Purpose

Rotherham Museums, Arts and Heritage service requests permission
to distribute round two grant funding to community groups to
deliver intergenerational family learning programmes for
Children’s Capital of Culture.
 
Rotherham Museums, Arts and Heritage has been commissioned by
Children’s Capital of Culture to lead on the family learning
strand. The first round of grants were commissioned and approved in
July 2025.
 
The
Family Learning Commissioning Panel has been set up by the service
to allocate commissions and grant funding to community
organisations to deliver creative and play based approaches to
intergenerational families in Rotherham.
 
The
funding has been allocated from eligible participants who were
unsuccessful in the open call round one. These applicants were
invited to submit a revised application for round two, and the
panel has made the final decisions on the allocation of grant
funds.  A total remaining budget of
£75,000 was allocated to the Family Learning Commissioning
Panel to distribute to community organisations throughout 2025 and
2026 through a grants and commissioning programme. This report is
to allocate the remaining £14,098 of this funding.
 
The funding for the
panel and grants is through the Children’s Capital of Culture
Arts Council Place Partnership bid for Rotherham to deliver the
festival year in 2025.
 

Decision

 

ROTHERHAM METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

RECORD OF OFFICER EXECUTIVE DECISION
 

Date of Decision:

15th October 2025

Title:

Children's Capital of Culture Family Learning
Community Grants

Decision Maker:
(Including Job Title)

Polly Hamilton, Assistant Director Culture
Sport and Tourism

Details of Specific Delegation
 
or
 
Delegation contained in the relevant
Sub-Scheme of Delegation.
 

Sub-Scheme of Delegation – Strategic Director of Regeneration
and Environment
 
·      
Authorisation of grants up to a value of £25000 according to
the Council’s criteria for cultural, leisure and events
grants (Pg32)

The implementation of any functions
associated with any grant/funding regime, including, but not
limited to, National Grants/funding, SYMCA funds, Grants &
Programmes and European Funding/Grants. (Pg22)  

 

Decision:

Award Children’s Capital of Culture
Family Learning Community Grants to twelve organisations
recommended by the Family Learning Commissioning Panel.

Reasons for the Decision:

Rotherham Museums, Arts & Heritage Service
has been commissioned by the Cultural Partnership Board to
deliver a programme of family learning
activities as part of its
Arts Council England Place Partnership
Funding.
 
The family learning programme includes
targeted
interventions bringing care homes and early
years settings
together and two rounds of open grants to
support grass
roots community organisations to deliver
family learning
programmes locally programme between major
events. This
decision relates to the second round of
application to spend
the remaining £14, 098 of the
funding.
 
The closed round of family learning grants
received 2
applications, of which 2 met the criteria and
2 are
recommended for approval. The remaining
funding will be
used for two community network events and
targeted
commissions.

Details of alternative options considered and
rejected:

Do Nothing – Without the grants
programme the Museums, Arts & Heritage service would not be
able to deliver a Family Programme to the scale and diversity
required by the Arts Council England funding as set out in the
original bid proposal. In addition, many of the groups supported
would not have the capacity to deliver grass roots activities to
the scale and quality proposed in the programmes above.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Cabinet
Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the
decision:

No conflicts of interest declared.

Dispensations Granted:
(If any)

n/a

Conflicts of interest declared by the Decision
Maker if they sit as a Cabinet appointed representative to an
outside body which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest declared.

Dispensations Granted:
(If any)

n/a
 

Reports or parts of reports considered

Children’s Capital of Culture Family
Learning Grants
 
Appendix 1  
Equality Screening and Analysis Part A & B
Appendix 2  
Carbon Impact Assessment

 
I certify that this
is a true record of the executive decision to:
 
Award Children’s Capital
of Culture Family Learning Community Grants to twelve organisations
recommended by the Family Learning Commissioning Panel.
 
I confirm that in
making this decision, due regard was given to the seven principles
of public life.
 
Signed by the
Decision Maker:    
 

 
Dated:         
15/10/25
 
Name:         
Polly Hamilton        
Job Title:     Assistant Director,
Culture, Sport & Tourism