News

The latest stories from Inspiring Scotland and our partner charities.

New creative activities & opportunities for communities in Glasgow

Ten Glasgow-based projects have been selected as part of the Creative Communities Glasgow programme, which will support and empower community-led creative activities for people & communities who face barriers to participating in culture. Creative Communities Glasgow is developed and delivered by Inspiring Scotland and is made possible thanks to funding from Glasgow City Council’s Communities

IPA 2023 in pictures

After five years in the making, the Inspiring Scotland Thrive Outdoors fund team gathered in Glasgow last month for the International Play Association (IPA) Triennial World Conference 2023. Hosted at Glasgow Caledonian University, the conference brought together 550 delegates from more than 40 countries including New Zealand, Hong Kong and the rest of the

Pledging our support to embedding trauma informed principles

Inspiring Scotland has joined 58 organisations across Scotland by pledging commitment to embed trauma informed principles and practice across its work – as an employer and as a funder and partner. The Leadership Pledge of Support is an opportunity to join partners in raising awareness of the prevalence and impact of trauma, and committing to

Impact of gender-based violence and abuse on the mental health needs of women, young people and children

Evidence from the Delivering Equally Safe (DES) funded organisations and from other studies has shown that “experiences of violence and abuse against women, young people and children can be the cause of mental ill health, and those experiences can exacerbate existing mental health issues.”* A new report from DES looks the at evidence of the

Active Play programme expands into Highlands to improve children’s physical and mental wellbeing

A programme to improve the health and wellbeing of children through inclusive outdoor play is expanding into three communities in the Highlands. With investment from the Scottish Government Active Scotland Division and support from Inspiring Scotland, CALA Childcare will bring the Active Play programme into early years, school and communities across Inverness, Ullapool and Aviemore,

An open letter to young people

Chief Executive, Celia Tennant joins Scotland’s business leaders in an open letter to young people recognising the challenges of the last two years and our commitment to their future. We wanted to write to you in our role as Scotland’s business leaders and on behalf of our networks of thousands of Scottish employers to reassure

More outdoor play for Scotland’s children and their families

Scottish play charities will share a £550,000 funding boost to help get children and families out to play in their local communities. Creative outdoor play sessions, active play, and nature spaces for local communities are just some of the brilliant initiatives being supported by the Scottish Government Outdoor Community Play Fund aimed at improving the

Showcase demonstrates the power and potential of creativity in Scotland’s communities

A showcase of projects involved in the Creative Communities Programme took place Thursday 19th May in Glasgow, creating a powerful and diverse exhibition. The showcase aimed to demonstrate how individual communities, facing barriers to engaging in culture, have formed their own unique creative activities: developing their own connection to culture and improved their wellbeing and

New commitment to mentoring programme supporting children and young people living in kinship care arrangements.

An award of £450,000 from The Robertson Trust will enable Inspiring Scotland to expand intandem, the national mentoring programme for children and young people looked after at home, to include 8-14 year olds living in kinship care arrangements across Scotland. intandem recognises that young people looked after while living at home can experience challenging circumstances.

New Outdoor Community Play Fund Open

The new Outdoor Community Play Fund was announced by Children’s Minister, Clare Haughey on Tuesday 12th April 2022. This funding will support charities providing outdoor community play opportunities for children and families experiencing disadvantage, as defined by SIMD. Up to £15,000 can be applied for by registered Scottish charities meeting the criteria. Funded by Scottish Government,

Creative Communities: V&A Dundee host film premiere

Artists and participants of the £2million Creative Communities programme gathered for the first time at V&A Dundee for the premiere of their film highlighting the power of creativity to support wellbeing during the last year. Creative Communities is a Scottish Government initiative aiming to connect communities by providing creative opportunities in communities where social or

Scottish play charities receive funding to help local communities get outside to play

25 Charities across Scotland will share £500,000 of funding to develop and deliver more free outdoor play opportunities in local communities, aimed at improving children’s health and wellbeing. Creative outdoor play sessions, an outdoor playgroup for children and their dads, nature play spaces for local communities and gardening sessions are just some of the

New fund opens to support island communities

Businesses and community groups located across Scotland’s inhabited islands are now able to apply for grants of up to £150,000 through the new Island Communities Fund (ICF) for projects focussed on supporting sustainable island economies and the journey towards net zero. The fund is backed by £2 million of Scottish Government funding, which comes

Every one can benefit from using nature to support mental health

Inspiring Scotland works with some of the most innovative charities in Scotland today. This Mental Health Awareness Week focuses on the power of nature – so we’re sharing our key learnings from the projects we work with on how to use nature to improve mental health and wellbeing of new parents, children, young people,

PIMH Small Grants Fund announced to support innovative local perinatal and infant mental health services

As part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to improving perinatal and infant mental health, a Small Grants Fund will open for applications in May 2021 for third sector organisations and local groups that support the mental health of parents, carers, and infants.

Delivering Equally Safe fund launched to tackle violence against women and girls

Organisations who work to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) are being invited to apply for a share of up to £13 million to help them develop and further their vital work over the next three years.

Successful Perinatal and Infant Mental Health fund organisations announced

Charities providing counselling, peer and parental support are to share funding to help improve the life chances and wellbeing of pregnant women, new mums and their families. The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health fund will provide annual funding of up to £1 million to help third sector organisations deliver vital services.

Inspiring Scotland appointed Fund Manager for Scottish Government Equality and Human Rights Funds

Following a tender exercise, Inspiring Scotland has been appointed as Fund Manager for Scottish Government’s Equality and Human Rights Funds. This work will start in November 2020 and involves supporting Scottish Government to develop the new Equality and Human Rights funding streams – Delivering Equally Safe (DES) and the Supporting Equality and Human Rights Fund

National position statement on outdoor play sees signatories double at 2 year anniversary

The national position statement on outdoor play and learning hits its 2 year anniversary this month – and the number of signatories signing up to this collective ambition has more than doubled. Two of the latest signatories, Scottish wildlife Trust and Clackmannanshire Council join over 100 organisations who recognise playing and learning outdoors as an

Organised Outdoor Community Play Fund 2020 now open!

Please note, this funding round (2020) is now closed, but you can find more information about the current fund here. Inspiring Scotland is seeking applications for the Organised Outdoor Community Play Fund, funded by the Scottish Government and set up to support children’s health and wellbeing through outdoor play. The Scottish Government is providing £380,000

New perinatal and infant mental health fund launched

Inspiring Scotland are delighted to support the Scottish Government to launch the new Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Third Sector Fund. Directed at improving mental health care for new mums, infants and families, the fund will open to applications on the 5th May 2020 and run between August 2020 and March 2023, subject to annual

New portfolio focused on understanding autism announced

Nine charities offering a range of community and employment projects from around Scotland have been announced as recipients of almost £400,000 of funding aimed at raising society’s understanding of autism. This fund aims to make employment and community participation more accessible and to help autistic people to live active and independent lives. The fund will

The Play Rangers are back: community play gets under way for summer 2019

Thousands of children will be out playing in their communities across Scotland this summer after local charities received funding to run Play Rangers in their neighbourhood. 15 charities have received money to increase outdoor play opportunities through Inspiring Scotland’s Thrive Outdoors community play programme, which is funded by Scottish Government. Thrive Outdoors supports Scotland’s children

TV presenter signs up to outdoor play pledge and Out to Play guide launched

Scottish wildlife filmmaker and television presenter Gordon Buchanan – best known for his close encounter with a curious polar bear on BBC’s The Polar Bear Family and Me – has added his name to a growing list of people and organisations committed to getting kids out to play. The raft of pledges will be announced

Scotland commits to life-enhancing outdoor play

50 people and organisations sign up to national pledge on outdoor play and learning Playing and learning outdoors will be a fundamental part of growing up in Scotland, following a national commitment from 50 people and organisations across the country. Alongside the Scottish Government and Inspiring Scotland, bodies as diverse as the Royal Zoological Society

Work begins to expand outdoor nurseries in eight local authorities

Inspiring Scotland’s Thrive Outdoors team has begun work with eight local authorities to encourage and support greater use of outdoor play and learning in the early years. Inspiring Scotland was awarded funding from Scottish Government earlier in 2018 to increase the delivery of outdoor play and learning opportunities as part of the expansion of the

Care Inspectorate partners with Inspiring Scotland for outdoor nurseries guide

Inspiring Scotland has partnered with Care Inspectorate to produce a How-to guide for establishing outdoor nurseries in Scotland. Karen Quinn and Donna Conroy from Care Inspectorate will work alongside Inspiring Scotland’s Thrive Outdoors team for the rest of the year and will support development of the guide, focusing on how to ensure safe, high-quality

New Support in the Right Direction (2021) grants announced

Scottish Government today announced the successful applicants to the Support in the Right Direction 2021 (SiRD2021) programme. SIRD2021 will fund 31 projects delivering direct and local independent support across 31 local authority areas, to help people and carers make informed decisions and plans for their social care and work towards maximising their choice, control and

Inspiring Scotland’s new role in supporting greater use of outdoor learning in the early years

Minister for Childcare and Early Years, Maree Todd, has announced the number of hours nursery children spend outdoors is set to increase, and Inspiring Scotland will play a key role in encouraging and supporting greater use of outdoor learning in the early years. Ms Todd made the announcement during a visit to City of Edinburgh

Outdoor nurseries launched by Deputy First Minister in Castlemilk

Outdoor play and learning was given a boost when Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney officially launched the Welly Wanderers outdoor nursery in Glasgow’s Castlemilk woods on World Children’s Day, 20 November 2017. The Welly Wanderers is one of three outdoor nurseries being established in Glasgow under a partnership

Inspiring Scotland supports Scottish Government’s Early Learning & Childcare Quality Action Plan

Inspiring Scotland supports Scottish Government in its commitment to improving the quality of Early Learning and Childcare through the publication of it’s Quality Action Plan. Through the work of the go2play fund, Inspiring Scotland has championed and encouraged play-based outdoor learning in Scotland’s communities, schools and natural spaces since 2010. We are pleased to see

Health, education and natural heritage leaders back #AwayandPlay campaign

Leaders of Scottish bodies from health, education and natural heritage have backed the #AwayandPlay campaign highlighting the benefits of outdoor free play for young people and children. Senior figures including the Deputy Chief Medical officer and representatives from bodies such as Glasgow City Council, Historic Environment Scotland, Forestry Commission Scotland, Care Inspectorate, Scottish Natural Heritage

Extension to current Support in the Right Direction funding

Audit Scotland today published a review of Self-directed Support. As part of their response to the review Scottish Government have announced a six month extension to current funding to 31 September 2018. The extension is very welcome and will give Scottish Government time to take account of the findings of the current review of Independent

Minister for Childcare and Early Years launches #AwayandPlay to help Scotland’s kids get the best start in life

Iconic Beano comic character, Dennis the Menace, joined Mark McDonald MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Childcare and Early Years, to launch a new campaign highlighting the benefits to children of free and creative play. The year-long campaign, “Away and Play”, is powered by Inspiring Scotland. It will highlight the benefits of free and unstructured play

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