Now Open: Armed Forces Families Fund – Early Years Programme (Round 2)

The Armed Forces Families Fund: Early Years Programme is now open for its second round of applications, offering grants of £5,000 to £80,000 for projects that support early childhood education and childcare settings for children from Armed Forces families (birth to age 5).

This funding is provided by the Ministry of Defence and administered by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust. Grants are for standalone projects that can be delivered over a two-year period and deliver sustainable, positive change for service children.

Project outcomes must contribute to at least one of the following:

• Increasing capacity to allow more service children to attend childcare settings.
• Improving the learning environment for service children.
• Providing relevant training and development to staff supporting service children.
• Creating collaborative networks and shared resources across multiple settings to meet the needs of service children.

Who can apply?

• Early years providers offering group-based childcare where at least 50% of children are from Armed Forces families (unless applying as part of a cluster).
• Local authorities seeking to deliver targeted training and shared resources for providers supporting service children aged 0–5 across multiple settings.

Applicants must demonstrate how their project was shaped by the experiences and needs of Armed Forces communities, and how it will deliver lasting impact.

Application deadline: 8 October 2025 at 12 noon

Funding decisions are expected by December 2025.

For full details and to apply, visit the Armed Forces Covenant Trust website.