Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ashley Baxter. Paul Wood, Lee Steptoe, Virginia Moran, and Bridget Ley.

There were none.

It was AGREED to defer the minutes of the meeting held 30 May 2025 to the next meeting.

Presentations by organisations that submitted applications for UKSPF support for Education Support Programme funding.

Applicant A – Inspire+ Move and Food Programme

The applicant gave an overview of the organisation and the programme that the organisation delivered:

-        Inspire+ a local charity, had been established in 2011 and primarily worked with Primary and Secondary schools to deliver funded school holiday camps for children receiving income-related free school meals.

-        The holiday camps were largely physical activity based and consisted of sports and activities, cooking lessons, gardening, arts & crafts, and nutritional education and mental wellbeing sessions.

-        The organisation also received funding from Lincolnshire County Council (LCC).

-        Hot meals and healthy snacks were provided to the children throughout the day.

-        The aim of the initiative was to tackle social isolation, obesity, and anti-social behaviour, and to improve confidence, social skills and school attendance.

-        The UKSPF application was sought to fund half-term camps in October, February, and May, each for six hours a day.

During questions from Members, the applicant confirmed the following:

-        The programme was aimed at children aged 5-16 and they tried to stagger the activities by-age for the larger groups. They found that the mixture of ages had been a positive influence as many of the older children had been good role models for the younger children.

-        The service had grown significantly in the last three years to provide activities outside of sport, such as the cooking lessons.

-        The subsequent growth had lead to oversubscription with 3,000 bookings being received in just 12 hours for the summer camp.

-        It was confirmed that the following locations were used in the south of the district: Bourne Abbey Academy, Deeping St. James C.P School, and St. Augustine’s School Stamford due to the higher levels of students receiving income-related free school meals within the vicinity of these schools. It was noted that these were just the location that the service was facilitated at and the camps were open to children of all schools.

-        The applicant confirmed that the application for £40,000 was deemed sufficient.

-        The applicant confirmed their positive working relationship with local groups.

-        It was noted that the applicant organisation was not Ofstead registered due to not having a fixed location, however, they did seek to adhere to Ofstead standards. Furthermore, LCC conducted quality assurance visits.

Following the departure of the applicant, those Members present AGREED to approve the application and recommend the award of £40,000.

Applicant B – Grantham College Future:Forward Programme

The applicant gave an overview of the organisation and the programme that the organisation delivered:

-        The Future:Forward Programme was based on employability support and NEET (not in education, employment, or training) prevention.

-        Employability Support was offered in the form of 1-1 advice was Level Seven qualified advisors, group employability sessions, CV and interview skills, and support progressing onto courses, volunteering, or accessing a wider support network.

-        Between November 2024 – March 2025, 35 people received tailored career advice, 34 received 1-1 wellbeing support, and 31 received employability training. Following these,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

It was noted that the application received by the Stamford Indoor Bowls Club would be discussed during the August meeting of the UKSPF board.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 12.05.