Every family needs some extra help from time to time. From discounted activity camps to specialist practical assistance, 'Strengthening Families – By Your Side' offers Royal Navy and Royal Marines families the right support at the right time. This programme has been developed by the RNRMC and Naval Families Federation, with additional funding support from the Armed Forces Covenant.Page sections
Home Start
Home-Start is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times. They are there for parents when they need help the most, because childhood can’t wait.
Support available
With over 50 years’ experience, Home-Start is the leading family support provider in communities across the UK and beyond. Families struggling with post-natal depression, isolation, physical health problems, bereavement and many other issues receive the support of a volunteer who will spend around two hours a week in a family’s home* supporting them in the ways they need.
Trained volunteers are here to support all Naval Families in a variety of different ways, from one to one sessions to group support and linking to other local support networks.
Any RN/RM Family with young children who are facing additional challenges or feel they need extra support can contact Home-Start on a new dedicated phone line: 0116 464 5450
The Strengthening Parents Programme
This support is for parents where one or both are serving in the Royal Navy or Royal Marines. We can also offer support to families where a parent has become a veteran within the last 12 months.
How to access
0116 464 5450
info@home-start.org.uk
Each Home Start provides a bespoke range of services. To find out what is available, visit-
Home Start Southwest and Devon
Kings Camps
Kings Camps is part of the Kings Active Foundation and they exist to get children active, having fun and learning together. Since 1991 they’ve operated globally to provide activity camps for children, create activity jobs for young people and provide people, programmes, training and resources to individuals and organisations that work directly with children. As a charity, they work for children not for profit and they work in partnership with many organisations including the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
Support available
Sports and activity camps are available to children and young people aged 5-17 during school holidays. Kings Camps provide activity camps exclusively for children from Royal Navy families at 10 UK Royal Navy establishments from Cornwall to Helensburgh. Places are subsidised by the RNRMC to make camps affordable for as many families as possible. Royal Navy families can now also book their children onto any of Kings Camp’s 55 nationwide non-military locations at the same subsided rate, ensuring better accessibility for families who live away from RN/RM establishments.
Children and young people have the opportunity to make new friends and develop a lifelong love of sport and being active. Motivated staff teams ensure every child is welcomed and fully-engaged in a wide range of activities from the moment they arrive to the last activity of the day.
www.kingscamps.org/kids-camps-at-military-bases
Aggie Weston’s
Dame Agnes Weston’s Royal Charity for the Naval Service (or “Aggie Weston’s”) is one of the oldest naval charities and has been providing pastoral support to the Royal Navy since 1876. The charity supports RN, RM, QARNNS and RFA personnel, together with their families. Pastoral Workers can be found in most RN and RM shore establishments, and support families through community centres in the vicinity of naval bases, air stations, training establishments and RM bases.
Support available
Aggie’s Pastoral Workers offer support by phone, through social media, at events, or on occasions through home visits. The team are to listen, encourage, sign-post and provide practical support. They run groups for spouses and toddlers, craft sessions, after-school homework clubs, social events, Storybook Waves book clubs, holiday clubs, financial management courses and special interest groups.
How to access
Naval Children’s Charity
The Naval Children’s Charity (formerly the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund) offers help to children up to the age of 25 with a parent or guardian who is a current or former member of the Royal Navy including the Reserves and Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Support available
Working closely with the other Naval charities the NCC provide grants as well as advice and guidance to help in times of need. The Emergency Essentials Grants scheme allows fast and direct response to support families when the need is immediate. The scheme helps those children where families are struggling financially, often facing times of crisis such as stresses caused by COVID-19, unemployment or redundancy, illness, bereavement, injury, or disability. NCC caseworkers work with families to identify longer-term issues and challenges, providing support to prevent more serious problems such as debt and relationship issues as well as help with stress and anxiety. NCC can assist with funding for therapies, specialist equipment for illness and disability, expenses for hospital visits or separated families.
NCC also have books which are sent out free of charge to help families and younger children understand their feelings around separation and long absences.
How to access
Kids
Kids is a leading charity for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. They create life-changing opportunities by providing a wide range of support.
Every child should have an equal opportunity to play, learn, grow and thrive. Kids’ reach is quickly expanding and they aim to support at least 120,000 disabled young people and their families, every year, by 2027.
SUPPORT AVAILABLE
Since 1990 Kids has been helping to support serving and ex serving RN/RM Families to steer their way through the legislation and provide flexible, responsive services to meet their needs in Hampshire. With support from the RNRMC they provide bespoke services to meet the needs of families.
Since 2000, Kids has been working to enhance the lives of young carers aged 7-19 years. The program gives young carers a break from demanding and stressful responsibilities at home and provides a safe, nurturing environment where children and young people can develop their full potential. By providing face-to-face support groups and in-school intervention, Kids helps hundreds of young carers to improve their wellbeing, develop coping strategies, build friendships and peer-support networks, and increase their current and future prospects.
Kids delivers a weekly Staying Positive group in Gosport and Havant. Aimed at addressing the gap in mental health outcomes for young disabled people aged 14-25 years, to build their confidence and engagement with their community, the group continues to follow the NHS’ Five Steps to Wellbeing model: Connect; Be Active; Keep Learning; Give to Others; Be Mindful.
HOW TO ACCESS
Get in touch with Kids by completing their
Or heading to their
Relate
Relate are the UK's largest provider of relationship support, with centres across the UK and a network of licensed local counsellors as well as phone, email and live chat counselling.
Support available
‘Building Stronger Families’ is a free relationship counselling portal for Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel and their partners. Both serving and former Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel and their partners can sign up to the ‘Building Stronger Families’ service for free, where they will then have access to seven different modules.
Currently there are seven self-directed modules available:
• Introduction to the Portal
• Resolving Conflict
• Family Life and Parenting
• Sexual Communication & Intimacy
• Me, You and the Military
• Being a Couple
• Communication
Free face-to-face, online and telephone counselling is also available to serving and former personnel and their families. This includes help with relationships, help with family life and parenting, help with separation and divorce and help for children, young people and young adults. It also includes bereavement and loss support. This free counselling can be accessed via a dedicated RN/RM hotline: 01302 380 279
How to access
“We have been married for over 35 years, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing. There have been rows and arguments and sometimes it’s been tough; but because we have had so many great years together, and we have a lovely daughter, we wanted to make our marriage work.
The demands of military life and the separation it involves does put pressure on relationships.
Counselling with Relate, was very helpful. We are still together and slowly our relationship is getting better and better. We do still have our differences. But now we try to resolve our differences calmly, and we both think that Relate has helped us to do that.”
Neurodiversity Navigator
The AFCFT and the RNRMC aim to create a more inclusive environment where our naval community feels supported and empowered. We hope that this, in turn, will reduce instances of isolation, enhance mental health and wellbeing, and promote the sharing of invaluable knowledge and resources within the ND naval community.
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As the National Charity of the Royal Navy, beneficiaries lie at the heart of The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity's purpose, it is our duty to remain focused on their needs.
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