Trust Capacity FundApplication Form

September 2019Insert the name of your trust below using BLOCK CAPITALS

ContentsThe application form explained 3

Sections 3

Submitting the application 3

Data protection 4

Application checklist 5

Application form 6

Section A – Organisation details 6

Section B – Application details 7

Tender assessment criteria and instructions 8

Deliverability 8

Value for money 10

Sustainability 10

Resource management 12

Annex A - Declaration of interests 13

Annex B - Declaration 14

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The application form explainedThe Department has published a guidance document alongside this form for the Trust Capacity Fund (TCaF). This provides information on the aims of the fund, assessment criteria and funding available. Please ensure you have read through the requirements carefully before completing this application form.

Please also ensure that you can provide all the information required, as failure to do so may mean that we will be unable to consider your application.

For the avoidance of doubt, “the Authority” in this application form refers to the Secretary of State for Education.

SectionsThe main section of the application is made up of two sections as follows:

Section A - Organisation details Section B - Application details

Submitting the applicationThe completed Word document needs to be submitted by email to your Regional Delivery Directorate (RDD) office by 31st December 2019. Please title your email as follows: Trust Capacity Fund Application – [insert organisation name]. The application must be submitted by the responsible body rather than a professional adviser.

Applicants must also submit an application for growth to their RSC for discussion at Headteacher Board (HTB). This growth application must be approved by the RSC no later than 31st January 2020. We will consider growth applications that were approved by RSCs after 20 June 2019 (and up to 31st January 2020).

The closing date to submit your growth paperwork will vary according to the date of the HTB you are submitting your growth proposal to. Please contact the relevant RDD team to confirm the deadline for submission.

Trusts should submit their TCaF application as soon as they are ready to do so and no later than 31st December 2019. Applications will be assessed, whether or not the related growth application has at that time being considered by the HTB. A final decision on the TCaF application will be made, once the outcome of the growth application has been determined.

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Data protectionPersonal data is collected in the templates in order to consider your application and will not be used for other purposes. For the purposes of the Data Protection Act, the Department for Education (DfE) is the data controller for this personal information and for ensuring that it is processed in accordance with the terms of the Act. The Department will hold all personal information you supply securely and will only make it available to those who need to see it as part of the TCaF application process.

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Application checklistTask to complete

Have you provided information on all of the following areas (where appropriate)?

Yes No

Section A - Organisation details ☐ ☐

Section B - Application details

- Deliverability - Value for money- Sustainability- Resource management

☐ ☐

Have you sent an email, titled:

Trust Capacity Fund Application – [insert institution name]

with all relevant information relating to Sections A and B (as applicable) of your application to your Regional Delivery Directorate (RDD) office.

☐ ☐

Declaration of interests signed ☐ ☐

Declaration signed

Signed and submitted by the responsible body. In so doing, they acknowledge that they have read the accompanying guidance document and that this application does meet the criteria, and to the best of their knowledge, the information contained is accurate.

☐ ☐

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Application form

Section A – Organisation details1. Name of trust organisation: Click or tap here to enter text.

2. Companies House Number

You can find your Companies House Number by searching for your trust under Find an Establishment Group on

Get information about a school

Click or tap here to enter text.

3. If known, please provide the Group ID of your trust

You can find your Group ID by searching for your trust under Find an Establishment Group on

Get information about a school

Click or tap here to enter text.

4. Applicant contact name: Click or tap here to enter text.

5. Position held by applicant named above:

Click or tap here to enter text.

6. Full address: Click or tap here to enter text.

7. Telephone number: Click or tap here to enter text.

8. Email address: Click or tap here to enter text.

9. Regional Delivery Directorate (RDD) office your trust is based in:

Choose an item.

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Section B – Application details10.Please indicate which strand of

the fund you wish to apply for:

Application guidance and criteria for the different strands of the fund are set out in the eligibility checker. Trusts should apply for the highest tier for which they are eligible.

Strand A1 - Support strong trusts to grow and innovate in areas of long-standing need

Strand A2 - Encourage strong trusts to grow by converting and improving weaker maintained schools or adding vulnerable academies to their trust and improving them

Strand B - Accelerate the development of mid-sized trusts with the potential to be strong

Strand C - Create new strong trusts either by single academy trusts joining larger trusts or by supporting the growth of existing trusts via mergers or priority projects identified by Regional Schools Commissioners

14.HTB Choose an item.

15.Date at which your project was / will be discussed by HTB (if known)

Click or tap here to enter text.

16.URN or Name of your project Click or tap here to enter text.

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Tender assessment criteria and instructions

Evaluators will use their own judgement and discretion when judging responses. The judgments from each evaluator will then be moderated. All bids will be treated fairly and assessed on merit only. Proposals will be deemed stronger when the evidence provided demonstrates and provides high confidence in reliable delivery of the required services. They will be deemed weaker when the evidence provided does not demonstrate and/or provide confidence in reliable delivery of the requirement as specified.

Please Note: The Authority reserves the right to reject any tender that does not provide sufficient or satisfactory evidence on any question.

The Authority reserves the right not to assess any text provided above the specified word limit for each question. Answers must only contain text and numbers where appropriate. The Authority will not assess any links, pictures or other media included in any answer.

Each question must be answered in relation to the relevant question and not refer to information provided in answer to any other question.

Deliverability

Please detail in no more than 200 words for both of the following questions:

17.Please provide an outline of the growth proposal you have submitted/will submit to the Headteacher Board (HTB) and how you will utilise any funding provided by the Authority to implement it

Click or tap here to enter text.

18.Please identify all risks to successful delivery of your proposal and demonstrate how you will mitigate these risks

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Action Plan & Timeline – not assessed

Please state below the high-level action plan in terms of main activities and milestones for the planned activities (add more rows as required). Please note: all activities must start no earlier than 1st September, 2019 and must be completed by 31st March, 2020.

Start date (dd/mm/yyyy) End date (dd/mm/yyyy) Main activity / Milestone

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Value for money

Please detail in no more than 200 words:

19.How will you demonstrate value for money?

Please provide evidence of the ways in

which this work will bring capacity to your

trust and the consequential benefits that

this will bring to students across your trust

and in the geographical area in which you

are working. Consider in your response the

importance of using benchmarking to

demonstrate the efficient use of public

funds.

Click or tap here to enter text.

Sustainability

Please detail in no more than 200 words:

20.How you will ensure that your proposed project is sustainable and will continue, beyond the life of this programme of work?Please provide evidence how any funded activities will be embedded in your business as usual operations, including accountability for making it happen. Please also provide details of how your trust will be able to afford to pay for any newly funded capabilities beyond March 2020.

Click or tap here to enter text.

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Please use the table below to provide a firm cost breakdown of how this money will be spent. (add more rows as required)

Item Cost

TOTAL

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Resource management

To ensure that trusts are managing their resources effectively, we require all applicants to have completed the resource management self-assessment tool dashboard. If you have completed the self-assessment within the last 6 months, submit it to your RDD team along with this application. If you have not yet completed the self-assessment dashboard, you will need to do so and submit it to your RDD team along with the application.

We will assess the return from the self-assessment dashboard. Depending on the outcome from this assessment, your application may either pass, conditionally pass, or fail.

Please note that all trusts will need to complete the self-assessment tool by 14 th November 2019 as part of the mandatory reporting requirements. More information is available here.

If you have already done this self-assessment, please detail in no more than 200 words:

21.What further investigation or follow up action have you undertaken since completing the self-assessment dashboard, based on the results of your self-assessment?

Click or tap here to enter text.

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Annex A - Declaration of interests DfE requires that the applicant submitting this application declare any conflicts of interest.

The Department for Education defines a conflict of interest as ‘a situation in which someone in a position of trust either within the Department, or from a future or existing contractor or grant holder, has competing professional or personal interests that may have the potential to distort competition. Such competing interests can make it difficult to fulfill his or her duties impartially.’

In deciding which interests to disclose, those affected by this declaration should ask whether, in the opinion of a fair-minded and informed observer, the interest would suggest a real possibility of bias.

If you declare an interest, we will take a decision on how these will be managed.

Could the personal interests of any party to this application or those of family members or friends be deemed to benefit from this application should it be funded?

Yes

No

If yes, please provide details. Click or tap here to enter text.

If you have declared a conflict, please explain how this will be managed.

Click or tap here to enter text.

Are there any other interests you wish to disclose?

Yes

No

If yes, please provide details: Click or tap here to enter text.

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Annex B - Declaration**This must be signed by the senior responsible officer for this application on

behalf of the trust **

I confirm that the information provided in this application is correct to the best of my knowledge and meets the criteria. I further confirm that if the application is successful we will:

deliver as per the requirements outlined in the guidance document

agree to apply the allocated funding to deliver the named project(s), in line with the

original application and according to the terms and conditions of the grant and

have appropriate systems and processes in place to secure delivery and achieve

value for money

start work and complete the project by the dates set out in the original application

and notify the DfE if any slippage or delay occurs, or if any underspends emerge

at the earliest possible opportunity

accept all of the Department for Education grant funding agreement terms and

conditions. effective from September 01 2019

acknowledge all costs associated with our bid are borne by us And the Authority is

in no way liable for any costs incurred in responding to this tender

acknowledge the Authority may vary or cancel this tender at its sole discretion at

any time.

acknowledge that this application may be declined should any information be

deliberately withheld or misrepresented that is later found to be material in

considering the application.

I confirm that the organisation named in this application has given me the authority to

complete this application on its behalf.

Signature

Position

Print name

Date (DD/MM/YYYY)

Please Note: Signature must be either an E-signature or a real signature (scanned document)

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© Crown copyright 2019

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Reference: DfE - 00178-2019

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