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

 
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.

Cardiff: Cardiff Met's Summer School for Adult Learning is now open for bookings!

We’re excited to announce that Cardiff Met’s Summer School 2025 is now open for booking!

Delivered by Cardiff Met’s Widening Access team, in collaboration with Reaching Wider, Summer School gives adult learners the opportunity to try a range of interesting and engaging learning opportunities - free of charge! Our Summer School is open to all adults

over 18 years old however priority is given to learners who live in areas of multiple deprivation or face barriers to education. All courses are run in the daytime so that adult learners with children in school can attend courses and make it back in time for the school run.

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.

Anna Wright, CEO of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, said: "This award will provide vital support for service spouses and partners, helping them build resilience, connect with others, and navigate the challenges of military family life. It also opens new opportunities, offering practical guidance and wellbeing activities, to create a stronger, more confident community.”

DIO Families First Newsletter for SFA Occupants – 1 May Edition

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To read online please click here: DIO Families First Newsletter for SFA Occupants – 1 May Edition.

Blandford: Garrison kitchen garden plots

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Information provided by Bovington HIVE

Lyneham: Charity quiz night in the Community Centre - Wed 21 May

 

Information provided by Lyneham HIVE

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Support for families serving overseas

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.

Following the Trust’s own research and consultation, they launched the Supporting Serving Families Overseas Programme. Now, they have awarded nine projects a share of £127,642, with funding making its way to Spain, the Middle East, Cyprus, Belgium, Italy and more!

The projects funded in this round represent a range of support for the whole family. From support for those who have experienced, or are at risk of, domestic violence, to emotional health support for adults and children to help strengthen relationships while overseas.

Overseas, overstretched

A new posting can bring with it the usual upheaval: packing and moving all your belongings (drowning in moving boxes!), changing schools, changing job, leaving the dentist it took you 12 months to find. But add to that a language barrier, not being allowed to work for the next 2-3 years, having to pay for storage for all the things you can’t take with you, not to mention having to rebuy things you’ll need that won’t work in other countries, and you’ve got yourself an overseas posting!

The projects the Trust has supported seek to provide targeted support for families in-location to improve wellbeing and make the transition abroad easier.

Parli Italiano?

They awarded the Home Away Support Initiative Italy £8,500 to enhance available welfare for families, foster a sense of community in this quite isolated destination and help integrate those living there with Italian life.

Staff Sergeant David Skill, Head of locations for North of Italy, said: “When people see its Italy, or Spain or wherever, they make some real assumptions in terms of what you’re going to do and what life’s going to be like. People get this picturesque view that you’re going to live in a villa and be by the pool every day! There is a little bit of that in there, but that is not the day-to-day living experience (…) It’s about managing that expectation.”

One of the activities they plan to offer to the families they support is Italian lessons. Emily Golding, Head of locations for Northeast Italy, adds: “It’s not a very touristy place to live, so when you go out for dinners and stuff, you do have to speak Italian. It’s just a normal human thing to be able to go to the supermarket or a restaurant and have a conversation. People are keen to develop their language skills but also, it’s a chance to get people together.”

But support doesn’t stop there

The Trust has also awarded £500,000 to the Army Families Federation to work in partnership with the Naval and RAF Family Federations to implement an evidence-based portfolio of support that incorporates the whole cycle of an overseas posting: from initial contact prior to relocation, to support on arrival and ongoing support during the posting, moving to support with reintegration back to the UK (or another overseas posting), and finally including post assignment learning and feedback.

Following an initial externally run discovery phase to engage with families, statutory organisation, other charities and chain of command, the Family Federations will launch a range of support work including early engagement briefings; an overseas employment information hub; a tri-service digital engagement platform to provide families with key posting information and improving communication; and more.

The Chief Executives from the Families Federations have released a joint comment: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this four-year grant (…) by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. During this period, we will be launching a series of projects and a research study that will help us inform and support serving personnel and families from all three Services who are going through the cycle of contemplating, serving on, or returning from an overseas assignment. This is a really exciting time for all three Families Federations, and we look forward to working closely with the Trust and the single services on this unique, transformative programme.”

Find out more

A full list of awards made in this latest round are available on the Trust’s website here.

Are you on the mailing list?

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

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

DIO SFA Communications Update: An introduction to the Defence Homes website

DIO has launched a new website called Defence Homes for Service personnel and their families, as part of our commitment to enhance the overall SFA experience.

The Defence Homes site hosts the latest SFA information and updates, and has now replaced the Service Family Accommodation pages on GOV.UK.

The Defence Homes site is a helpful and improved source of information and support for your SFA queries. Features on the new site include: 

• SFA news – helping you easily access the latest Families First newsletter
• Events within your local community – sign up to a SFA Roadshow
• Find out who’s who – read more about the teams who are here to support you
• Information and guidance – to support you throughout your time in SFA, such as requesting a repair or reporting an issue

Forest of Dean: Bark in the Park - Sun 18 May at Speech House GL16 7EL

Information provided by Wales HIVE Hub.