Grants are provided and administered by The Children’s Alliance.
The Children’s Alliance is a charity and outreach initiative of Water Babies (the largest baby swim school In the UK).
The funding is intended for not-for-profit organisations across the UK to give children and young people under the age of 18 access to water for learning, developing and playing.
The objective of the programme is to give essential life skills and build children’s confidence and resilience, both physically and emotionally through water-based activities.
Grants of up to £15,000 are available, though the majority of grants awarded are under £10,000.
Who Can Apply
Applications will be considered from not-for-profit organisations, including:
- Registered charities.
- Registered community groups.
- Community Interest Companies (CICs).
- Schools.
To be eligible to apply organisations must have:
- A safeguarding and/or a child protection policy.
- A bank account in the name of the organisation.
Eligible Expenditure
To be eligible, projects must support children under the age of 18 years to have access to water in the form of swimming lessons, transport to lessons, swimwear and water play equipment.
Priority will be given to grassroots initiatives delivering water based projects for disadvantaged children.
The Children’s Alliance are committed to supporting:
- Free swimming lessons and swim nappies for children who need them.
- Online learning to teach valuable life skills for parents and children.
- Water splash areas to encourage play as well as water confidence and safety.
Examples of previously supported projects include:
- Swimwear for five inner city schools in Birmingham for Muslim children.
- Ongoing hydrotherapy sessions for severely disabled children.
- Surf therapy to support 50 children in North Yorkshire with their mental health.
- Over 400 swimming sessions for disabled children.
- Swimming lessons for children with AS or ADHD, aged between seven to eleven.
- Water-based messy play session for babies and toddlers.
How To Apply
Applications are now open and the deadline for submission is 30 March 2026.
This fund typically opens for applications twice per year in March and September.
An application form is available to download from the Children’s Alliance website and once completed should be submitted by email.
Contact the Children’s Alliance for further information
Links – Community – Children’s Alliance
Contacts
For further information on how to obtain this fund, please contact the following:
- Enquiries
Children’s Alliance
Winslade House
Manor Drive
Clyst St. Mary
Exeter
EX5 1FY
Email: in**@*******************rg.uk
