Childcare Support Fund: how to apply

Supporting information

The fund is open to third sector organisations that are already working closely with low-income families. Applicants must be able to demonstrate a minimum grant amount spend of £250,000 and strong links to relevant local services and childcare provision.

Applications must be submitted by 3 July 2026. The fund is time-limited to 2026 to 2027 and aims to support immediate needs while enabling families to move towards longer-term childcare solutions.

How applications will be assessed 

Applications will be scored against the following criteria, which cover strategic alignment, value for money, deliverability and impact:

• extent to which the proposal aligns with the Whole Family Support approach set out in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan in Bringing Hope, Building Futures 
• extent to which the proposal clearly links to one or more of the three drivers of child poverty reduction, with a particular focus on increasing earned incomes 
• evidence that the proposal prioritises low-income familiesfrom one or more of the six priority family types 
• evidence that the proposal will provide childcare support to families at key times of transition or challenge when the cost and availability of childcare is a barrier to drivers of child poverty reduction 
• evidence that the proposal will enable flexible, needs-led decision making aboutcare support, informed by families’ circumstances and, where appropriate, community and lived experience insight 
• evidence that capacity, capability and governance arrangements are in place which will enable delivery at pace during the 2026 to 2027 financial year, including the ability to manage public funds, agree families’ childcare needs, and administer payments to registered childcare providers
• evidence that the proposal fills a local or national gap or challenge in childcare support and complements, rather than duplicates existing services or financial support 
• evidence that the proposal has been, or will be, developed alongside local and/or national partners from across sectors. This will include registered childcare services. Depending on local context this may include local partnerships, statutory and non-statutory services, and employability services and wider whole family support provision 
• evidence that the proposal has a clear plan for monitoring, evaluation and learning to support sustainability and inform future investment decisions. This should tell us how funding is being used, the types of childcare barriers are being addressed, the scale of delivery, and the outcomes achived for families 
• evidence that the proposed geographical reach, numbers of families to be supported, and predicted impact is proportionate to the funding applied for 
• proposal is fully costed and clearly demonstrates value for money. This should include 
• how the proposal will maximise the proportion of spend that goes directly toward funding or subsidising the cost of places in registered childcare services;How applicants intend to purpose their resources to deliver reasonable delivery and staffing costs
• why Scottish Government funding is required to address the identified childcare barriers
• how delivery during 2026 to 2027 will inform future approaches to supporting families with childcare costs

A full definition of value for money is in the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

An assessment panel will score applications and make recommendations to Ministers, who will decide on allocations.