Trust Capacity Fund - Information for 2020 and 2021

What Is the Trust Capacity Fund?

This Fund is the successor programme to the Trust Capacity Fund 2019 to 2020. It will award up to £17 million to continue to support academy trust growth and development across England.

The Trust Capacity Fund will also support outstanding or good local authority maintained schools in  rural hamlets and villages to collaborate and create new, strong multi-academy trusts.

Who Can Apply for the Funding?

There are five strands of funding that academy trusts can apply to:

• A1: supporting strong trusts to grow and innovate in areas of long-standing need
  
  
• A2: encouraging strong trusts to grow by converting and improving weaker maintained schools or adding vulnerable academies to their trust and improving them
  
  
• B: accelerating the development of mid-sized trusts with the potential to be strong
  
  
• C: creating 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
  
  
• D: supporting outstanding or good local authority maintained rural schools to collaborate and create new, strong multi-academy trusts

What Is the Value of the Funding?

Whilst funding will not be ring-fenced for each strand, there will be a sliding scale and a maximum cap on funding:

How and When Can Academy Trusts Apply for the Fund?

Full details of the Fund are due to be published in early March 2020. This will include an application form (and guidance document) as well as an eligibility checker.

There will be 2 periods within the 2020-21 financial year to apply for the Fund:

• 6 April 2020 to July 2020
• September 2020 to December 2020

If you have any queries about the Fund, please contact our Charities team or complete the below form.