Weeton, Preston, Chester: Recruit For Spouses Foreign & Commonwealth Programme to support NUKN in the North West

RFS has been able to obtain some funding to support the NUKN Service Community in the North West and Chester.

• Foreign & Commonwealth Programme

Are you a member of the Foreign & Commonwealth community with a qualification from your home country that you need transferring to its UK equivalent? Then we have some very exciting news to share with you!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the RFS Foreign and Commonwealth Programme! After a year of hard work and dedication from our incredible team, this innovative programme is designed to break down financial barriers for Foreign and Commonwealth spouses/partners, helping them transfer qualifications to UK equivalents. This will enable easier access to employment, study, or to gain professional registration.

Our Career Academy will cover the costs of obtaining a Statement of Comparability and facilitate the application process, working with trusted service providers to ensure qualifications meet UK standards.

Eligibility:

- Partner of a Foreign or Commonwealth national serving in HM Forces (Royal Navy, British Army, or Royal Air Force)
- Over 18 years of age
- Partners include spouses, civil partners, fiancés(e), or individuals living with serving personnel in a relationship akin to marriage/civil partnership for at least two years.

Application Requirements:

- Partner’s service number
- Date of entry to the UK
- Visa status (if applicable)

To apply for this support and service, sign up to our portal and click 'programmes' on the upper left-hand side here - https://portal.recruitforspouses.co.uk/users/sign_in

• Coaching & Mentoring

Our FREE coaching and mentoring programme is open to the entire military community—because everyone deserves the chance to thrive. Whether you’re a spouse, partner, serving personnel, service leaver, veteran, or military child aged 18+, this programme is designed to help you take charge of your personal and professional journey. With a pool of over 80 expert coaches and mentors from leading industry sectors, we provide tailored support to help you unlock your full potential!

Sign up today by registering on our portal and selecting 'programmes' in the upper left-hand corner - https://portal.recruitforspouses.co.uk/users/sign_in

Information provided by Preston & Weeton HIVE

Hampshire: Victim Support

Click HERE  for more information

Information provided by South East HIVE Hub

Rushmoor: How are you Today Rushmoor Healthy living

Click image for more information.

Information provided by South East HIVE Hub.

Elgin: Moray Wellbeing Hub Weekly drop-in every Friday

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Join us at our drop-in space for anyone looking for support with their wellbeing FRIDAY 21st February from 12 noon until 2pm at Foggies Bar in Elgin.

No need to book, just drop by and a Champion from Moray Wellbeing Hub will be there for support. We can look at specific things together or just listen to you, whatever feels right in that moment.

There will be free tea and coffee and a cosy space to connect with another human!

Information provided by Leuchars HIVE

Lyneham: MOD Lyneham seeks community support for Independent Advisory Panel

MOD Lyneham are looking at establishing an Independent Advisory Panel and look towards the Parish for support if anyone fits the criteria. More to follow, however as part of our continued community relations we feel that the parish can add value in some areas of operation onsite, which might not only benefit us but also the local community in building on relations.

Please click here for further information

Information provided by Lyneham HIVE

Chatham: Great Lines Parkrun Every Saturday, 9am

Every Saturday at 9am, a free weekly timed 5k run for all ages and abilities at the Great Lines Heritage Park in Gillingham, Kent

Everyone is welcome to join us at Great Lines parkrun! To run and record a time, you first need to register and print off a barcode that is unique to you. After that you can just turn up and run. For more information CLICK HERE

Volunteers Needed

At the moment we do not have enough volunteers to actually cover the critical positions in order to execute the run. We still need marshals, bar code scanners and ideally a number checker.

If anyone can volunteer please email greatlines@parkrun.com

Information provided by South East HIVE Hub

Op ASCEND – Careers After Service

 
Op ASCEND is a free, government-backed service to support veterans in growing their careers.

Whether you’re a veteran seeking employment or an employer looking to attract skilled veterans to your workforce, find out what signing up to the Op ASCEND service can do for you.

For more information visit: https://careersafterservice.campaign.gov.uk

Wiltshire: Family and Community Learning courses - free for Military families

Wiltshire Council's Family and Community Learning team offer learners a range of courses which lead to the development of new skills, improved personal achievement and positive outcomes. After learning with them, you can move on to further study, qualifications, jobs and volunteering.

Family and Community Learning includes a range of online and community-based courses designed to help people of different ages and backgrounds to:

• Gain a new skill
• Reconnect with learning
• Prepare to progress to formal courses
• Learn how to support their children better

Click the posters below to learn more, or click here to visit the website

How to protect yourself from Loan Sharks

 

How to protect yourself from loan sharks

A loan shark – or illegal money lender - is someone who lends money illegally without proper authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

That means if you borrow from them, they don’t have to follow the rules – they can decide how much you pay back and when.

These criminals are not always easy to spot - they can be a friend, a fellow service member, even a senior officer.

Whoever they are, they will usually appear as a friendly face, offering you a favour. They may tell you that what they are offering is nothing more than peer-to-peer lending and their offer may seem hard to resist.

But very quickly the situation can spiral out of control, and you could find yourself having to pay back much more than you initially borrowed. You might even be subjected to threats, violence and intimidation if you struggle to make a payment.

There are some signs that you can look out for, which may indicate that an agreement has crossed the line from peer-to-peer lending into more sinister and dangerous territory.

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: Latest round of grants under The Armed Forces Families Fund - Early Years Programme

The Early Years programme is back for 2025 and we’re excited to share that applications are now open!

Part of the MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund (AF3), The Early Years Programme will award grants between £5,000 and £80,000 towards projects that enable early childhood education and childcare settings to meet specific needs of young service children.

What’s the programme all about?

The Early Years programme is designed to help Armed Forces families access good quality early childhood education and childcare provision close to where they live or serve.

The programme is designed to address barriers that service families may experience in accessing good quality childcare for their preschool aged children and will support projects lasting up to two years that can meet one of the four outcomes:

• Expanded capacity in early years settings, allowing more service children to attend.
• Enhanced learning environments that better support the educational development of service children.
• Improved staff skills and knowledge through targeted training and professional development.
• Establishing collaborative networks and shared resources through clusters to effectively address the needs of service children.