North Central East London CAMHS Provider Collaborative 2025/26 Grant Scheme

Grants for the Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Sector 2025/26: Children and Young People’s Mental Health

Funding locations: Barking and Dagenham | Barnet | Camden | City of London | Enfield | Hackney | Haringey | Havering | Islington | Newham | Redbridge | Tower Hamlets | Waltham Forest

Grants available: Between £5,000 to £50,000 for 12 months

Total Fund: £1,500,000

Issue date: 21/10/2025

Applications deadline: 25/11/2025 at 23:59

The North Central and East London (NCEL) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Provider Collaborative is excited to open this new round of funding for projects aimed at supporting the mental health needs of children and young people across our footprint. Now in its fourth year, we’re launching the next call for applications.

We are guided by feedback from our service users and the evidence we gather. What we’re consistently hearing is the need to collaborate with the VCSE sector to provide non-clinical, culturally tailored mental health support within our communities, with the goal of reducing inequalities in care and preventing hospital admissions.

We are fortunate to have a vibrant and committed local VCSE sector and intend to secure the involvement of local VCSE organisations through this funding. By making a tangible financial commitment to these partners, we can achieve these goals together.

Through our lead provider, the East London NHS Foundation Trust, the NCEL CAMHS Provider Collaborative is now offering the fourth round of grants to the VCSE sector for initiatives focused on children and young people’s mental health (CYPMH).

Compass Wellbeing CIC is the delivery partner for this grant programme. We bridge the gap between the NHS and community groups by engaging VCSE organisations, coordinating a fair and transparent procurement process (we manage it but do not make funding decisions), managing grant contracts, and providing free, independent bid-development support.

We invite applications for projects seeking to tackle inequalities within the relevant priority groups outlined in Lot 1: CYPMH Inequalities and Lot 2: CYPMH Admissions Avoidance and Alternative to Admissions, as detailed below:

Lot 1: CYPMH Inequalities
Applications are welcome for projects addressing inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes of mental health care for children and young people, particularly in relation to conventional mental health services.

Projects should aim to reduce inequalities contributing to over-representation, under-representation, challenges, or poor experiences. This may include barriers to referral or admission, experiences during admission, or transitions back into community life.

Priority groups for Lot 1:

1. Young people with learning disabilities and/or autism
2. Young people from minority ethnic communities
3. Young people from groups experiencing higher rates of crisis presentation or inequitable pathways into inpatient care (e.g., LGBTQIA+, care-experienced, or excluded from education) 

Lot 2: CYPMH Admissions Avoidance and Alternative to Admissions
Applications are welcome for projects providing alternative to admissions aimed at reducing hospital admissions or offering alternatives for children and young people.

Projects must focus on supporting at least one of the following priority groups and achieving relevant outcomes.

Priority groups for Lot 2:

1. Young people with learning disabilities and/or autism
2. Organisations working with minority ethnic groups to improve access to mental health services
3. Young people requiring access to eating disorder/disordered eating pathways

Applicants are invited to apply for grants ranging from £5,000 to £50,000. Within this process, you also have the opportunity to apply for Micro-Grants and Resilience grants.