What do you need help with?
Funding Direction
A route recommendation, the main risks and what to prepare.
£45Check my route →I have a draftReview & Strengthening
Written feedback on the strength of the partnership, learning case and evidence, including places where the application assumes knowledge the reader will not have.
From £95Review my draft →The idea needs shapingProject Packaging
Bring the activities, partners, outcomes and budget together before writing.
From £175Shape my project →Write it for meComplete Writing
A stage-specific draft connecting the partnership, educational purpose, activities and costs, followed by one agreed refinement round.
Fixed quoteAsk for a fixed quote →What this application needs.
Arts-based Learning supports partnerships between arts organisations and formal education settings. The fund has an initial application and a further stage for shortlisted applicants. Schools are not the lead applicants for this programme; the Teacher Development Fund is a different route.
Check current eligibility, deadlines and assistance rules. This page does not confirm that a round is open.
Considering another route?
Compare the support available. Each fund has its own eligibility rules.
I check the funder’s assistance rules before accepting writing work. Where you must write it yourself, I offer planning or feedback instead.
What to send and how the quote works
A short outline is enough to start.
- Organisation background and latest accounts
- School partners and evidence of their involvement
- Activity plan and pupil needs
- Budget, evaluation approach and current application stage
Writing is quoted for your brief. Reviews start at £95. Scope, complexity and the application stage determine the final fee. Later stages and extra review rounds are agreed separately. No payment on this form.
Previous Paul Hamlyn work is experience, not an endorsement or a promise of funding. Any examples shown elsewhere on this site may relate to a different Paul Hamlyn programme.
From your rough notes
to a complete written draft.
Research, writing and one agreed round of refinements.
The partnership
Set out what each school and arts partner brings, how decisions are shared and whose time the budget covers.
The learning
Explain the pupils’ needs and why this artistic approach is useful. Distinguish educational aims from therapeutic work.
What you will learn
Build a practical evaluation plan around the questions the partners need answered, rather than a long list of measures no one will use.
Check and refine
You check the facts and missing information. I make one agreed round of refinements; you approve and submit.
You receive an editable draft and submission checklist, with missing facts flagged. You approve it and submit to the funder.
Read the writing before you hire me.
A genuine application extract. Only identifying details have been redacted; the wording is retained.
Browse all writing extracts →Real applications.
Personal support.
Scroll across for more client experiences →
Matt supported me throughout my Paul Hamlyn Foundation application, which was successful. He demonstrated profound respect for the background of my application, which focused on Ballroom Culture, and articulated my points clearly to the panel.
The review was very detailed and clearly structured, so it was easy for me to update my application and submit it in time.
I am really grateful to Matt for reviewing my DYCP application. He provided clear, detailed feedback with explanations for each proposed change.
Send me the fund,
the deadline, and the idea.
Two or three sentences are enough. I’ll reply personally with the right service, scope and fixed quote.
No commitment until you agree the quote.
Prefer to talk first? Book a chat
Dear Matt,
Tell me what you know. “Not sure” is fine.Only your name, email and a short outline are required. The other fields are optional.
Form not working? Email matt@artsfunded.com directly.
Quick answers.
Yes. Send the proposed partners and their roles. We will make the shared approach clear without hiding differences between settings.
Yes. Send the invitation and additional questions so we can scope the next piece of work accurately.
Independent support from Matthew Simmonds, not the funder or an approved supplier. I check the current route and outside-assistance rules before agreeing work. You approve all facts, figures and commitments and submit the application. Funding is never guaranteed.
Written feedback on the strength of the partnership, learning case and evidence, including places where the application assumes knowledge the reader will not have. It is not a complete rewrite. I confirm the fee and scope before payment.
Previous Paul Hamlyn work is experience, not an endorsement or a promise of funding. Any examples shown elsewhere on this site may relate to a different Paul Hamlyn programme.
A bid writer who works
inside the arts.
I’m Matthew Simmonds, Co-Artistic Director of Strange Futures, an Arts Council England-funded theatre company. I’m also a theatre maker, performer and facilitator.
I know the work behind the form. I work with individual artists, small organisations and charities, from a first application to NPO bids, multi-year community funding and longer-term planning. My job is to make the next step clearer and keep your own voice in the writing.
Matt Simmonds More about Matt →Working on another application?
Arts, charity, community and heritage support, with the same personal approach.