This is a new innovation introduced by DfES.  It is a matched funding scheme to encourage additional funds into the education sector to be spent on capital works, thereby increasing the level of overall spend on school buildings. It is open to Community, Foundation and Voluntary schools.

• The scheme consists of grant from DfES which is administered by the LEA.
  
  

• Normally a maximum level of grant contribution is also set.
  
  
• The grant is available on a 1:1 basis for Primary schools and 1:2 for Secondary schools. Of the 'non-grant' funding (50% for primary and 67% for secondary of the total scheme cost) 75% must be 'new' money, ie Secondary school:
  
  

  • £90,000 project cost

  • £30,000 seed challenge
  • £45,000 'new' money
  • £15,000 school money
    
    
• The general criteria by which the scheme is administered is normally set by DfES.  Critical to any bid is the certainty that the additional or 'new' money is guaranteed in the same year that the grant is to be made available. Existing school budget, Devolved Capital or centrally managed capital allocations from DfES do not count as 'new' money although locally raised monies such as PTA fund raising, 'tuck' shop profit and centrally managed Section 106 funding will all count as 'new' money.

Although most spending must be targeted at AMP identified priorities, it is acknowledged that sometimes these priorities, such as a roofing replacement scheme, are unlikely to generate 'new' funding or support the development of an innovative scheme and therefore other projects may well be considered.

Please see the Seed Challenge Initiative letter.