SI Grant & Programme: Frequently Asked Questions

Prior to receiving the Grant Offer Letter, the Department for Education contacted the Finance Lead from your Local Authority requesting you to complete NDTi’s online form to provide the correct contact and banking information.

The Grant Offer Letter was addressed and emailed to the Authorised Signatory with the Finance Lead (if different from the Authorised Signatory) and the Activity Lead (if provided) copied in.

The Grant Offer Letter was addressed to the Authorised Signatory provided to NDTi by your Local Authority; please ensure the documents are signed by this person. This is one of the due diligence checks, so the signature needs to match the name on our records or the grant cannot be approved. If the contact information that was originally summitted is incorrect, email SIgrants@ndti.org.uk with the new contact details.

You must accept this grant offer and the conditions made in it no later than close of play on Monday 05 June 2023. If you wish to accept the offer of a grant, please return the Grant Offer Letter (in WORD format) to NDTi at SIgrants@ndti.org.uk with the following annexes completed and signed:

1. Annex A (ii): Acceptance of Grant Offer & Effective Date – signed and completed
2. Annex B (ii): Bank Account Details – confirm the details provided are accurate and provide an email address for remittance advice
3. Annex D (ii): Grant Claim Form – complete a breakdown of planned expenditure for the period claimed (Year One – up to March 2023) including outcomes, activity, timeframe and amounts

If you anticipate any delays in returning the documentation, please email as soon as possible before the deadline.

No. As part of the programme you will be working with your NDTi Lead and your SEND Employment Forum to develop a detailed Action Plan (this does not need to be submitted as part of your grant claim).

This Action Plan should be considered a ‘live’ document. We understand that as you develop your SEND Employment Forum, members of this group will share ideas and your plans will need to be responsive.

Within the Grant Offer Letter, there is a link to the Government Terms & Conditions and section 27 has some more details about marketing. The grant cannot be used for advertising, marketing or website development.

However, we agree that young people and families should know what their options and choices are, so things like disseminating information about the programme, raising awareness of SIs or making sure the Local Offer is accessible would not be counted a 'marketing' activities.

As BASE are a delivery partner and providing free job coach training as part of the Internships Work programme, BASE training or membership cannot be funded by the grant.

The grant can be used to fund professional development. As these conferences are separate from the Internships Work programme, this would be an acceptable use of the funds.

Yes, but this should be proportionate. Grants will not be approved if this aspect takes up a majority of your allocation.

Due to the size of these grants, it would be acceptable to use some of the funds to pay for consultancy. However, this is not a long-term solution and you are encouraged to think about how this work will be sustained after the end of the programme.

The webpage for Internships Work can be found here; more information and resources will be added as the programme develops.

You can sign up to the latest updates by using the NDTi Newsletter link here and ticking 'Internships Work'. This newsletter will also feature details about upcoming events, including a Question & Answer webinar with the delivery partners (NDTi, BASE and DFN Project SEARCH).

A list of NDTi's Regional Leads for Internships Work can be found here.

Grant documentation and updates are sent to your LA's Activity Lead, Finance Lead and Authorised Signatory. It may be worth setting up an internal distribution list for everyone who needs to be kept in the loop, so it's easier to forward key information.

Regional Leads also have contact lists for the network meetings, you can sign up here.

BASE will be delivering training in systematic instruction and supported employment techniques for job coaches; this will be free to new and existing providers. See more details here.

As part of Internships Work, DFN Project SEARCH has a free, five-day training offer, as well as their 'Employer Champion'. See links below for more details:

Overview sessions | Day 1 Session 1 Training | Day 1 Session 2 Training | Employee Champion Training

All grant requirements are outlined within in your Grant Offer Letter, which forms the Grant Agreement. There is also a summary page of deadlines here.