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

The Trust is looking to fund projects that make a meaningful difference for service children by:

• Increasing capacity so more service children can attend early years settings.
• Enhancing learning environments to support children’s educational development.
• Developing staff knowledge and skills through targeted training and resources focused on the needs of service families.
• Strengthening local partnerships, encouraging collaboration and resource‑sharing across settings and local authorities.
• Improving engagement with families, particularly during times when additional support may be needed.

Claire Rick, Director of Strategy of the Trust, said: “Children in armed forces families face unique challenges. The Early Years Programme helps early years settings provide stable, nurturing environments and better‑tailored support, giving service children the strong start they deserve, whatever their family circumstances.”

Find out more

Early years providers and local authorities supporting children aged birth to five from serving armed forces families are encouraged to find out more about the funding, eligibility, and application process.

Full details and supporting resources are available on the Early Years Programme page on the Trust’s website www.covenantfund.org.uk