SCHOOLS will have a harder time getting lottery funding after changes to the way Awards For All grants are given.

The National Lottery is introducing new rules to encourage schools to work more closely with community groups.

Schools will now have to show their projects will help local groups such as sports clubs or local history groups.

They will no longer be funded for activities that take place just in school time and will lose their special status which previously gave them the same priority as organisations with an income of less than £20,000. Private schools will not be able to receive funding.

Mike Wilkins, director of Awards For All England, said: "We want to encourage schools to keep applying to us, but they need to be aware that our rules are changing and that in future there needs to be an external focus."

Mr Wilkins said the changes had been prompted after cases of schools using private companies to write bids.

He said: "We have been concerned that in some cases commercial organisations are doing the thinking and project design for schools, which the schools then use as a basis for submitting a template application to us. We want to stop this practice. It is not illegal, but we believe it goes against the spirit of the Awards For All programme."

Other reasons included school staff who had a lack of knowledge about their own bids and a reduction in funding from Sport England. For more information go to www.awardsforall.org.uk

Updated: 12:29 Wednesday, April 21, 2004