Free Residentials for Veterans - Llanidloes, Powys

MOD Domestic abuse: guidance and support for the armed forces community

This Domestic Abuse site​ is for members of the armed forces community who are:​

* male or female victims
* perpetrators looking to change their behaviour
* military or civilian practitioners
* chain of command
* concerned family and friends​

Brunei: British High Commission - Volunteer Wardens Needed

Little Troopers gets ready to celebrate the Month of the Military Child in April

Little Troopers gets ready to celebrate the Month of the Military Child

April is the international month of the military child and charity Little Troopers wants military families and schools to join in the celebrations!

Head to the Little Troopers website to download and take part in fun activities with military children of all ages, helping them to reflect on how special it is to grow up with a parent in British Armed Forces. All the activities are dandelion-themed, the official flower of the military child – a plant that is strong and resilient and blooms anywhere the wind carries it.

At School

Little Troopers has created a special Military Child school pack with activities suitable for both primary and secondary schools. Help children reflect on their journey so far as a military child, make dandelion and lemon biscuits in class, read the dandelion poem together, do some mindful colouring or get the children to run their own assembly all about military life and the Month of the Military Child.

At Home

Families can choose to get involved in dandelion-themed art, recipes, colouring-in sheets and dandelion playdough. As a special gift, Little Troopers will be giving away a free seeded postcard featuring the Dandelion poem.

Little Troopers has organised three free live online events aimed at younger little troopers (under 10) during the month. Places for each event are limited, so families are encouraged to book early:

4th April: Rainforest Discovery with ZooLab

8th April: Creative art base

22nd April: Bake-a-long with Cookstars

There will social media giveaways throughout the month and Little Troopers will also be launching a special new book for pre-schoolers - watch this space!

Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, comments: “April the Month of the Military Child is our favourite time of year. It’s a chance for us all to reflect on all the amazing little troopers out there. We hope that lots of schools and families take the time in April to tell military children just how special and that taking part in the activities helps children feel part of our growing Little Troopers community.”

The next edition of the Little Troopers Gazette will also launch in April. The free newspaper, which is printed twice a year, is packed with stories written by military children along with news, fun facts and other activities. Families and schools can now order free copies.

For more information and to get involved visit www.littletroopers.net/month-of-the-military-child

Background information:

Little Troopers is a registered charity supporting service children who have parent(s) serving in our British Armed Forces, regular or reserve. These children often face unique challenges including frequent house and school moves, as well as regular periods of separation from their serving parent(s) for varying lengths of time due to exercises, training, operations and other service commitments.

As a charity, Little Troopers ensures our British Armed Forces children and their families have access to child-focused support wherever they are in the world and whatever community they live in. We provide fundamental resources and initiatives to help ease repeated separation periods and keep parent and child connected even when miles apart. We are the only charity in the UK dedicated to celebrating just how special all our Little Troopers out there really are.

For more information visit www.littletroopers.net

Have you ever served in the Womens Royal Army Corps (WRAC)

 

Improving Life Skills in the UK Armed Forces Community

https://online1.snapsurveys.com/ki13ez

Brunei: National Insurance (NI) - State Pension Maximisation - check your forecasted pension now!

NATIONAL INSURANCE (NI) - STATE PENSION MAXIMISATION

There is an urgent decision that some who are eligible for a UK state pension need to make now. Transitional arrangements for buying missing national insurance years from 2006 to 2016 end on 05 April 2023. 

All SP are encouraged to check their projected state pension (State pension forecast calculator) and NI history (Check your national insurance record). Once complete, SP will then need to make an assessment on whether the buy-back of any missing NI years, is worth their while. 

 A comprehensive guide to this process can be found on the Money Saving Expert website link

Join over 4,600 Service families in claiming funding for up to 20 hours of before and after school care for eligible children aged 4 to 11 years old.

Join over 4,600 Service families in claiming funding for up to 20 hours of before and after school care per week for eligible children aged 4 to 11 years old.

Armed Forces Families and Safeguarding (AFFS) recognise that Service families face additional difficulties when trying to access affordable and good quality childcare for their children. The Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme is designed to help support working families with the cost of before and after school childcare.

Since the Full UK Rollout of the WAC Allowance in September 2022, over 4,600 Service personnel have registered for the WAC scheme, and over £3.4M has been claimed. We know that there are many more families that are eligible to claim WAC that have not yet registered and are missing out on this financial support.

Who is it for?

Regular or FTRS (FC) Service personnel Serving in the UK or overseas unaccompanied

Service parents with children aged 4 to 11 years old who live at home and attend school or are home schooled in the UK

Service parents with children attending before and after school care during term time.

Check if you are eligible and read the FAQs to find out more


Civilian personnel can find out what financial support is available to them on gov.uk.

If you live in Wales or Scotland

Wraparound childcare is known as ‘Out of School Care’ in Wales and ‘School Age Childcare’ in Scotland.

Claim in five steps below.

1. Register your child/ren on JPA

2. Check you meet the WAC eligibility criteria

3. Apply for a Tax-Free Childcare account

4. Register for the Wraparound Childcare scheme

5. Claim up to 20 hours per eligible child per week

These steps and their related resources are available on the:

Discover My Benefits Army webpage (www)
Defence Childcare Portal on defnet or Defence Connect

Have questions?

Personnel and Service families can email the WAC team at

PEOPLE-AFFS-WAC-FRO-mailbox@mod.gov.uk

Further Links:

Army: https://discovermybenefits.mod.gov.uk/army/army-families/families-wraparound-childcare]

Navy: Families - wraparound childcare | Royal Navy | Discover My Benefits (mod.gov.uk)

RAF: Families - wraparound childcare | RAF | Discover My Benefits (mod.gov.uk) ​

Brunei: SSAFA Early Help Leaflet for military families

 

Click here to access the leaflets in: Nepali and English 

The Armed Forces Families Single Point of Contact

The Armed Forces Families Single Point of Contact is a pilot offering signposting support and guidance to Armed Forces families for navigating the NHS. 

NHS England are looking for families of serving personnel, veterans, and reservists to complete a survey to gather their thoughts on the future naming and branding of the service. 

The survey will be open until Friday 10th March and can be accessed via this link: https://forms.office.com/e/qnj5BAjJtg. ​

Purple Pack Bereavement Guide For Families of Service Personnel

This extended Purple Pack provides guidance, information and support to those who have a lost a loved one whilst still in service.

​​CLICK HERE​ to read​

Step into Health - NHS as your next career path

Step Into Health is holding a ​​45 minute webinar for all members of the Armed Forces community including partners, spouses and first-degree adult family members who may be interested in a career in the NHS. The webinar is due to take place online on 28th March 2023 at 11:00hrs. Further information and registration can be found at the following link.

Step Into Health NHS webinar

Support Services for Service Personnel and their Families - .Gov.UK

Defence and armed forces: Support services for military and defence personnel and their families - detailed information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Forces Additional Needs and Disability Forum - Spring Newsletter

Please click the link to read newsletter

FANDF Spring newsletter 2023 (1).pdf