Eat, Sleep, Learn, Play! Save the Children Crisis Grant for families in
Middlesbrough
Are you working with families who do not have basic material items in the home?
Eat, Sleep, Learn, Play! is a Save the Children Early Intervention Programme which supports children
under three years in the most desperate need.
We support the family by awarding a ‘crisis material grant’, such as a cooker, child's bed, fridge,
fridge/freezer, high chair, washing machine, pushchair, dining table & chairs, storage solutions or
educational books & toys to families who meet our eligibility criteria.
Awards are made based on a combined assessment which takes into account the wellbeing needs of the
child, the cost of items and the priority of need expressed by the family. Save the Children considers basic
need to include:
Eat: a child is able to sit at a table and have a hot home cooked meal.
Sleep: a child has a comfortable bed to sleep in.
Learn & Play: a child has toys and books to stimulate their development relevant to their age.
Who can make an application?
Applications must be completed, checked, verified and submitted by a referral partner (e.g. Health Visitor,
Midwife, Family Support Worker, Social Worker, Voluntary Sector Worker). Families cannot make a
self-referral. The referral partner should know the applicant in a professional capacity and have visited
the family home. A crisis grant will consist of one or two items (one grant per family).
Who are the grants for?
The family must meet the following eligibility criteria:
• live in Middlesbrough
 have a child under 36 months, or a mother-to-be who is 28 weeks or more pregnant
• One or more of the parents/carers in receipt of any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Job Seekers Allowance
- Healthy Start
- Child Tax Credit (income
<£16,190)
- Working tax credit (where
disability is included)
- NASS support
- Section 4 support of the Immigration and Asylum Act
- From October 2013 – Families who receive universal credit and have
an income below a certain threshold (to be confirmed).
• are struggling without essential household items which are necessary for their child(ren) to eat, sleep,
learn and play in their own home.
Further Information
If you would like to find out more about Eat, Sleep, Learn, Play! and how you can apply for a grant on
behalf of the families you are working with, please contact:
Heather Markin (Eat, Sleep, Learn, Play! Programme Officer)
[email protected]