Grants of between £5,000 and £80,000 can support projects across the UK which help enhance early childhood education and childcare settings of young children (from birth to 5 years) from armed forces families.
The funding, provided by the Ministry of Defence and administered on its behalf by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust, is for standalone projects being delivered over a two-year period.
Projects need to contribute to at least one of the following outcomes:
- Increasing capacity so more service children can attend early years settings.
- Enhancing indoor and outdoor learning environments to support children's educational development.
- Developing staff knowledge and skills through targeted training and resources focused on the needs of service families.
- Strengthening local partnerships, encouraging collaboration and resource‑sharing across settings and local authorities.
- Improving engagement with families, particularly during times when additional support may be needed.
The funder is looking for projects that can deliver sustainable change. Applicants will need to demonstrate evidence to support the approach that they seek to take, and how people from Armed Forces communities have helped to shape this.
Applications will be accepted from:
- Early childhood education and childcare providers operating where armed forces families live or work. The setting must offer group-based childcare and have a minimum of five service children on roll.
- Local authorities who wish to supply specific training to early childhood education and childcare providers supporting service children aged 0-5 years and provide a shared resource working across multiple settings.
This is the only application round for 2026/27.
The deadline for applications is 15 July 2026.
AF3: Early Years programme - Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
