Get ready for a Wraparound Childcare (WAC) expansion to some overseas locations - coming spring term 2025

 

Are you assigned to a location within the European Economic Area & Switzerland (EEA&S) or using Defence Children Services (DCS) before and after school childcare provision? WAC Overseas will be available to eligible families in these areas from 6 January 2025.

What is Wraparound Childcare funding?

The Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme provides funding for up to 20 hours per week, per child, during term time, to eligible Service families with children aged 4 to 11 years old (4-16 years old if receiving Government disability allowances) who are in full time education in school or being home educated. Over 7,000 Service children's before and after school childcare is currently being funded by WAC.

Temporary registration and claims process for WAC Overseas.

A temporary process will be in place from January until at least April 2025. Due to the migration of JPA to the Cloud it is not possible for WAC Overseas registrations and claims to be added to the WAC area of JPA straight away. The temporary process has been put in place to enable eligible families to claim WAC Overseas funding while this migration work takes place. Once JPA migration to the Cloud is complete, there will be a requirement to re-register to continue to submit claims, via JPA in the future. Further guidance documents will be available on the Defence Childcare Information Page on DefNet and Defence Connect in January.

Scotland: The Winter edition of Scotland4Kids

To read the Winter edition of Scotland4kids click on the image above 👆

Information provided by Leuchars HIVE

Wiltshire: Single session courses for Adults - free for Military families in Wiltshire

 

Single session courses include:

• Exploring My Skills
• Discovering Confidence
• Discovering Wellbeing
• Saving Energy

Please click here to read this leaflet online

Alternatively click here to visit the Family and Community Learning website

Information provided by Colerne & Lyneham HIVEs

Edinburgh & Leuchars: Meet your AWS Team

click on image to enlarge

Community Support:

Community Support staff offer play, youth and community projects, as well as clubs, residential experiences and work within schools. We support service children, young people, and their families across the UK, and overseas, in geographically dispersed communities. Community Support staff combine direct delivery with non-public funded projects, and external links with local partners and agencies.

Defence Youth Offer:

Community Support staff seek positive outcomes for children and young people in mitigating the negative impact of family mobility and parental deployment, in accordance with the Defence Youth Offer. By listening to children and young people, their needs and concerns, and providing a level of safeguarding. We adopt best practice, compliance with Government legislation, policy and guidance, for safe working with children and young people.

Community Needs Assessment:

We contribute to community capacity, through the recruitment and training of volunteers.
We improve community resilience, well-being and mental health, through support to individuals and families. We ensure access to a range of activities, including parenting skills, life skills, the understanding of cultural differences, and wider community integration. We also work with Personal Support colleagues to provide early help to support families in need.

Information provided by Leuchars HIVE

Lyneham: Ladies Night at MOD Lyneham Community Centre - Sat 1 Feb

 

Information provided by Lyneham HIVE

Kirkham: AFC Community Foundation - Football Development for little ones - every Saturday

For more Information click HERE

Information provided by Preston & Weeton HIVE

Gloucestershire: It’s time to ‘talk rubbish’ and prioritise recycling with launch of new waste campaign

 

The campaign, called ‘Talking Rubbish’, has been set up by Gloucestershire Recycles, which is a partnership of Gloucestershire County Council and the six districts. It aims to answer questions about recycling and clarify some of the myths and misinformation.

Please click here to read more

Information provided by Lyneham HIVE

Northumberland: Family Hub Sessions

 Information provided by North HIVE Hub

North Yorkshire: Carers Plus events

Share a warm space, a cuppa and a bite to eat with our Armed Forces Community 

Whether you are a regular or a reserve, veteran or forces family, all are welcome to join us for a cuppa and a chat over some Tea and Toast! 

Click on the link for events and locations  www.carersplus.net/news/events

Information provided by North HIVE Hub

The impact of VAT changes on the Continuity of Education Allowance

 

In the Budget speech The Chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed that the government will remove the VAT exemption for private schools from 1 January 2025.

For families claiming the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) this is likely to increase private school fees.

To minimise the impact of this change, the Secretary of State has directed that the CEA rate cap will be uprated, to ensure it continues to pay up to 90% of school fees for eligible claimants.

What does this mean for CEA claimants?