Army HIVE Info

March 27, 2026

Bovington: Free community event & easter egg hunt - Sat 28th March

Click on poster above to enlarge

Free music, gifts, drinks, kids craft.
The Easter egg hunt will be on surrounding areas outside Memorial hall.
(Children must be accompanied by an adult)
Hosted by Poppies Tearooms
Venue: Memorial Hall, Bovington 1pm - 3pm

Everyone welcome.

Information provided by Bovington HIVE

DIO Service Family Accommodation (SFA) Communications Update - 27 March 2026

Let’s get building: MOD set to start construction on first military homes in a decade

Good homes will be placed at the heart of UK military family life as the MOD is set to begin the construction of 265 new military family houses at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, the first such development in almost a decade. Families living in the area will see a range of new, modern apartments, houses and bungalows begin to be built at Carterton near the air base in the coming weeks, once formal approval is received.

In addition to the building of the houses at Brize Norton, DIO will also be refurbishing another 2,000 homes across the UK in the next 12 months alone, building on the 1,250 worst-condition properties already brought up to standard. This work is a step towards widening access for families who have previously not been able to benefit from a military home, with 1,000 of the refurbished houses being brought back into use for military families. This is almost double the number of previously empty homes that were brought online for families over the previous 12 months.

To read more on this, see the Defence Homes article here.

Message for Service families

We know many of you, especially those in long term relationships or with childcare responsibilities for more than 80 nights a year have been waiting a long time for clearer information about widening access to Defence housing. Thank you for your patience.

We understand how important it is for families to have clarity about their housing options, especially when it comes to making decisions about work, schooling, and other aspects of family life. This remains a priority for Defence, and we are continuing to develop the detail. The final approach will be shaped by the wider Defence Investment Plan, which will set out how Defence will spend its money over the coming years to deliver the priorities of the Strategic Defence Review, including equipment, housing, infrastructure and people. We will share further information as soon as we are able to provide clear and dependable guidance on what widening access will mean for you and your family and how it will work.

To read the full message, click here.

Updated security advice for families living in SFA

The Anchoring & Military Minds Spring Newsletter is now available. It’s packed with updates, upcoming events, family‑friendly activities, and information on the support available to serving personnel and military families.

Anchoring & Military Minds offers free, confidential support to anyone connected to the Armed Forces community. Whether it’s guidance around mental health, family wellbeing, navigating services, or simply needing a chat—please feel free to get in touch or pass their details on to someone who may benefit.

To read the newsletter in full, please CLICK HERE

To find out more, please visit https://www.solentmind.org.uk/support-for-you/our-services/military-minds/

Military Connected Children and Young People – Survey invitation: Our Health, Our Community, Our Voice

We need your help! We're asking children and young people from military families to answer some questions and we'd really love to hear from you!

What is it all about? We want to find out what life is like for children who have a parent or guardian in the military. We're asking questions about your home, your school, your friends, and how you feel. This helps us understand what's great about military life, and where young people might need more support.

What are Social Determinants of Health? These are just the things around you that can affect how healthy and happy you feel, like where you live, who you spend time with, whether you feel safe, and whether you can get help when you need it.

What will I need to do? You'll be asked to fill in an online survey. It's not a test and there are no right or wrong answers! It will take about 10–15 minutes and you can do it at home or at school.

Everything you say is private. Your name won't be shared with anyone.

Why should I do it?

Because your opinion really matters!
To help other children in military families get better support
Hundreds of young people all over the UK are doing it too and you'll be part of something really important

Please use the relevant QR to your age group in the poster attached. Or follow the links below to the survey:

Age 8-11 – Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

Age 12-15 – Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

Age 16-18 - Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: New funding opens to help young service children get the best start in life

New funding opens to help young service children get the best start in life

Young children in serving armed forces families often experience change in their early years before they even start school.

Frequent moves, long periods of separation, and the pressures of service life can all affect a child’s sense of stability at a critical stage of development.

A new round of funding has now opened to help early years providers and local authorities respond to these challenges and give service children the strong, nurturing start they deserve.

Early Years Programme

The Early Years programme delivered by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (the Trust) on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, is part of the Armed Forces Families Fund. It supports projects that improve childcare provision for children aged birth to five from serving armed forces families. Focus is on helping early years settings develop practical projects that reflect the realities of military life, ensuring young service children can access safe, consistent environments that support their learning, wellbeing and sense of security before they begin primary school.

What funding can support

Enroll in your Headspace benefit: work.headspace.com/britisharmy/member-enroll

Headspace Log In

Northern Ireland: Causeway Coast & Glens Events for 2026

For more details please visit Events | Whats On | Visit Causeway Coast & Glens

Information provided by HIVE NI

March 26, 2026

South West: National Garden Scheme across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Oxfordshire

The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,300 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities through admissions, teas and cake.

Thanks to the generosity of garden owners, volunteers and visitors we have donated over £77.8 million to nursing and health charities and in 2025 made an annual donation of over £3.8 million. Our core beneficiaries include Carer’s Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK, Parkinson’s UK and The Queen’s Nursing Institute.

The National Garden Scheme doesn’t just open beautiful gardens for charity – we are passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of gardens too. We also support charities doing amazing work in gardens and health and grant bursaries to help community gardening projects.

Please click the links below for further information:

Wiltshire gardens

Gloucestershire gardens

Somerset gardens

Oxfordshire gardens

Information provided by Colerne & Lyneham HIVE