How we assess your grant application
Find out what happens after you’ve applied, including how we assess your application, and what happens if we need more information.
The application process
What happens once I’ve submitted my application?
After you have submitted your application you will receive confirmation that we have it. Your application is then passed through the relevant teams who have the knowledge and experience to progress it to its next stage.
Providing all the requested information and giving as much detail in your application as you can will help us manage your application quicker.
If we do need to request further information at any stage of the application process, please respond within the timescales give in our communication to you, your application will be cancelled if we do not receive the information we need.
Once your application has been accepted by our grants team it will move to be reviewed by our Eligibility Team. Sometimes we may need to speak to you for more details about your child’s additional support needs. If you do receive a call from us, please do not be concerned, we are doing everything we can to try and progress your application.
Children who have been previously eligible and have received grants may be reviewed; previous awards do not guarantee continuing eligibility, so it is very important that your application form is completed with as much detail as possible.
Once an application has been considered for eligibility it will be passed back to our grants team who will complete the application,
It is important to note that grants are awarded to a family regardless of the number of children who have been applied for, we may not assess all children on the application as this does not affect the value of any award we consider.
What happens if we need more information?
Most of the time we can make a decision, based what you have told us in your application. If, however, our team needs a bit more information to assess whether your application meets our eligibility criteria, we may contact you to find out more about your family’s situation.
For example, we may ask for a benefits letter or proof of your income. Or we may ask you to provide additional information about your child’s condition.
If we ask you for more information to support your application, please respond as soon as possible. Your application will be closed if we haven’t heard from you or received the information, we need within the timescales explained in our communications.
Sometimes we may need to speak to you (over the phone) to find out more about your child’s day-to-day life and additional support needs. This call may be from one of our Eligibility Decision Officers or we may ask an Independent Assessor to speak to you. If you are asked to take part in a call please do not be concerned, it is just to gather all the information we need to decide if we can award you a grant.