Give Us Time: February Half Term Break Available in Scotland

Due to a cancellation, details are:

Friday 13 – Friday 20 February 2026

Amat Manse, Ardgay, IV27 4HD – dog friendly!

Amat lies inland from the east coast about 50 miles north of Inverness. The nearest villages are Ardgay (9 miles) and Bonar Bridge (10 miles). By road, the journey time from Inverness is about 1 hour. The remote location of the property, on a no through road, lends itself to a relaxing break, although there is phone signal and broadband if needed!

The property sleeps up to up to 8 people - three twin-bedded rooms and one double room with an accompanying ensuite shower room. There are a further two bathrooms, one on the ground floor near the main entrance and a second on the first floor.

There are more details and pictures at http://amatsalmon.com/manse.php

This break is being booked by email, so please contact enquiries@giveustime.org.uk with any queries.

To find out more about Give Us Time please go to: www.giveustime.org.uk

Family Welfare Matters Newsletter – Jan 2026 Issue Out Now

For more information on any of the Family Welfare Matters content, please contact your nearest HIVE or our HQ on: RC-Pers-HIVEComms-0Mailbox (MULTIUSER) RC-Pers-HIVEComms-0Mailbox@mod.gov.uk

Give Us Time: Latest Update now published

Give Us Time’s latest briefing includes details of tickets for the Birmingham International Tattoo in February, and all remaining March breaks.

To find out more please go to: www.giveustime.org.uk

Bovington: Garrison welfare team

The Welfare team aims to provide the best possible welfare advice to all soldiers and their families. The Welfare office is located by Costcutter food store on King George V Road, Bovington. 

• Unit Welfare Officer - Mr Adrian Ingham 
• Garrison Welfare Warrant Officer - WO2 Scott Forrester
• Welfare Support Officer - Zoe Van de Zande

Tel: Welfare Office 01929 402239 or 01929 402240

Email: CMC-BovLulSU-WELFARE-0Mailbox@mod.gov.uk 

In case of emergency - duty welfare mobile number 07971 577282

Please only contact the duty mobile number if it is an urgent welfare matter. 

Information provided by Bovington HIVE

Blandford: Garrison welfare support

The Welfare support teams and chaplaincy services offer support and advice to all Soldiers, Officers and families living or working on the Garrison

Should you require help and support or have a welfare issue please contact a member of your Welfare Team during normal working hours on:

Blandford Garrison Support Unit (BGSU)

Garrison Welfare Clerk - BlandfordGar-BGSU-WCSO Tel: 01258 481938

Garrison Welfare Warrant Officer - BLANDFORDGAR-BGSU-GWWO Tel: 01258 482694

Garrison Welfare Officer - BLANDFORDGAR-BGSU-GWO Tel: 01258 481936

11 (RSS) Sig Regt Welfare Team

Unit Welfare Senior NCO - DSCIS-11SR-RHQ-Welfare NCO Tel: 01258 482619

Asst Unit Welfare Officer - DSCIS-11SR-RHQ-AUWO Tel: 01258 482902

Unit Welfare Officer - DSCIS-11SR-RHQ-UWO Tel: 01258 482901

Garrison Padre - Carl.Stokes103@mod.gov.uk Mobile 07971927485

Out of hours emergency contact the Guardroom on - 01258 482402.

Information provided by Bovington HIVE

Bovington: Citizens Advice sessions at Bovington HIVE every Thursday - Free advice & support

The mobile advice bus will be parked adjacent to the HIVE building (Corner of King George V Road & Swinton Avenue) Speak to advisors face to face.

Available to all Garrison personnel, spouses, partners, reserves, veterans, civil servants, MOD contractors and local civilian community. Confidentiality guaranteed.

Appointments are not necessary, just turn up. First come, first serve basis.

Information provided by Bovington HIVE

SSAFA Short Breaks for Children with Additional Needs & Disabilities - now OPEN!

What Are SSAFA Short Breaks?

SSAFA Short Breaks are free, residential activity breaks for families currently serving in the Armed Forces who have a child (aged 5–18) with an additional need and/or disability. These breaks offer families a chance to spend quality time together, enjoy inclusive activities, and build confidence and resilience. Families will be responsible for their own travel costs; however, if this presents a challenge, the SSAFA team may be able to support.

Who Can Apply?

• Families with children aged 5–18, where at least one child has an additional need and/or disability.
• Children must be dependents of a current serving person or reservist.
• At least one parent must attend the break.
• Families must not have attended a SSAFA Short Break in the last five years.

Two-Stage Application Process

This year, SSAFA is introducing a two-stage application process for Short Breaks applications. We will prioritise families where the need is greatest. This assessment helps us understand your situation and make sure support is offered fairly and where it can have the most impact. Every family deserves access to support that reflects their lived reality. For military families with children who have additional needs and disabilities, that support must be flexible, respectful, and emotionally safe. This assessment helps us understand what that looks like for you and your family and helps us determine if SSAFA’s Short Breaks can meet that need at this time, when considered in relation to other applications.

Stage 1 – Basic Eligibility
Families complete an online form to confirm they meet the core criteria. Only those who pass Stage 1 will be invited to Stage 2. Apply for Stage 1 SSAFA Short Breaks 2026.

Tidworth: County Lines Organised Crime Gangs & Child Exploitation - Free Awareness Training - Thursday 29th January

For the Eventbrite page please click HERE

Information provided by South West HIVE Hub

Give Us Time - 2026 breaks are live!

Give Us Time first breaks for 2026 are live on the website now – there are dates in March and April across the UK, in both glamping pods (which sleep up to 4) and holiday lodges (which sleep up to 6). There are two new locations this year as well, at Malvern View in Herefordshire, and Glendal in Cumbria.

As always, the criteria for breaks is here https://giveustime.org.uk/what-we-do/faqs/ and the registration form is here https://bookings.giveustime.org.uk/login

Breaks are accommodation only – Give Us Time do not cover the costs of travel, food, or entertainment as part of the break.

Breaks are booked on a first come first served basis and they ask families to wait 2 years between bookings, but will always consider exceptional circumstances.

More dates for the rest of 2026 will be added soon – announcements will be made on Give Us Time socials here https://www.facebook.com/GiveUsTime and https://www.instagram.com/give_us_time/

Grantham: Shine Connect Winter Support 2025

As we approach the festive season and look ahead to 2026, we are pleased to launch our Shine Connect Christmas and Winter Support Magazine which can be found here: Christmas Shine Connect 2025. It’s a practical information guide designed to support people who may be struggling, feeling isolated, or in need of extra help over the Christmas period.
The magazine brings together a wide range of key services from health, care and community VCFSE partners, all in one place.
It includes information on local support available over Christmas and New Year, warm and welcoming spaces for those who need them, free phone helplines offering a friendly voice, and community services that help people connect with others and reduce loneliness and isolation during the holiday period.

Information provided by Grantham HIVE

Grantham: Carers UK Winter Magazine

Carers UK have just shared their Winter Magazine, it has some great carer stories and information -Carers UK

Information provided by Grantham HIVE

Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy

 
Defence sets out commitments to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a new cross government strategy published on 18 Dec.

To view the Strategy documents, please go to: Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy - GOV.UK

Celebrating the Success of SSAFA’s Togetherness Overseas Parenting Programmes

SSAFA are delighted to share the success of their Togetherness (Solihull NHS) online parenting programmes, since launching in April 2025.

Togetherness is available to the Service community living overseas, including UK-based extended family members of Service families assigned worldwide. The BF1 postcode linked to the overseas location where the serving family are based will be needed to access.

What is Togetherness?
Togetherness is designed to support parents at every stage of their journey from pregnancy through to adolescence. These courses empower parents to:

• Understand their child’s brain development and emotional health.
• Decode behaviours and respond effectively to foster positive interactions.
• Develop strong communication skills to nurture confidence, kindness, and emotional awareness in children.

Recruit for Spouses: Op SPOUSE and how RFS supports you

What is Op SPOUSE?

RFS gives the following overview:

“A nationwide initiative to strengthen Defence retention, readiness and resilience.

“Family dissatisfaction is the leading driver in the Armed Forces retention challenge – and supporting spouses more effectively is critical to improving outcomes across Defence.

“Op SPOUSE is the solution – it equips military spouses with the tools, opportunities, and support they need to thrive, helping to sustain family stability and long-term commitment to Service life.

“Delivered by RFS – the UK’s leading military families charity – this scalable initiative enhances existing MOD commitments to support Service families, and strengthens Defence outcomes by improving retention, readiness and cost-efficiency.”

Find out more at: https://www.recruitforspouses.co.uk/op-spouse

To find out more about the support available from Recruit for Spouses, please view/download the 'How RFS Supports You' brochure.

NHS England: Calling All Young Carers! Workshop dates for Dec 25 and Jan 26

To register for a workshop please email: ENGLAND.NHSTHINKCARER@NHS.NET

For more information about the support and resources available to young carers in the Service community, please contact Army HIVE on RC-Pers-HIVEComms-0Mailbox@mod.gov.uk, PM via our social media pages, or use our blog enquiry form (from the blog menu please go to: “If you need further information Please contact us: here.

Leuchars: Carers Drop-in with AWS next drop-in Thursday 11th December

click on image to enlarge

Contact jane.allen208@mod.gov.uk

Information provided by Leuchars

First Defence Finance: Resources from Safer Gambling Week

Last week marked Safer Gambling Week, and our colleagues at First Defence Finance (one of the three MOD-endorsed Credit Unions) have produced a booklet on this topic that can be viewed online at: 

👉 https://heyzine.com/flip-book/FDFGamblingSupport

Read on for further information:

Colerne: Welfare facilities booking request form - Colerne Station

 

The following facilities can currently be booked by scanning the QR code or clicking the link below:

• Welfare house / flat
• Community Centre
• Soft Play
• Noah's Ark family pass

Welfare facilities booking request form

(To check availability first, please check the Google calendar: Welfare facilities Google calendar)

Please note these facilities can be used by any Service Personnel or their family working on Colerne Station (21 Sigs, 13 Sigs, etc.) or living in SFA in Colerne

To find out more about Welfare's facilities, please click the link below to visit the Sway info page:

Colerne Station Welfare Sway info page

Information provided by Colerne HIVE

The Ripple Pond: Autumn Newsletter 2025

The Ripple Pond exists to ensure that everyone caring for a loved one who has a service attributable physical or psychological injury in the British Armed Forces Community is genuinely seen, heard, and supported.

To read this latest newsletter in full please click here: Autumn 2025 Newsletter

To find out more about the support offered by The Ripple Pond, please visit: https://www.theripplepond.org/

Give Us Time – Winter Update

 

The latest Give Us Time update has details of their ‘Give Us A Moment at Christmas’ opportunities, including tickets on the ‘Polar Express’, THREE new breaks in Scotland for next year, and the opportunity to raise some funds.

For more information please go to www.giveustime.org.uk