Grants & Funding Opportunities for Schools
Arts
The Teacher Development Fund from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation aims to support primary school arts-based teaching.
All state-funded schools in England are eligible to set up an Into Film Club to gain access to thousands of free films, educational resources and access to exclusive events, including Into Film Festival.
Books
LoveReading4Kids funding for schools scheme offers funding for state schools to buy books for children to read for pleasure.
Bookmark reading charity offers books, grants and other support to schools in areas of above-average income deprivation affecting children. To check the other criteria and see what programmes it offers, go to its programmes, grants and resources page.
Breakfast Clubs
Magic Breakfast works with schools to offer healthy breakfasts to pupils in the UK. You'll need to submit an expression of interest form and Magic Breakfast will get in touch when it has enough funding. At least 35% of your pupils should be eligible for the pupil premium.
Tesco Stronger Starts offers funding for projects that focus on food security, children and young people (such as breakfast clubs or food banks).
Capital Projects
The Clothworkers' Foundation offers funding towards capital projects, such as building renovations, or to purchase fixtures, fittings, equipment or vehicles.
The Garfield Weston Foundation supports capital projects for schools with charitable status.
Special schools and colleges can apply to The Wolfson Foundation for capital funding for building refurbishments, new buildings and equipment.
Solar for Schools helps to finance solar panel systems for schools.
Classics
The Classical Association offers grants to schools to support the study of classical topics. It also provides CPD events for school teachers of classical subjects.
Classics for All helps state schools across the UK to introduce or develop the teaching of classical subjects, in the form of free training and resources.
The Roman Society offers funding to promote the teaching of Latin and Roman studies. Grants are mainly for purchasing textbooks and resources, but they can also be used for study days - especially if they benefit large numbers of pupils throughout the year and can be repeated in future years.
Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies offers grants to cover the costs of developing new courses in Greek, teaching materials, Greek plays and Classics days or conferences.
Charitable Organisations with an Education Focus
A list of charities based in the UK with contextual information: Educational charities
Educational Trusts Forum: an association of educational trusts that work together and individually to give young people the best start in life through supporting their home circumstances and facilitating a good education. Each member charity is independent and has its own criteria for making awards. They can provide assistance to parents and guardians to support their children: https://educational-grants.org/find-charity/?all=1
Turn2Us: Turn2us is a national charity providing practical information and support to end financial insecurity. They support families and individuals: https://grants-search.turn2us.org.uk/
Charity Excellence: finds funders for small charities:
· https://www.charityconnect.co.uk/post/trusts-that-fund-education/4513
· https://www.charityexcellence.co.uk/
· https://www.charityexcellence.co.uk/Home/BlogDetail?Link=New_UK_Charity_Grant_Funders
Charity Choice lists charities that provide funds to students, schools, colleges and universities: https://www.charitychoice.co.uk/charities/education-and-training
London School of Economics: list of grant giving bodies who sponsor a range of students to complete university level study: https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/financial-support/grant-making-bodies
Grants Online: lists all grants available in the UK for education and training purposes. These can be accessed by schools, settings and education providers. Includes lists of regionally funded projects: https://www.grantsonline.org.uk/news/education-and-training/
Funds Online provides a list of funders to charities:
· https://www.dsc.org.uk/publication/the-directory-of-grant-making-trusts-2024-25/
Community Projects
The UK Community Foundations website has details and links to the 47 accredited community foundations in the UK, each of which has funding streams available that target particular issues in their area.
Funds are available to local communities to help with the disruption that will be caused by the construction of HS2 between London and the West Midlands; the Community and Environment Fund and the Business and Local Economy Fund.
Disadvantaged Children
BBC Children in Need - Emergency Essentials Programme is for children and young people up to the age of 17 who are facing exceptionally difficult circumstances. It funds critical items such as clothing and bedding.
The Trussell Trust's foodbanks can be found using this searchable map.
Family Action runs Food On Our Doorstep (FOOD) clubs that provide low-cost groceries. Families can find their nearest club here.
The charity Merlin's Magic Wand offers tickets to Merlin Group attractions for young people with disabilities, serious or long-term illnesses; those in care or foster homes or adopted; those impacted by domestic violence, abuse, bullying or serious crime; those with a terminally ill or recently deceased parent/carer or sibling; and young carers.
Variety, the children's charity, offers grants for specialist equipment that will directly benefit or support children with disabilities.
Educational Projects
Educational charities based in the United Kingdom
The Hargreaves Foundation takes applications at any time to fund projects or purchases to support children living in poverty, or with a disability or a mental health condition.
Blue Spark Foundation offers grants for educational, cultural, sporting and other projects that aim to improve the education and development of children.
The National Lottery Community Fund offers funding to support community projects and also larger projects. Schools must show that their project will involve, and have a positive impact on, the wider community.
Environmental & Outdoor Projects
Sea-Changers gives one-off grants to schools and other organisations to carry out activities related to marine conservation.
The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association gives funding and practical assistance to community gardens and green sites across London.
The Green Schools Project runs the Zero Carbon Schools programme every year. It's a cross-curricular programme for years 4 to 8, and includes staff CPD sessions.
Gardening
The Country Trust offers a 'Farm in a Box' cross-curricular programme free for eligible schools. It contains resources and activities for learning about and growing a particular food. To be eligible, your school must have an ever 6 FSM rate of above 25.9% or be a special school, primary pupil referral unit, or have a high percentage of pupils receiving the service pupil premium.
The Woodland Trust invites schools to apply for trees to plant in their grounds. There are 2 delivery periods, in March and November.
B&Q runs a community reuse scheme across its stores, donating surplus gardening and DIY materials to be used by local schools and community groups. You can register through the online platform Neighbourly, selecting your nearest store and the items you're interested in receiving.
Geography
The Royal Geographical Society offers funding for geography teachers at secondary level to develop imaginative and creative educational resources with the help of a university collaborator.
Health
The period products scheme is available to all maintained schools and DfE-funded 16 to 19 colleges in England. It provides free period products to any pupils who need them in school.
Languages
The Institute of Education offers a primary Mandarin toolkit, which is free to download, to introduce Mandarin at your school.
The Goethe Institut offers free resources, training and educational opportunities for schools teaching German. It also offers free mentoring for schools.
The Spanish Embassy Education Office offers some free resources and links for teaching Spanish at primary and A-level.
Institut Francaise Royaume-Uni offers free training and resources for French teachers.
Music, Heritage & Crafts
The Radcliffe Trust offers grants principally in 2 sectors: music, and heritage and crafts.
RE
The Jerusalem Trust supports the teaching of Christianity within RE by awarding grants to state-funded primary and secondary schools for the purchase of resources.
SEND
The Clothworkers' Foundation offers funding towards capital projects. Grants can be used for building renovations, or to purchase fixtures, fittings, equipment or vehicles.
Variety, the children's charity, offers grants for specialist equipment that will directly benefit or support children with disabilities.
Sports
A number of grants are available to schools from Sport England.
The Football Foundation offers grants for a range of improvements and equipment for football pitches.
Alpkit Foundation provides small awards for outdoor skills and activities:
STEM
The Engage Teacher Network brings together STEM teachers in schools in challenging circumstances. Engage funding is available to support the CREST Awards for young people under-represented in STEM.
STEM learning offers free resources and CPD - you'll need to sign up for a free account to access some.
Computing:
The National Centre for Computing Education offers support and funding for teachers' CPD, support to offer GCSE computer science, and free resources
Computing at School offers free resources, training and community forums
Access free resources, courses and platforms from the Raspberry Pi Foundation
Engineering:
Trips
The charity Merlin's Magic Wand offers tickets to Merlin Group attractions for young people with disabilities, serious or long-term illnesses; those in care or foster homes or adopted; those impacted by domestic violence, abuse, bullying or serious crime; those with a terminally ill or recently deceased parent/carer or sibling; and young carers.
English Heritage has over 400 sites where schools can book a free self-led visit, as well as free downloadable teaching resources.
UK-German Connection gives funding to UK schools that have a partnership with a German school. Funding streams usually centre on work-focused programmes, project-based programmes and visits.
The YHA offers bursaries for schools struggling to meet the costs of residential trips. To be eligible, your school must be situated in an area of high social deprivation and have 30% or more of pupils registered for FSM or the pupil premium. Primary, secondary and special schools can apply, as well as alternative provision providers and colleges:
Happy Days Children's Charity has funding available for day trips and group activity holidays aimed at children and young people with additional needs.
The Daiwa Foundation offers grants to promote and support interaction between the UK and Japan.
The Henry Smith Foundation runs a holiday grants programme that aims to provide access to recreational trips or holidays for groups of children aged 13 or under who experience disadvantage or who have disabilities.
Information correct as at December 2025
