regional Project, Local Area Based and Local Project Funding.
This should be evident in a youth organisation’s or youth group’s application and development plan.
Assessment of Need FAQs
There will be the publication of the EA Regional Assessment of Needs on a three year cycle which will identify where the most need is. In addition there will be continued stakeholder engagement. The Regional Advisory Group and Local Advisory Groups will continue to advise on needs and emerging needs.
EA has involved all youth organisations and youth groups in the completion of the Regional Assessment of Need through an online survey monkey which was completed by over 16,000 young people and other stakeholders in 2019. Local EA officers have engaged with a range of stakeholders to complete their local assessment of need and local area plans.
All youth organisations, youth groups and young people will have the opportunity to participate in future assessments of need and ongoing stakeholder engagement events.
Stakeholder events will be published in the news section of this site.
The Regional and Local Assessments of Need will identify where and if this is required. The EA will address the theme of paramilitarism though a specification if required.
The application process requires applicants to have provide a proven track record and to identify their engagement with local stakeholders.
Policies FAQs
These include;
- Health and Safety
- Insurance
- Child Protection
- Adults at Risk from Harm and Adults in Need of Protection where applicable.
EA will use the policies noted by you to assess your governance arrangements. The baseline for this would refer to the compliance required for the Charities Commission.
A youth organisation’s or youth group’s Child Protection Policy should include the following areas;
- Definition of abuse and signs and symptoms
- Safe recruitment
- Role of Safeguarding lead
- Reporting processes
- How parents can make a complaint
- Code of conduct
- Preventative practice
- Guidance of procedures for specific areas of youth work for example residential, educational visits, external/outside activities.
All youth organisations and youth groups must work to a constitution and Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy formally adopted and implemented by their Management Committee/Board of Directors or Executive Committee.
We have logged this request with our Child Protection Support Service within the Education Authority.
We aim to provide a response to this question by Friday 7th of February.
Please check back then for further information.
Partnership FAQs
Yes. Working in partnership will add value to your application.
No. EA encourages collaboration with statutory sector providers based on the assessment of need.
The scheme welcomes enhanced collaborative approaches and the effective deployment of resources between youth organisations and youth groups. This includes new and established partnership applications.
Partnership working is a key principle of the funding scheme but is not the sole focus for receiving funding. However collaboration and partnership working evidenced in applications will add value to an application.
EA will take account of partnerships that operate across government departments and will ask applicants to provide the name of the partner organisation/group and the money they receive which is related to the application to EA.
Funding Streams FAQs
No. The hours of opening refer only to the number of hours for face to face delivery of youth work with young people.
The allocation for Generic is based on the number of groups who apply compared to the number of hours open and the young people in attendance.
EA will use the Outcomes Framework for the delivery of outreach/detached youth work in addition to the EA Outreach and Detached Engagement Framework. Outcomes will be recorded using the EA Outcomes Accountability Framework.
The funding scheme is for the support of Regional and Voluntary Youth Organisations whose premise is built on voluntary youth work and volunteers so all streams will continue to promote and develop the work of volunteers.
Funding FAQs
Youth organisations and youth groups will be required to operate within the limits of the funding provided for the defined period of the funding.
All youth organisations and youth groups funded in 2019-2020 transitional funding
The funding available after 1 October 2020 will be the 6 funding streams as follows;
- Regional Strategic
- Regional Project
- Regional Development
- 4.Local Area Based
- Local Project
- Non Targeted/Generic
In addition EA will facilitate the allocation of funding on behalf of other funding departments such as Intervention and T:BUC Camps Programme.
The funding will be allocated as per Priorities for Youth policy using population, priority age bands, deprivation and rurality.
Up-front payments will depend on the amount of funding a youth organisation or youth group receives and is proportionate to the moderation process.
For example;
- up to £30,000 will be paid up front
- £60,000 two payments annually
- £80,000 three payments annually
- Over £80,000 four payments annually.
For up to £3,000 EA does not required receipts to be submitted.
For amounts of over £3,000 receipts will be required.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and success criteria of ongoing progression will facilitate the payment of Years 2 and 3 of the three year cycle of funding.
Yes; however, funding will be based on needs assessment so programmes may also be available on an ongoing basis for Regional Development, Regional Project and Local Project Funding.
Generic/Non-targeted Funding will be open annually in January.
The EA has provided a funding scheme as required by Priorities for Youth which has moved from the old ARNE formula, which was based solely on population.
The funding will be allocated using population, priority age bands, deprivation and rurality.
The funding scheme will support youth work that is delivered in line with DE Policy Priorities for Youth Improving the Lives of Young People and in line with Youth Work A Model for Effective Practice.
Curriculum programmes which adhere to these and have a specific focus or specialism may be funded where they meet the funding stream criteria and particularly in Regional Project and Local Project.
Yes. EA would encourage you to use the Eligibility Criteria to find out what you can apply for. EA anticipates that youth organisations and youth groups would be eligible to apply for a number of funding streams.
Application FAQs
A call for applications will launch on 3rd March 2020 with completed applications submitted by 22nd May 2020. An assessment process will be completed and successful groups notified in July 2020.
Yes. EA would encourage you to use the Eligibility Criteria to find out what you can apply for. EA anticipates that organisations would be eligible to apply for a number of funding streams.
Your proven track record can refer to work with EA registered or non EA registered youth work organisations and or youth groups and should cover at least 3 years and not more than 5 years.
Examples of evidence for proven track record could include ETI inspections, EA moderations, evaluations submitted to and also those provided by previous funders e.g. Big Lottery, Children In Need, Department of Communities.
Yes. All deadlines within the scheme will be ultimate/final deadlines.
An assessment process and scoring matrix have been devised which relate to the questions on the application forms and respective specifications where applicable.
The assessment process will be facilitated by EA along with external agencies therefore ensuring transparency in the decision making process.
Your organisation will set up its own account (one account per registration and email address) on the EA Youth Funding Portal. This is a secured account for all your current and future funding applications.
The primary step of signature verification is this login.
In addition to this you will be required to tick the agreement box to confirm you read the declaration at the end of registration and on any funding application you make.
Specifications FAQs
Specifications will be based on needs arising from the Regional and Local Assessments of Need and will identify the key themes and related youth work delivery required.
For example:
For Local Area Based Funding and Local Project Funding this may include the of area or theme of work to be delivered, the number of programmes to be delivered across a locality, the young people to be involved including numbers and age range of young people.
For Regional Development this could relate to the theme of the research required, the outputs required and the research participants.
Specifications will be released when the call for applications opens.
These will be list on this website under each of the funding stream sections here.
Transitional Funding Arrangements FAQs
EA has provided a funding scheme which will be easily accessible by all. This includes;
- an easily accessible website
- support email and phone contacts
- support sessions for new applicants
It is anticipated that all existing EA registered groups will be eligible to apply for the scheme, however, in exceptional circumstances where an existing group is unsuccessful a two year transitional funding arrangement will be available which will provide a phased reduction and cessation of historic funding.
Reporting FAQs
No. The Engagement Framework is for reporting purposes to the Department of Education (DE) on the engagement levels of young people.
Yes. The Engagement Framework is an indication of how effective your youth services are and is used for reporting purposes to the DE.
Youth organisations and youth groups will submit the required documentation i.e. annual reports, Engagement Framework etc. by the 1st June or the end of June.
Returns not made will make the organisation ineligible to receive further EA funding.
Right of Appeal FAQs
Yes. The EA has established a process for groups to appeal a decision if a group thinks that the EA did not follow the procedures for assessing applications.
Appeals will relate to a legitimate claim that the EA has not followed our decision making process correctly.
Detailed information on the Right to Appeal can be accessed here.
Online Registration FAQs
Each registration requires a unique online account using a different email address.
The system only permits one registration per email/user account.
Verification emails are automatically sent to the email address used to register.
If you have not received a verification email it maybe for one of the following reasons:
- Your email address was entered incorrectly at registration – Log on to the portal and select your name at the top right of the screen, then select my account to correct your email address
- The verification email has been considered “Junk Mail” by your email provider. Check your “Junk Mail” for the message and add the sending to your approved list to ensure you don’t miss any future emails
You can also resend a verification email again by clicking the link on your dashboard once logged into the system. This message will only appear for accounts that have not verified their email address yet.
Child Protection Policy documents must be a single file (i.e. not a collection of images or files).
The system will only accept submissions in the following formats
- Portable Document File (.pdf)
- Word Document Files (.doc, .docx)
You must select YES first to the question: “Do you work with 18-25 years olds?”
When you select yes, the upload link will appear.
Please note that the system will not accept the file if it is named the same as your Child Protection Policy. Please ensure this file has a different title.
We currently have enabled the feature for Youth Organisations to update their own registration form during the transition to an online application system.
To update your own registration:
- Log in to the Registration and Funding Application Portal here
- Select your name from the top right corner of the page
- Select My Account from the drop down menu
- When the page loads select “Eligibility” from the menu on the left hand side
- Click the Green button at the top of your form called “Update your eligibility Profile”
- You can now update your registration details.
In some cases depending on your email account provider, emails from the Registration and Application Portal may be considered “Junk Mail” or “Spam”. In most cases with the majority of emails these will be in your Junk Mail/Spam folder within your email account.
If messages from the system are in this folder you should add them to your safe or approved senders list to ensure you to receive important future notifications regarding funding and registration from EA.
In some cases the message may not be in your Junk Mail/Spam folder. We have identified this is currently an issue with BT email addresses (ending in @btinternet.com or @btopenworld.com). You should add the following email addresses under you Email providers settings:
- noreply@smapply.io
- noreply@mail.smapply.io
We have provided a step by step guide for BT email users here
