Scope and Remit

What is outside the scope for this funding call?

The following are generally outside the scope of Strand 1:

• Programmes that do not include staff training as a core feature of delivery;
• One-off training sessions that do not include follow-up support or clear plans to help staff embed learning into practice
• One-off talks, assembly, or awareness session that are not part of a wider approach to building school capacity
• Programmes that are not clearly linked to the 2026 RSHE statutory guidance and curriculum, particularly content relating to respectful relationships online safety and awareness, being safe, and intimate and romantic relationships
• Standalone resource packs or teaching materials that provide information or lesson ideas without accompanying implementation support, training, or structures for embedding practice

The following are generally outside the scope of Strand 2:

• Programmes that are not delivered by an external specialist organisation
• Programmes that are not clearly linked to the 2026 RSHE guidance and statutory curriculum, particularly content relating to respectful relationships, online safety and awareness, being safe and intimate and romantic relationships
• Programmes involving fewer than four sessions delivered directly to pupils.

What if my programme includes elements from both strands?

However, to support learning and evaluation across the portfolio, most projects are expected to align predominantly with one strand. Applicants should therefore apply to the strand that best reflects the main focus of their programme.

Are YEF interested in interventions that deliver other elements of the RSHE curriculum (than those listed in the call guidance)?

We are interested in receiving proposals for interventions which support healthy and respectful relationships as part of RSHE –these may build on topics not specifically outlined in the application guidance. However, the content must have a focus on healthy relationships and should complement school’s ability to meet their goals and obligations around RSHE, as outlined in the Department for Education’s statutory guidance.

Our current delivery model is exclusively for college or A-level students. Is this eligible?

No. To be eligible for funding, projects must primarily target children and young people aged 11-16 who come under the RSHE secondary curriculum. Programmes can focus on specific year groups within this age range (for example Year 8 or Year 10), as these would fall within the scope of the funding call.

My proposed programme is primarily designed for a universal cohort. However, it also includes a targeted element that works with small groups of pupils who are showing emerging risks or vulnerabilities. Would a programme with both universal and targeted components be eligible?

For the purpose of this funding round (Objective 1) we are interested in preventative work with universal (non-targeted) cohorts. We will shortly publish an Objective 2 funding round, where we will seek proposals for targeted interventions around harmful behaviours in relationships. We generally encourage applicants to only apply with their universal programmes, though we may be able to consider, on a case-by-case basis, minor targeted elements if they are integral to the model.

Can I deliver the programme beyond December 2028?

No. YEF-funded programme delivery must take place between September 2027 and December 2028, at the latest. This is due to the funding availability and also the end of YEF’s current endowment in March 2029.

Evaluation

What do you mean by ‘impact evaluation’?

An impact evaluation is a study designed to understand whether a programme or intervention causes meaningful changes in outcomes for children and young people. The impact evaluations YEF carries out compare the results of young people who received an intervention with those of young people who did not. The impact evaluation is concerned with identifying the magnitude of this difference (i.e. how big the impact was). A full glossary of YEF evaluation terms can be found here.  

The findings from impact evaluations, alongside implementation and process evaluation and cost analysis (which are included in all YEF evaluations), help inform decisions about whether a programme should be refined or improved; stop being delivered if it is harmful; or be expanded more widely if it is shown to be effective.

Can I choose a different evaluation design to a Randomised Controlled Trial?

Applicants cannot choose the evaluation design themselves. Applicants to this funding round will need to be open to a Randomised Contolled Trial of their intervention. The final evaluation approach will be determined by YEF and the independent evaluator based on factors such as the programme model, scale , feasibility of implementation and what design will produce the most robust and reliable evidence. Cluster RCTs are usually the preferred approach for many school-based trials (where schools or year groups, rather than individual pupils, are randomly allocated to receive the intervention or not), however the level of randomisation (i.e., school level/year group level /class level) will need to be agreed during the co-design phase by the successful applicants and the evaluator.

What is meant by Business As Usual (BAU)?  

Business A Usual (BAU), describes what happens for the young people or teachers who are not supported by the intervention, i.e. what is usually delivered to young people or teachers if the project and the trial were not taking place.  A Randomised Controlled Trial does not deprive a young person or teacher of any service or intervention that they would usually get as part of the business as usual practice in that school.

Data

What will happen to my personal data as an Applicant?

We will store and use this information to contact you about your application. Further information on how we process your personal data in relation to your application can be found on our website Privacy Policy.

I’m thinking about applying for a grant. How will you help me to make sure I’m collecting the right data and it’s safely stored?

All projects we fund will be paired with an independent evaluator whose data security arrangements have already been assessed by YEF. It will be your evaluator’s responsibility to make sure the right data is collected and securely stored as part of the evaluation. Successful applicants will need to work with their evaluators to make sure they can collect the right data on the children who take part in their projects. All evalautions under YEF will require evaluators to receive ethical approval from a relevant research ethics committee, and this will include the data arrangements for the evaluation data.

Will any participant data be stored beyond the trial timelines?

At the end of all YEF evaluations pseudonymised data from the evaluation is transferred into YEF’s data archive for longer term research. You can read our guidance on the YEF data archive here.

School recruitment

Do I need to have schools onboarded and recruited before I can apply?

No. Applicants do not need to have schools formally recruited or confirmed at the application stage. At this stage, we are primarily interested in your organisation’s ability and readiness to recruit and engage schools successfully. This includes your experience of delivering programmes in school settings, existing relationships with schools, and your plans for recruitment and mobilisation.

Projects funded through this funding round will be expected to be open to participating in a Randomised Controlled Trial where, participating schools or year groups within schools may be randomly allocated to a control group and therefore may not receive the intervention. As a result, schools should be recruited to participate in the evaluation trial, rather than being guaranteed direct access to the intervention itself.

For this reason, we generally advise against asking schools to formally commit to being part of the trial before evaluation arrangements have been agreed.

We expect to work collaboratively with successful applicants and the independent evaluator to agree the most appropriate locations, scale, recruitment approach, and evaluation design for each project during the co-design phase. Given that we aim to have a number of projects and evaluations under this funding round, we will also work collaboratively across these projects to avoid competing recruitment of schools.

Can we recruit schools we have worked with before?

In most cases, we would expect projects to recruit schools that have not previously participated in the programme or received related training or support. This helps reduce the risk of ‘contamination’ within the evaluation and strengthens confidence in the findings.

However, we recognise that many organisations delivering RSHE and VAWG prevention work are already well established within school systems and may have existing relationships with a large number of schools, particularly where programmes involve teacher training or wider-school approaches.

In these cases, some flexibility may be possible. For example, schools may still be eligible if they have not participated in the programme, received training, or engaged with the intervention within an agreed period of time (for example, within the past year).

There may also be greater flexibility for programmes that are delivered directly to pupils by specialist delivery staff (as for strand 2), rather than being implemented by teachers or embedded through school-wide training and practice.

Final decisions on eligibility and recruitment approaches will be made in discussion with successful applicants and the independent evaluator in the co-design phase to ensure the evaluation remains robust and feasible.

Application eligibility

Can I submit more than one application to the Funding Round?

Yes, applicants can submit an application Strand 1 and/or Strand 2. However, each application must clearly meet the scope and criteria of the relevant strand.

Are programmes that have received funding from YEF previously eligible? 

Yes. If you have an ongoing project with YEF then we will seek to understand the capacity you have to take on this new YEF project as part of the assessment of your proposal.

Can you accept applications from individuals or community groups?

We are only able to accept applications from legally constituted organisations. Individuals and community groups which are not considered legally constituted organisations are ineligible.

Will you accept programmes which are very small-scale?

We are looking to fund programmes that are ready for a robust impact evaluation and organisations with the capacity to participate in a such an evaluation. 

Programmes that are currently operating at a very small scale, or organisations that have limited experience of delivering at the kind of scale required, may not be suitable for this funding round – please refer to the ‘Readiness for evaluation’ section of the guidance. 

Is specialist content centred around LGBT relationships eligible for this funding round?

We are looking primarily for universal provision of healthy relationship components of the RSHE curriculum. Programmes may support a limited amount of specialist content within this, but it should not be the primary focus of the programme. For example, a 6-session programme may have 1 session dedicated to LGBT relationships, though in general the content should be applicable to a wide range of pupils. Applicants are expected to support schools to meet their RSHE requirements, as set out in the DfE’s 2026 RSHE guidance – which requires that students in secondary schools are taught about same-sex relationships.

I am very happy with my programme design. What happens if I am not comfortable with the independent evaluators recommending changes to it?

We recognise that organisations may already have well-developed and established delivery models. However, as part of the evaluation process, we need to ensure that the programme can be robustly evaluated and that its key components can be tested reliably within an RCT context.

This means that successful applicants will work collaboratively with the independent evaluator and YEF during the co-design phase. As part of this process, evaluators may review programme materials and suggest refinements to support evaluation feasibility, consistency of delivery, or implementation quality.

In some cases, this could include recommendations relating to areas such as the number or sequencing of sessions; clarity around core programme components; implementation expectations across schools; or how outcomes are measured and monitored.

We do not anticipate major changes to organisations’ core delivery models, and in some cases no changes may be needed at all. Any proposed refinements would be discussed collaboratively and would aim to strengthen the programme’s evaluability.

Budgets

Is there a maximum funding amount that organisations can apply for?

No, we have not set a maximum funding cap for this funding round. Applicants should be upfront regarding the funding required to deliver their project within the scope of an evaluation. YEF will, however, assess whether proposed budgets are proportionate to the scale and scope of delivery and whether they represent good value for money.

If your application is shortlisted, there will be a further opportunity to review and refine the budget during the co-design phase with the independent evaluator and YEF. This is because some aspects of the project may change once the final delivery and evaluation design is agreed, such as:

• The evaluation design and associated requirements
• The scale of delivery required for the evaluation (i.e., the number of schools, pupils, year groups or delivery cycles required etc)
• Implementation and staffing requirements
• The proposed programme delivery timeline and duration; and
• Roles and responsibilities relating to the evaluation, including activities such as data collection, coordination, or project management.

This process is intended to ensure that project budgets are feasible, proportionate, and aligned with the final agreed delivery and evaluation model.

What costs will you cover?

The fund can cover both staff costs and non-staff delivery costs directly related to the programme.

This may include, for example:

• Programme delivery staff;
• Training and facilitation costs;
• Materials and resources;
• Travel;
• Venue costs;
• Programme management;
• Translation and interpreter costs;
• Safeguarding and supervision support; and
• Reasonable organisational overheads.

All costs must be directly linked to the proposed delivery of the programme and participation in the evaluation.

Do I need to justify all costs?

Please provide a brief justification next to all budget lines to support our assessment. We will assess whether proposed costs are reasonable, represent value for money and are proportionate to the scale and delivery of the programme.

Will you cover overheads costs?

Yes. Reasonable organisational overhead costs can be included within the budget. We would not expect these to be more than 20% of the total budget and we would require explanation of what these overhead costs involve and how they are calculated.

Should I include VAT in my budget?

YEF funding is through grants. This means that organisations should not be charging VAT on their own costs of the delivery of the intervention (such as staff salaries, use of organisational assets etc) as part of their budget request to YEF. However, where organisations need to purchase services or equipment from third party suppliers to deliver the intervention (such as the purchase of laptops or hiring of venues) and these suppliers charge VAT on these purchases, these VAT costs are eligible to be included in your budget.