This is our first update since late September 2026, so it covers about six weeks. We re-checked the schemes on our funding register against the funders' own websites. Two regional funds that might pay for a STEM workshop have been added, and one of them has a deadline of 4 December 2026. Two British Science Association rounds have closed, and one of those has a month for reopening.
Millennium Point Charitable Trust STEAM grants (West Midlands)
The Millennium Point Charitable Trust funds not-for-profit organisations, schools and colleges across the West Midlands Combined Authority area. Applicants can ask for up to £20,000 for a project in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths, and the Trust also welcomes smaller requests from £1,000. Its FAQs encourage applications of between £1,000 and £5,000, to maximise the impact of its grants.
The school applies itself, and the Trust accepts one application per organisation per year. Can it pay for a workshop? Possibly. The Trust asks applicants to list each item or activity with its cost, but its pages do not say whether an external provider's fee is an eligible cost. Ask the Trust before you build a bid around a bought-in workshop. The FAQs say payment is made in September and that the project must then be finished within 12 months, so this is a route for a workshop planned for the next school year, not this term.
The round opened on 19 October 2026 and the deadline for applications is 4 December 2026. Details are on our Millennium Point page.
Dudgeon Community STEM in Schools Fund (Norfolk)
Norfolk Community Foundation runs this fund for STEM projects delivered to pupils in primary schools, secondary schools or colleges in the Great Yarmouth, Breckland or North Norfolk districts. Grants of up to £10,000 are available. Non-fee paying schools and colleges can apply, as can charities and other not-for-profit organisations with experience of delivering activity in schools.
The fund will not cover the normal delivery of the curriculum, so a workshop would need to be an extra enrichment project, not a replacement for timetabled lessons. The funder does not say whether a bought-in provider's fee qualifies, so check before you apply. The first step is a short expression of interest. For the May 2027 round, expressions of interest are accepted until 12 noon on 11 February 2027. The funder says that round is intended for projects in the summer holidays or at the start of the next academic year. See our Dudgeon fund page.
CREST Engage funding reopens in January 2027
The autumn round of Engage funding from the British Science Association closed on 20 October 2026. The funder says applications will open again in January 2027. Engage funding helps UK schools in challenging circumstances run CREST Awards with students who are underrepresented in STEM. An Engage Grant is £350 in cash plus a voucher that covers up to £350 of CREST Award fees.
The funder's list of what the cash can pay for includes a delivery partner to conduct CREST activities with pupils. It also says it is unlikely to fund plans where the budget is for an external speaker or show. So a workshop only fits if it is part of pupils' own CREST Award project work. Our CREST Engage page has the eligibility criteria.
Closed: the Curiosity Grant
The British Science Association's £600 Curiosity Grant closed to applications on 4 November 2026. The funder says applicants will hear the outcome by 14 December 2026, and funded activity must be completed by 31 July 2027. The funder's page also says the Curiosity Grant and Explore Kit Boxes replace the Kick Start Grants that schools used in earlier years. Explore Kit Boxes are an activity kit for primary settings and carry no cash award. See our Curiosity Grant page.
Deadlines for schemes that cannot pay for a workshop
Two more deadlines fall this month, for schemes that cannot pay for a workshop in school. We list them so that nobody spends time on the wrong application.
- Royal Society Partnership Grants: the third application deadline of the 2026 round is 30 November 2026. The grant is up to £3,000, but the funder says it should predominantly be used to buy equipment and cannot be used for pre-prepared workshops.
- Clore Duffield Foundation School Trips Grant: new to our register. It fully funds off-site trips for state-funded schools in Burnley, Grimsby and East Lindsey, and the application deadline is 18:00 on 27 November 2026. It does not fund activities delivered in school.
What we could not check
The Institute of Physics website does not allow automated checks, so our entry for the IOP, IET and STFC School Grants Scheme has not been re-checked. Please confirm the next deadline on the IOP's own page before you plan around it.
Next steps
Every scheme, with the funder's own wording and the date we last checked it, is on our funding register. Schools, trusts or PTAs make the application, never the workshop provider, but we can supply workshop details, learning objectives and curriculum links to support a bid. For the cost of a workshop for your school, use our Instant Quote tool.
