To work at sea requires a mix of interpersonal and technical knowledge. It’s all well and good knowing how to steer a boat, raise a sail or navigate the open water, but without the communication, teamwork and ability to muck in for the common good, you’ll get nowhere. Continue reading “Naval children make maiden voyage on iconic Challenger Yacht”
We’re calling on Naval children to depict their favourite month of the year to create our 2023 calendar.
Continue reading “Draw your favourite month of the year… and win a prize!”
The UK is in the midst of its worst cost of living crisis since the 1970s.
Food, energy, broadband, council tax and petrol prices are steadily increasing, with wages lagging behind. While you could be forgiven for trying to block out the headlines, now is the time to listen and take action.
With the summer holidays fast approaching, we know there will be extra pressures on parents financially. These challenges are particularly difficult for the less fortunate, as those on free school meals will have an increased cost of living, even before trying to spend on entertainment for the kids over the summer.
Looking forward to the winter months, forecasts for energy costs are escalating and will create even greater stress on family incomes.
Our advice is to start thinking about these costs now. Give yourself the time to budget, search for discounts and implement new habits before things get more expensive.
To help you in your endeavours, we’ve put together a list of resources, both general and tailored to Naval families, that can help you tighten those purse strings.
For a general overview of how to budget, and access discounts on key living costs, moneysavingexpert.com is a great place to start.
Martin Lewis and his team have reacted at great pace to provide in-depth advice to those that are really feeling the pinch.
Their cost of living survival kit offers solutions to problems raised by followers of the website’s social media channels. It is essentially a crowdsourced one-stop-shop for the current personal financial crisis.
Advice ranges from a guide on ‘How to heat the human, not the home’, to links on checking if your family could be entitled to government assistance, and how you can claim free food from supermarkets and restaurant chains.
A lot of their pre-existing content has become even more relevant. This evergreen guide to budgeting will help you reduce monthly costs almost immediately, while the money makeover guide helps you to take an appraisal of your current outgoings. The Money Saving Expert forums are a great place to bounce ideas off of fellow savers, and find ideas that even Mr Lewis himself hasn’t conceived.
Turn2us is a charity that helps people in financial need gain access to welfare benefits, grants and other financial help.
They have a range of support tailored to fit specific groups, as well as brilliant general advice on tackling increased cost of living. Their benefit calculator can help families access thousands of pounds they might otherwise have missed out on.
For those who are expecting a child, are currently raising children, are themselves a young person taking the next step in their education (16+), or are considering a vocational career (16-18), they have extensive guides on accessing government support.
They also have a range of resources that are of particular interest to military families, all of which are detailed in this guide. This includes information on financial support for both serving and veteran personnel.
The Seafarers’ Advice & Information Line (SAIL) is the only UK-wide Citizens Advice for seafarers and their partners. As such, they can help members of the Royal Navy and The Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
As well as offering advice on budgeting and associated issues such as debt management and housing, they can help with familial problems that can arise from stretched finances.
Looking longer term, they can also provide help on pensions, which could prove vital as we become more fixated on our immediate needs.
Their information page provides quick and itemised information on their range of services.
Food prices have proven to be a particularly pressing issue in the past few months. Jack Monroe has been at the forefront of this coverage, but has been helping low income families effectively budget their grocery spends for almost a decade.
Her website is a valuable source of cheap and nutritious recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the snacks in between. The meticulous itemising of costs will give you a far more accurate understanding of your spend per portion than any other recipe website.
Jack also has a range of budget cookbooks. While this may seem like an unnecessary cost, the potential savings quickly cover the initial outlay.
For those on social media, Jack often shares examples of her own family’s weekly meal plans on Twitter, as well as providing tips on how to make ingredients go further.
If you’re struggling, and need our help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We can provide support for the living costs of children up to the age of 25, where their parent or guardian is a veteran or serving member of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, Women’s Royal Naval Service, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service.
You can find out more by visiting the help section of our website, or by emailing us at caseworkers@navalchildrenscharity.org.uk
A caseworker will then be in touch to discuss the options with you after your initial contact. Our support is means tested, however the caseworker will be able to guide you through the process.
While we will endeavour to help all Naval families as best we can, there are also charities that we can recommend that might be able to help with your cost of living issues. Please see a list below that can support your different needs:
We want this article to be a living, breathing resource for Naval families across the country. If you have a resource that you’ve found useful, let us know, and we’ll add it in! If you represent a charity that could help Naval families budget, claim benefits or manage their debt, we’d also love to hear from you.
Two members of the Navy walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall earlier this summer to raise funds on our behalf. Documenting the whole trek over Facebook, here’s a summary of their awesome efforts.
Continue reading “Raising money for the NCC – Nic and Andy’s story”
New researched commissioned by the Naval Children’s Charity on the effects of social media on serving families needs volunteers! Find out how you can help. Continue reading “Volunteers sought for a study into Naval children’s use of social media”
We’re proud to provide continuing and sustained support to naval families. In this case, we’ve helped an ex-serving family look after two generations of their family, for the past 12 years.
The Websters* first came to us in 2008. Dad was about to be deployed and, with five children, Mum needed some help during the school holidays. Their eldest son, Dan, has learning disabilities, while his younger brother, Sam, has Autism.
We continued to support the family through the hard times and the good. We provided respite activities for the two boys with special needs during the holidays and supported Mum as the marriage broke down.
After Amy, her eldest daughter, began to show a promising academic streak, we helped with an educational grant that part-funded her tuition at a private school.
Despite her difficulties mum has continued to provide amazing care for her children. Her third son has now joined the Army, and she has recently become responsible for her two grandchildren, holding special guardianship for both children.
We recently gave the family one of our Christmas grants, to help with groceries and presents over the festive period. A special delivery was also made for the latest addition to the family, as we were able to supply baby toys and clothes for her youngest grandchild.
Testimonial:
“Thank you so much for all of your help, without your kindness I would have encountered real difficulties.
I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks to you for all of your help and support.
You have really made a difference to us.”
* The names included in this article have been changed to protect the subjects’ identities.
At Crofton Hammond Infant School in Fareham, Hampshire, the teachers identified a recurring issue, impacting the children’s wellbeing.
In July 2019, 32% of the school’s pupils were from Armed Forces families, with the majority of those parents serving in the Royal Navy. The staff observed that high numbers of these children were suffering in their parent’s absence, affecting their engagement and learning.
As per The Children’s Commissioner’s 2018 Kin and County report, primary school children can suffer from ‘sadness, worry and general unease’, due to the short- or long-term deployment of a parent.
The teachers decided to implement a ‘deployment package’, that would help children adjust to a period of separation.
Drawing inspiration from our ‘Knit the Family’ initiative, the school decided to create a special set of dolls for each family.
A proficient knitter created bespoke dolls in the likeness of a child and their parent. Following a successful implementation, the scheme was extended to include civilian children whose parents worked away during the week.
Many parents reported that the child and doll were inseparable, and that the children were overjoyed to see their doll doppelgängers out on deployment with mummy or daddy.
Staff observed a positive impact on the pupil’s wellbeing and readiness to learn, while many parents reported a greater sense of community within the school. It has also raised awareness within the children to be sensitive around a peer when their mum or dad is on deployment.
A Year 1 teacher at Crofton Hammond Infant School said:
“One child, who found it particularly tricky that her dad worked away Monday to Friday, just pops her ‘Daddy Doll’ in the front of her jumper when she comes to school and consequently, she can cope a lot better, and her learning has really improved.”
You can read more about the school’s deployment packages by downloading the report. This case study was provided by the Service Children’s Progression Alliance, a charity that strives to improve educational outcomes for children and young people from Armed forces families.
We’re always on the lookout for knitters to volunteer their skills. We’ve found that a version of mummy or daddy, or the protagonists of our short stories, The Time Rabbit and Time Penguin, can help children struggling with separation profoundly. Please visit the fundraisers & supporters page of our website to find out more.
Our popular short story, Zoe and the Time Rabbit, helps children while their daddy is away on deployment. You can now download an audiobook version, read by star of screen and stage, Ivan Kaye. Continue reading “‘Zoe and the Time Rabbit’ now available as an audiobook!”
This young family needed our support in keeping their two children with disabilities active. Here’s how we helped.
With more months of isolation ahead, many children will be struggling with their mental wellbeing. We’ve collated tips and resources from our partners, and charitable organisations, to help your family through this tough time. Continue reading “Tips for safeguarding your children’s mental health during lockdown”