Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) 2025 Results

The results from the armed forces continuous attitude survey (AFCAS) 2025 have been published and are available here.

Serve + Protect Credit Union’s latest podcast about managing debt successfully

There are lots of times when borrowing money can be useful. However, managing your debt can sometimes become overwhelming.

The latest podcast episode from Serve and Protect Credit Union is full of useful information on managing your debt effectively and the support available if you are struggling.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/qtL02Yl2lV0?si=DJmTfo-KNo-G5euF

MOD staff benefit update: new fixed-rate savings account available from Serve + Protect Credit Union

A new issue of the fixed-rate savings account from Seve and Protect Credit Union is available from 1st to 26th June 2025.

This is available to you as part of the financial wellbeing benefits we offer through our partnership with them.

• 4% AER fixed for 12 months

• No fees or charges

This is just for your awareness - not a recommendation. Please review the details and decide if it’s right for you.

https://sandpcu.co.uk/hs-fixed-saver

Terms and eligibility criteria apply

Help RBLI Lifeworks better understand the needs of the Army Forces Community – please complete their short online questionnaire

RBLI is exploring how to best deliver its Lifeworks Families courses to meet the unique needs of our Armed Forces Community.

Your input is essential in helping us shape our employment skills training to be as effective and accessible as possible - https://forms.office.com/e/779uzXUBj0

Lifeworks is the employment support division of Royal British Legion Industries, a national charity supporting the Armed Forces. Its courses equip families with the tools necessary to pursue their desired careers outside the Armed Forces. https://rbli.co.uk/what-we-do/lifeworks/

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Supporting Partners Programme reopens for applications, closing date: 12pm on 23rd July 2025

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is pleased to announce that the Supporting Partners programme under the MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund is now open and ready to welcome new applications!

Please click here to read all about the programme online

Defence Update: Your Offer – recognising your service

What Defence is doing to improve Service life and information on support and opportunities for you and your family.

The substantial range of benefits and allowances available in your Armed Forces Offer recognises the unique demands of military life and individual needs, at home and abroad.

Pay is the most well-recognised aspect of the Offer, but the breadth and complexity of everything that’s included within the Armed Forces employee package means it can be difficult to navigate and understand.

Support is always available

Click here for PDF file. 

Gov.uk News Update: VE Day boost for veterans’ healthcare

Government announces £1.8 million investment to transform NHS care for veterans, serving personnel and their families.

Armed forces veterans and their families will benefit from improved and targeted healthcare, the government has announced as the nation marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

A new training programme will ensure NHS staff across the country are supported to meet the unique health needs of veterans, serving personnel and their families.

The new programme will see NHS staff across England receiving dedicated training to help them identify and support patients with military backgrounds. GPs, doctors and NHS nurses will work with regional trainers to make sure they embed this support into their services.

To read this news announcement in full please go to: VE Day boost for veterans’ healthcare. 

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Suicide prevention is everybody’s business

“Research tells us that military personnel are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety and depression as non-military civilians. A culture of self-sufficiency and not admitting ‘weakness’ still exists, which is a potential barrier to accessing support.” Ged Flynn, Chief Executive of PAPYRUS

Those working on the frontline with vulnerable veterans know this challenge all too well. It’s why the Armed Forces Covenant Trust (the Trust) has made this a key priority in their Embedding Prevention of Veteran Suicide programme (EVPS), awarding over £1.5 million to 18 projects that are driving real change in veteran suicide prevention.

PAPYRUS is a UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people. Speaking about their EPVS funded bespoke training project, Ged explains: “Veterans may not want to engage with civilian mental health services as they feel it won’t cater for their military experiences.

“We know alienation from civilian life is a large driver of suicide ideation and no veteran deserves to be alone with thoughts of taking their own life.”

Over the next two years, PAPYRUS will offer bespoke CPD accredited suicide prevention training to those working with and supporting veterans. Delivered in partnership with veteran charities, resettlement centres, COBSEO members and veteran families, the training will equip participants with skills to identify warning signs, intervene effectively, and reduce stigma around mental health and suicide among veterans.

Ged continues: “Suicide prevention is everybody’s business and through this training for those who work with and support veterans we will be spreading greater awareness and ultimately help to prevent the tragic loss of veteran’s lives.”

Safe community spaces to promote mental wellbeing

Taking a different approach, a UK-wide veterans’ sheds project from UK Men’s Sheds Association (UKMSA) is providing safe, welcoming spaces in local communities where veterans can come together to connect, create and converse. Research gathered by the UKMSA Health and Wellbeing Survey 2023 suggests 39% of Shed Leaders believe their Shed may have prevented at least one member from taking their life.

UKMSA Shed communities reduce feelings of isolation, promote mental and physical wellbeing, and provide enormous benefits not only to those directly involved, but also the wider community. Many veterans already participate at men’s Sheds nationwide and have shared stories of how Sheds have changed their lives for the better. With their EPVS award, UKMSA will recruit a dedicated Armed Forces Lead into its existing Shed Development Team to focus on maximising the benefits of Sheds for veterans and those leaving the armed forces.

UKMSA will work with partners, including the Royal British Legion, a volunteer network and the wider community to seed new Sheds and introduce an Armed Forces Accreditation Scheme to better support the military community in existing Sheds across the UK.

Amy Robinson, UKMSA's Head of Operations and a RAF veteran said: “Men’s Sheds have long been a source of community and support for veterans, and we are proud to now be able to provide support specifically focussed on the armed forces community. This funding allows us to better inform, signpost and guide groups in the creation of new Sheds and welcoming spaces for veterans, reservists, and current military personnel soon to leave the armed forces. We know it will save lives.”

A network of collaborative support across the UK

These are just two of the 18 projects across the UK supported through EPVS earlier this year. Ranging from peer mentor training in Wales, to an adventure-based therapy programme in Northern Ireland, from specialist housing and financial support in Scotland to a holistic wellbeing project that will use football as a catalyst in the North East of England, there is a wide range of work underway.

EVPS was developed in direct response to findings from the Trust’s successful One is Too Many (OITM) programme which aimed to reduce suicide risks within vulnerable veterans in a co-ordinated and targeted way. OITM successfully improved mental health and wellbeing in veterans, with lifesaving implications. But there is always more that can be done.

The programme evaluation highlighted three key areas which needed focus;

• addressing mental health wellbeing, help-seeking and stigma within the Armed Forces community,
• supporting staff and volunteers who work with vulnerable beneficiaries,
• addressing the needs of under-represented groups.

EPVS was designed to meet all three of these needs.

Working together to make a difference

Collaboration is central to this programme, widening the potential reach and benefits of each project. The Trust are building connections between funded projects at round tables across the UK. These valuable events provide an opportunity for projects to connect, alongside Thrive Together leads, to understand what’s happening in their region, talk about their plans, and share best practice and resources. The first of these has already taken place, bringing together Northumberland County Council, UK Men’s Sheds Association, and DMWS (Thrive Together Lead for North East and Yorkshire) to discuss the veteran landscape in their region and ways to enhance future collaboration. More are planned across the UK in the coming months.

EPVS programme lead Steven Inman said: “The high number of applications we received shows just how much awareness there is of this issue and how many organisations across the country are ready to take action.

“While we could not fund every initiative, we’re encouraging all those who applied to stay connected with the Thrive Together programme. By working together, we can find lasting solutions to this complex and important challenge.”

Find out more

For a full list of all awardees from the Embedding Prevention of Veteran Suicide programme, visit the Trust’s website www.covenantfund.org.uk

Keep up to date with funding opportunities

For the latest updates and announcements on Covenant Fund programmes, and any other funding opportunities the Trust has available throughout the year, sign up to their e-newsletter via their website www.covenantfund.org.uk. 

Brunei: PCMF - Mental Health Awareness Week 12-18 May 2025

“Mental health is a basic human right.”

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.

Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.

5 steps to Mental Wellbeing

1. Connect with other people.
2. Be physically active.
3. Learn new skills.
4. Give to others.
5. Pay attention to the present moment (mindfulness)

If you think you have any issue with mental health, please contact PCMF where we provide free, strictly confidential services and direct you to appropriate individual who will be able to help you. PCMF telephone civilian no- 3224893 Military- 3226

Mental health awareness week theme for 2025: Community.

Visit: https://mentalhealth-uk.org/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-days/mental-health-awareness-week/

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Free from Fear Programme reopens for applications

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (the Trust) has announced their Free from Fear Programme is once again accepting applications for funding.

In 2024/25 the Trust awarded over £1M to seven major projects under their Free from Fear programme which seeks to address and prevent domestic abuse within serving armed forces communities.

The programme is seeking applications for projects that will achieve one or more of the following outcomes.

• Effective measures are delivered to prevent incidences of domestic abuse within armed forces communities and these address emerging and current challenges.
• Clear routes are provided which enable victim-survivors from armed forces communities to access effective support, including the ability to recognise and report domestic abuse.
• Sustainable improvements and adaptations are made to service provision to meet the evolving support needs of victim-survivors from armed forces communities.

Grants of £75,000 to £150,000 are available for projects lasting one-to-two years.

Why is the Trust running this programme for a second year?

Domestic abuse happens in all cultures and social groups. Research by Kings College London (KCL), jointly funded by the MOD, found increased prevalence of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) in armed forces communities compared to the general population.

Collectively, the projects supported under Free from Fear last year cover many aspects of much needed support and awareness of this issue. From a UK-wide helpline, work to spot the early signs of abuse, development of training programmes, addressing behaviour change, developing support networks for victim-survivors, and ultimately creating and maintaining strong links within communities, the military and beyond.

What’s new for 2025/26?

This year, the Trust has widened eligibility to apply for this funding, and is now accepting applications from:

• registered charities and CICs with recent, relevant experience in the field of domestic abuse
• local authorities
• NHS bodies
• Armed forces units/bases.

Full eligibility guidance is available on their website www.covenantfund.org.uk

Chief Executive of the Trust, Anna Wright said: “In the light of the success of the Free from Fear Programme last year, it feels right that we seek to make further impact in support of those living with or in fear of domestic abuse. We’ve widened our eligibility this year to include NHS bodies and local authorities and look forward to receiving a rich portfolio of potential work to target this issue.”

Find out more

The Trust’s Free from Fear programme page has full details about this important programme, including how to apply. You can also read about the projects awarded funding under this programme last year.

Application deadline is 2 July 2025.

Are you on the mailing list?

Did you know the Trust have a newsletter? Get the latest updates and news straight to your inbox via their website www.covenantfund.org.uk

Little Troopers reunites military families in first-of-its-kind family reconnection weekend

Credit to Paul Brewer Photography

Military families were reunited this week when Little Troopers, the children’s military charity, kicked off the first of their “All Together” family reconnection weekends.

In January, the organisation revealed they were launching a series of four fully funded family reconnection weekends for forces families to spend quality time together outdoors, funded by Team Forces.

The charity hosted its first weekend this week in Portland, Dorset, with eight families taking part in action-packed activities at the Portland Outdoor Centre in Castletown.

Families arrived on Friday (2nd May), kicking off the weekend by spending time together over a beautiful sunset on the beach and drinking hot chocolates.

On the second day, families got to try out coasteering at Portland Bill, exploring the shoreline by swimming, jumping, scrambling and climbing the rocks and cliffs, and learning coastal bushcraft and cooking fish on the fire. Families headed home on Sunday 4th May after giving kayaking, rafting and stand-up paddleboarding a go.

Louise Fetigan, Founder of Little Troopers, said: “Our new family reconnection weekends are aimed at families before, during or after a period of separation or deployment, to help ease periods of separation and help children to connect with their parents. Our Dorset weekend went brilliantly. It was so lovely to see families getting stuck in with all the activities and it was a real joy to see everyone laughing and enjoying some special time together. Military families are generally quite active families, so we felt the weekend really played to these families’ strengths and interests and we hope it will help them to have bonded with one another, whether they’re facing the difficulties of an impending deployment, missing a parent who is away, or welcoming a parent home as they settle back in.”

The Little Troopers weekends invite between six and eight families, with one or both parents and up to four siblings aged nine to 18, to go away for an exciting few days of outdoor adventure and connection, where they are encouraged to put down their phones, meet new people and make memories. Each weekend runs from Friday to Sunday at no cost to the families.

The dates and locations for the next three Little Troopers All Together reconnection weekends in 2025 are: 

• Friday 13th June to Sunday 15th June 2025, New Forest, Hampshire.
• Friday 25th July to Sunday 27th July, Brenscombe, Wareham, Dorset.
• Friday 26th September to Sunday 28th September, Portland, Dorset.  

The events form part of the charity’s broader ‘All Together’ programme which brings together young people from across the military community to benefit from spending time with others who have shared similar life experiences. For more information about Little Troopers All Together and to learn more about the charity’s work supporting military children, visit www.littletroopers.net. 

Gov.uk News Update: Thousands of veterans to benefit from new UK-wide support network

Veterans across the UK will have easier access to essential care and support under a new VALOUR system announced 5 May, as part of the Government’s commitment to renew the nation’s contract with those who have served through the Plan for Change.

To read the news update in full, please go to: Thousands of veterans to benefit from new UK-wide support network. 

National Stop Loan Sharks week 2025 – 19 to 25 May

It can take time – sometimes months, even years – for someone to reach out for help with a loan shark debt.

Stop Loan Sharks figures show some borrowers waited for around four years before seeking support. But it’s worth it when they do.

These are real words from borrowers who took that brave first step and reached out to Stop Loan Sharks for help:

“It feels like a massive weight has been lifted.”

“You just understand and haven’t been judgemental.”

“After reporting you came back really quickly which put my mind at rest.”

“The person on the hotline created an immediate bond with me. I feel so much better.”

The Stop Loan Sharks team is available 24/7. No call centres. No scripts. Just real people who care.

Call in confidence on 0300 555 2222
Text or WhatsApp on 07860 022116
Email reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk
Visit www.stoploansharks.co.uk where you will find a reporting form and a Live Chat option, available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Frontfoot Jobs: Engineering job opportunities open nationwide

Frontfoot Jobs are pleased to announce that they now have engineering job opportunities open nationwide.

Please visit their website for more details: https://www.frontfoot.life/jobs and any questions please get in touch with admin@frontfoot.jobs.

Defence Children Services (DCS) Attendance Week 2025: Celebrating School Attendance, Achievement and Educational Opportunities Available to Service Children

Defence Children Services (DCS) are thrilled to announce DCS Attendance Week 2025, which will take place from the 19th to the 23rd May 2025. The week will showcase the incredible educational opportunities available to Service Children, whilst emphasising the importance of fostering partnerships among communities, schools, students, and families.

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Almost £800,000 Awarded to Support Partners Unlock New Opportunities

Fifteen projects have been awarded a share of almost £800,000 in grants to empower partners and spouses of serving personnel by opening opportunities to upskilling and exploring new work solutions - in the latest round of grants from the MOD's Armed Forces Families Fund.

The projects will also provide tools. Resources and training to support partners move into a job or a career change, and to build easier access to wellbeing support as part of the Fund's Supporting Partners programme.

Give Us Time - new respite breaks available!

We are absolutely thrilled to have a new set of donations for 2025 from Meadow Bay Villages!

We have 20 breaks available in June, September and October at Billing Aquadrome, near Northampton, and Hayling Island Holiday Park, near Portsmouth. That’s 10 breaks at each park, all running Monday to Friday!

This is Meadow Bay’s second year donating to Give Us Time and we’re delighted to have their ongoing support for our Forces families.

Nikki Rathie, Holidays Director, Meadow Bay Villages, said "At Meadow Bay, we believe in the power of time well spent—especially for those who give so much of theirs in service to others. Donating midweek breaks to Give Us Time is our way of saying thank you to military families, offering them a chance to reconnect, recharge, and make lasting memories in the peaceful surroundings of our parks. It’s a small gesture, but one filled with immense gratitude."

Alex Youngs, Operations Director, Give Us Time, said, “We are honoured and grateful to receive another generous donation from Meadow Bay. Thanks to their generosity, we are able to help more families get away to rest, reconnect and strengthen the bonds that are so essential to our wellbeing."

For more info, please email enquiries@giveustime.org.uk

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Support for families serving overseas

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (the Trust) has awarded over £600,000 to support families serving overseas.

According to UK defence personnel statistics up to April 2024, around 5,700 armed forces personnel were stationed overseas. While the majority (66%) were posted within Europe, other key regions included North America, North Africa and the Middle East, and Asia.

Milspo Thrive, 13th May, a FREE ONLINE summit designed to help Military spouses and partners grow a business that works for them

Are you a military spouse or partner running a business (or dreaming of starting one)?

Join us on 13 May for Milspo Thrive – a FREE ONLINE summit designed to help you grow a business that works for you, wherever military life takes you.

• Hear from expert speakers
• Connect with fellow military spouse business owners
• Walk away with practical tools and fresh inspiration

Join the waitlist: www.milspo.co.uk/milspothrive2025

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Over £300K awarded to enhance Early Years provision for Service families

Ten projects by nurseries and childcare settings across the UK have been awarded a share of £300,000 in grants to help forces families access early years education - in the latest round of grants from the MOD's Armed Forces Families Fund.

The projects, which will also provide development and upskilling opportunities for early years staff, will work to further improve educational experiences for young children from service families as part of the Fund's Early Years programme.

“Congratulations to the recipients of this year’s Armed Forces Families Fund: Early Years programme. These projects and the meaningful change the funding will create, allows the organisations to enhance their services to mitigate the challenges faced by young Service children and their families, due to military life” - Debra Barton, Early Years Specialist Lead, Ministry of Defence.