Aims/priorities: This funding round forms part of a wider YEF programme of funding, evaluation and research over the next three years on what works to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG).
For this round, YEF are focused on the early stages of VAWG prevention through supporting the delivery of universal education on healthy and respectful relationships in state secondary schools (11–16 year olds). This is in alignment with 'Pillar 1: Prevention and Early Intervention' in the cross government strategy on VAWG, and the Department of Education's roll-out of the revised statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum in September 2026.
This funding round is seeking to generate robust evidence on how schools can best be supported to deliver this content in order to improve young people's knowledge and attitudes towards healthy relationships and harmful behaviours, and ultimately reduce violence against women and girls.
Applications are being invited under two main strands of delivery:
- Strand 1: Building secondary school capacity internally to deliver healthy relationships elements of RSHE provision, primarily through teacher training and support (but this may also include wider school approaches).
- Strand 2: Delivery of the healthy relationships elements of RSHE provision in schools by external specialist organisations or practitioners.
Who can apply? Applicants must be a registered charity, company, statutory body or CIC and delivering interventions in England.
Partnerships between organisations are welcomed. Partnership applications should identify a lead organisation that would act as YEF's primary grantee and main point of contact. Applications from partnerships should clearly articulate the role and value each partner brings to the project. Where partnerships are formed in order to be able to share the scale of delivery, there should be a clearly defined and consistent intervention model that all partners deliver to.
YEF will be prioritising projects and organisations that are able to reach enough participants and schools to support a robust impact evaluation.
The following eligibility criteria applies:
- Interventions must fit within one of the listed programme strands.
- Interventions must support outcomes for children and young people aged 11–16, in state secondary schools.
- Interventions must be ready to be evaluated via an impact study and organisations must be willing to work with an evaluation partner.
- Organisations must have the capacity to support children and young people at the kind of scales mentioned below.
- Organisation should also have experience of delivering their proposed intervention model (at least a year).YEF will fund interventions looking to scale, expand or explore different modes of delivery, as long as they can demonstrate the expertise and experience to facilitate this.
- Within the timeframes of the delivery and evaluation, interventions should be aiming to change children's knowledge and attitudes around healthy relationships, gender norms and harmful behaviours in teenage relationships.
- Organisations must be able to reach enough schools to support a robust and meaningful evaluation. YEF estimates that this will involve:
- Strand 1: Delivery of the intervention to one or more year groups in 30 secondary schools (with another 30 schools being a control group where existing practice is continued) .
- Strand 2: Deliver of the intervention to one or more year groups across 20–30 schools (depending on the evaluation design, a further 30 schools may also be needed for the control group where existing practice is continued).
Timeline: This delivery in schools is likely to start in September 2027 and must be finished by December 2028 at the latest.
Grant amount: Grants are at the discretion of the funders.
Application process: The guidance notes and online application form are available on the YEF website.
Interested applicants can find out more about this grant round and ask questions by attending the webinar on 24 June 2026 (10.30 am–12 pm). A link to register is on the YEF website.
A further funding round is planned in the summer. It will focus on supporting schools with targeted interventions for young people to respond to inappropriate and problematic behaviours around teenage relationships (prior to these reaching the threshold where intervention from other statutory agencies such as police or social care is required).
Deadline: Monday, 27 July 2026 (9 am).
Contact information: Email: grants@youthendowmentfund.org.uk
Website: Violence Against Women and Girls Prevention Programme | Youth Endowment Fund