Mentoring and Mental Health Support Programme 2026–27 Funding Prospectus

The new Mentoring and Mental Health Support Programme will build on the success of the NDYP Mentoring Support Programme. It will deliver a core package of training and support that improves the quality of mentoring for young people, shaped by the Mentoring Quality Framework. However, it will also expand to include an increased focus on mental health training and support.

The key objectives of the programme are to:

• Provide high quality mentoring training for mentoring and youth organisations based around the Mayors Mentoring Quality Framework
• Provide high quality mental health training and support, that includes (but not exclusively) mental health first aid training, tools and resources for supporting young people’s mental health and wellbeing
• Support youth professionals own mental health and well-being, secondary trauma and burnout, especially for those with lived-experience e.g. Peer-to-peer support and knowledge-sharing sessions, trauma informed workshops
• Improved knowledge of signposting and referral pathways to specialist services and mental health support for young people (that considers the high levels of need and limited capacity of the mental health system)

The programme and activity should adhere to the principles below:

1. We want to see proposals that are informed by evidence of what works, this evidence may have come from previous projects that you have run, or from elsewhere.
2. Applicants must demonstrate how they involve young people and youth / mentoring professionals in the design and delivery of their project.
3. Training and support should provide opportunities appropriate for different levels of expertise, from specialist to universal, be culturally competent, and be adaptable to the diverse needs of young people. It may include options for accreditation and should avoid one-off sessions by offering follow-up guidance to help implement learning.
4. Any mental health training and support should be conscious of the context of a wider mental health system that is experiencing high levels of need and has very limited capacity. There should not be any confusion or conflict with clinical or crisis provision and therefore explicitly consider the trainees of this programme to be ‘facilitators of support’ rather than experts or therapists.
5. Applicants consider how training operates, and delivers positive outcomes, that reflects the realities of local mental health support systems across London.
6. Applicants must be willing to work in partnership with other elements of the Mentoring and Mental Health Support Programme and be able to be sufficiently flexible to maintain some capacity to adapt to changing demands.

By outputs, we mean the number of organisations and / or youth professionals reached or what has been produced through your project activities:

• the number of youth professionals meaningfully supported / trained (including demographics such as ethnicity, gender, those with lived experience) – note the minimum number annually is 250
• the number of youth professionals mental health first aid trained – note the minimum number annually is 150
• the number of positive opportunities provided to youth professionals (e.g. there might be more than one capacity building / training opportunity accessed by each participant)
• the number of organisations that are supported meaningfully (including types of organisation e.g. size of organisation)
• the number of young people that will benefit from improved support
• other outputs specific to your project

We want to understand the impact of your proposal on the programme’s aims and objectives. You must show how your project activities will have a positive impact on the professionals and organisations this grant aims to support.

By project outcomes, we mean the result, or to what extent the project has led to the desired change. At a programme level we want to achieve the following outcomes:

• Youth professionals receive high quality training and can demonstrate how this has been applied in practice
• Youth professionals and organisations embed mental health-conscious approaches beyond the programme
• Improved connections between youth professionals, organisations and mental health services for young people (including signposting)
• Improved mental health and well-being of youth professionals

Applicants will need to clearly explain:

• what will change for the professionals and organisations you are supporting?
• how will you measure that change and ensure training is applied in practice (e.g. implemented beyond the training)?
• What is the anticipated impact on young people and how will this be measured?

We will fund:

• operational delivery costs
• core staff and volunteer costs
• monitoring and evaluation costs
• marketing and publicity costs
• associated overhead costs (for example heating, lighting, stationery etc.)
• low value equipment costs (up to £1,000) for audio-visual, sports equipment etc.

We will not fund:

• capital items
• items or services covered by statutory funding

To be eligible organisations need to meet the following criteria:

• The lead applicant organisation is a voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisation.
• The lead applicant organisation must be legally constituted.
• Your organisation must have a bank account, with two separate signatories, (registered in the name of the applicant organisation) into which the grant can be paid.
• The annual grant proposed should not normally constitute more than 50 per cent of your annual turnover.
• Your lead applicant must be able to provide audited/examined accounts for at least one year which comply with the relevant regulatory body.
• You must have a proven track record in the work your organisation does.
• You must have all necessary insurances and safeguarding policies in place and be committed to carrying out DBS checks and safer recruitment processes where required.

The grant will be allocated via an open and competitive application process. A Funding Application Form will be completed by all applicants. These will be assessed by a GLA panel including a young person.

You must complete the Funding Application Form including attaching the following supporting documents and email to [email protected]:

• A copy of the most recent audited accounts or copy of the most recent accounts signed by an independent and qualified accountant.
  • A copy of the organisation’s Financial Regulations.
  • A statement of the organisation’s cash flow forecast for the current year.
  • The organisation’s budget for the current year.
  • Evidence of Public and Employer’s Liability Insurance.
  • Name and contact details of bank.
  • Your organisation's child safeguarding and vulnerable adults policy.
  • Your organisation's data protection policy.

If relevant, please also supply:

• Written Parent Company Guarantee (to be submitted by Parent Companies only).
• Consolidated Financial Accounts for the consortium (to be submitted by the Lead Partner from Consortiums only).
• Details of previous GLA contracts/grants and values over the last 12 months.
• Where applicable, details of your organisation and/or any of your directors/partners/proprietors' bankruptcy, insolvency, compulsory winding up, receivership, composition with creditors, or subject to relevant proceedings.
• Where applicable, details of any pending or actual investigation by a consultative committee of accounting bodies in relation to accountancy standards or professional conduct for which your organisation and / or any of its director(s)/partners/proprietor(s) is/has been subject to, including actions taken to put things right.
• The GLA also reserves the right to require further information upon request.

If you have any questions around the application process please contact us by email at [email protected]

We will carry out financial due diligence checks before we offer funding. Successful applicants must provide the required documentation on notification. Local authorities and local authority-maintained schools are exempt from this process.

Delivery organisations must collect standard data on the organisations taking part (including starts, completions and demographic data) and report this on a quarterly basis. This data is in addition to any measures your individual project will have to monitor. The grantee will also submit an end-of-project report with details of the impact of the project, as well as quarterly case studies.

The successful applicant will also be expected to make themselves available for an inception meeting and may be asked to contribute to future good practice activities being undertaken by the GLA as part of wider policy activity.

We are committed to promoting the highest standards of evidence and evaluation. All applicants will be expected to demonstrate how they will evaluate the impact of their project on the anticipated outcomes.

We will also require successful applicants to participate or feed into any internal or external evaluation or learning from the Mental Health Training Pilot.

In recognition of the fact that we want to encourage applications from grassroots organisations, we are committed to paying an upfront payment to support project mobilisation. Thereafter, future payments will be based on achievement of key milestones and outputs as set out in the applicant’s grant funding agreement.

We will take a proportionate approach to setting these milestones and will act as a responsive funder as per the IVAR Open and Trusting Grant-making principles.

The GLA will carry out financial due diligence checks prior to the offer of funding to ensure success and manage risks.

• Checks include: liquidity, profitability, return on capital employed, debtors/creditors cycle, Credit Safe reports, Charity Commission checks, and a review of governance arrangements.
• Due diligence is only performed on shortlisted organisations meeting the funding criteria.
• Sole Deliverers/Lead Applicants: Provide documentation for the Lead Applicant only.
• Consortiums: Provide documentation for all members to establish the strength of the consortium as a whole.

Financial due diligence documentation

Applicants must provide the following documentation with their initial application:

• Audited accounts for the past 2 years (or accounts signed by an independent qualified accountant if exempt from audit).
• Evidence of public and employer’s liability insurance.

Applicants must provide the following only when notified they are successful (pending final checks):

• Copy of the organisation’s financial regulations.
• Statement of the organisation’s cash flow forecast for the current year.
• The organisation’s budget for the current year.
• Name and contact details of bank.

If relevant, also provide:

• Details of previous GLA contracts/grants and values over the last 12 months.
• Details of any bankruptcy, insolvency, winding up, or subject to relevant proceedings for directors/partners.
• Details of any pending or actual investigations by accountancy bodies regarding professional conduct.

Specific Entity Requirements

• Charities: Details will be verified against the Charity Commission website to ensure filings are up to date and there are no regulatory concerns.
• New/Small Organisations: If you lack full financial statements, a guarantor will be required to provide a full performance guarantee. The guarantor will also undergo due diligence.
• Exemptions: Local authorities, local authority-controlled schools, and government bodies are exempt from this process. Please highlight this status on your application.