SWIM FREE

Swim Free has been created to provide free swimming lessons for children and young people from serving Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary families, aligned to the Swim England and Scottish Swimming Pathways.

Funded by Greenwich Hospital and delivered in partnership with the Andrew Simpson Foundation, Swim Free also provides an opportunity for families to build new connections and support their sense of belonging within the Royal Navy community.  

Learning to swim is an essential life skill for young people, but also supports and helps them maintain positive mental health, grow their confidence, resilience, and willingness to try new things – all while keeping active.

We are currently establishing a network of delivery centres across the UK, with the first lessons underway at CTCRM Lympstone, Exmouth. Portsmouth will be the next location to launch, with lessons starting in January 2025. You can book lessons or register your interest at https://swim-free.org.uk/, as well as find out  lots of helpful information on the programme. If you have registered your interest, the Swim Free team will contact you as soon as lessons come online in your area.  

If you have any questions, you can contact the outreach team on enquiries@swim-free.org.uk.

Novembers Newsletter

As part of our ongoing collaboration across all three Services to improve the outcomes of our Children and Young People (CYP), The Naval Children’s Charity provided funding for the SCIP Alliance to develop a set of 50 case studies in the Thriving Lives Toolkit Case Study Bank, a new tool aimed at assisting schools in better supporting Service children. This brilliant initiative seeks to offer schools a collection of evidence-based examples of best practices to help in evaluating their progress by using the Thriving Lives Toolkit self-assessment.

The initial seven case studies are now accessible to schools nationwide, showcasing practical implementations of the seven principles of effective support in real school settings. They represent a variety of primary and secondary schools in different phases of the self-assessment process—emerging, developing, and embedding—and cater to the unique needs of Service children across diverse school environments, ranging from those with only a few to those with many Service children.

The case study bank will serve as a searchable database, enabling school staff to learn from the experiences of others and apply valuable insights to their own contexts. Each question within the Toolkit has been exemplified as part of this project, aiding schools in recognizing successful practices within their own settings and identifying steps for enhancing support. Ultimately, a total of 50 case studies will be published, creating a comprehensive resource that will continue to support schools as they work with our Service CYP.

The Thriving Lives Toolkit helps all Service children, so I urge you to ask your child’s school if they have engaged with the Thriving Lives Toolkit to ensure that they are providing best practice for supporting your child.
 
With education in mind, the UCAS website has a whole host of new information on there, young people from Year 9 can start looking at it rather than waiting until nearer the time they want to apply for university.
 
The website now includes:

  • Career guides, industry guides and employer guides
  • Taster courses
  • Virtual work experience
  • Apprenticeship opportunities

 
There are also teacher toolkits on there for Service children plus other cohorts, and schools have access to the UCAS Outreach Connection Services, however next year this will be available on the hub for all. You’ll find all the information here.

We are thrilled to announce that in 2025 we will celebrate the bicentenary of The Naval Children’s Charity, marking 200 years of support to the children of Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary families. Over the past two centuries, the Charity has evolved from our original orphanages to our delivery today, improving the wellbeing and resilience of Naval children, and we continue to make a meaningful difference in their lives. This incredible milestone reflects the Charity’s enduring commitment to helping families navigate the unique challenges of Naval life. We will be celebrating throughout 2025, we plan on hosting a number of events and initiatives, and asking you to join us, support us, raise money for us and be part of our future. Please keep your eyes on our website and social media channels to find out more.

Best wishes,

Clare Scherer MBE
Chief Executive Officer, Naval Children’s Charity

Christmas Pottery Workshops

We have two FREE Christmas Pottery Workshops coming up...

  • Sat 30th Nov, 10am-midday (ages 6-15) with Fat Clay Pottery in Southsea
  • Sat 7th Dec, 10:30am-12:30pm (ages 8-15) with Poppins Potter in Torquay.

The sessions will give children the chance to get hands on with pottery, be creative and make their own seasonal masterpiece! 

Sessions are run by qualified and experienced instructors who can support the children with their creative processes.

Book your space now

 
 

BREAKING NEWS – for Royal Naval families

In light of the recent decision by the new Government to implement VAT on school fee starting January 2025, we understand that this may create unexpected financial strain for some of our families. To assist those affected, we the Naval Children’s Charity, in partnership with Greenwich Hospital, have established a hardship fund to provide financial support to eligible families.

To be eligible, at least one parent must still be serving, and the child/children must be at a critical stage of their education or have additional needs. Please note that families receiving CEA will not be eligible to apply for this fund.

To confirm your eligibility, you will find a short form here, which will need to be completed. Once you have successfully completed this form, you will be able to download the full application form.

The completed application form, along with the required supporting documents, must be submitted to us by Friday 13th December. Unfortunately, applications that are incomplete or submitted past this deadline will not be considered.

For full details, please click here.