March Newsletter

I’d like to start this month’s newsletter with some fantastic news.

Royally great news: The Naval Children’s Charity are delighted to announce that HRH The Princess Royal is to become our new Patron, following on from many years of Royal Patronage from her mother, Her Majesty The late Queen, who was our Patron for over 70 years.  As we celebrate our Bicentenary, 200 years of supporting Naval children, Patronage of The Princess Royal is of particular significance. 
Her Royal Highness has a long history of supporting military families and promoting the well-being of children. The Princess Royal’s Patronage of The Naval Children’s Charity will bring significant attention to the Charity’s vital work and help to ensure that children of Naval personnel receive the support they need to thrive.
On behalf of all at the Naval Children’s Charity we offer our warmest thanks to HRH for agreeing to become our Patron.  The Princess has shown great interest, over the years, into the wellbeing of our families and Her Royal Highness’s commitment to the Charities that she serves is outstanding.  We look forward to introducing The Princess Royal to our team and our children and young people so that they can tell their stories to Her Royal Highness directly.

Competition Time: Now, as you may have seen we have been running an exciting competition for our young people where we asked for talented young artists to craft a unique ‘200th birthday’ creation using one of our complimentary craft kits. It is fair to say that we were absolutely inundated with some truly wonderful creations.
A selection of young people from our Youth Council had the difficult task of judging the large volume of entries, and after much deliberation we are thrilled to announce that our two winning entries, that will each receive a £200 Merlin Voucher for first place, are Lavinia and Aldo Richmond in the 3 – 8 years category and Ruby Hewins in the 9 – 14 years category. Also winning some fantastic prizes in the runner up positions are Mylah-Rose, Quinn Beale, Imogen Goulbourn and Zac Kwok.

Next month is the Month of the Military Child: April is a month where we champion our amazing, resilient children and young people from Armed Forces families.  They can experience many challenges because they are from an Armed Forces family, and we are in awe of how brilliant they are. 
This April 2025, the MOTMC has a theme of ‘Memories’ – which could not be more appropriate for us here at the Naval Children’s Charity as we celebrate our bicentenary – 200 years of our own memories supporting our Naval children. 
To help us celebrate you and our bicentenary we would like you to share your memories – be as creative as you like: write something, turn it into a poem, draw it, paint it, sculpt it or just send us a photo of you and your Armed Forces family that is a memory you cherish.  With your permission we will share these on social media and our website as we celebrate throughout the month. 

25th April is Purple Up! Day: this is part of the Month of the Military Child and takes place to raise awareness of the unique challenges and resilience of children in military families. This would be a fantastic opportunity if you would like to show your support for us and maybe even join our #NCC200 Club by fundraising for us on the day. If you would like to participate, please wear purple clothing to show your support, you may also like to get your school/organisation involved, whilst fundraising for us. You can download our poster here for further information. Send your photos to: ncc@navalchildrenscharity.org.uk, use the hashtags #MotMC and #ncc200 on social media to share your activities and support, then donate here.

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

The Naval Children’s Charity are delighted to announce that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has accepted the role of Patron

The Naval Children’s Charity are delighted to announce that HRH The Princess Royal is to become our new Patron, following on from many years of Royal Patronage from her mother, Her Majesty The late Queen, who was our Patron for over 70 years.  As we celebrate our Bicentenary, 200 years of supporting Naval children, Patronage of The Princess Royal is of particular significance. 

Her Royal Highness has a long history of supporting military families and promoting the well-being of children. The Princess Royal’s Patronage of The Naval Children’s Charity will bring significant attention to the Charity’s vital work and help to ensure that children of Naval personnel receive the support they need to thrive.

CEO of The Naval Children’s Charity, Clare Scherer said:

On behalf of all at the Naval Children’s Charity we offer our warmest thanks to HRH for agreeing to become our Patron.  The Princess has shown great interest, over the years, into the wellbeing of our families and Her Royal Highness’s commitment to the Charities that she serves is outstanding.  We look forward to introducing The Princess Royal to our team and our children and young people so that they can tell their stories to Her Royal Highness directly.

The Naval Children’s Charity has been helping Naval children for 200 years, this includes serving personnel and veterans of the Naval Service (Royal Navy, Royal Marines, QARNNS, WRNS, Reserves or Royal Fleet Auxiliary). The Princess Royal’s Patronage is a great endorsement of our work helping to make a lasting difference in our children and young people’s lives.

February Newsletter

Dates for your diaries...

As our thoughts turn to spring I’d like to highlight some poignant dates on the horizon.

On March 12th it is Young Carers Action Day and this year’s theme is “Give Me A Break”, focusing on the importance of rest and respite for young carers. Young carers carry a heavy burden of responsibility, leaving them with minimal time for themselves and placing them at a high risk of burnout. It is essential for them to take a break. Research shows that young carers are substantially more likely to experience severe psychological distress compared to their peers who do not have caregiving duties. They require time away from their caregiving roles to rest, rejuvenate, and prioritise their own needs, whether that involves pursuing a hobby or simply enjoying time with friends, just like others their age. If you know a young carer that could benefit from such respite, please do keep checking our ‘Life Chances’ page which will soon have a wide range of different opportunities available, to help our young carers enjoy the break they need in 2025.

And the support doesn’t end there for our Naval young carers, The Nexus Project aims to improve support, resources and access to services for young carers within Armed Forces families specifically. They recognise that issues can be exacerbated due to parent deployments, frequent house moves and living in secure military housing. The Nexus Project works with professionals from Armed Forces support services, young carers services, schools, the NHS, and others to drive change. For more information click here.

Now, imagine a week where we celebrate all the different ways people’s brains can work! That’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week, which will be celebrated from March 17th. This week aims to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported by providing schools, universities, organisations, and others with the opportunity to recognise the many skills and talents of neurodivergent individuals, while creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual. Keep your eyes on our website and social media channels to find out more.  If you have a neurodivergent child, then please do contact us to see how we can help you.  There is so much information out there it can be a bit overwhelming and talking it through with one of our team just might find something that can support you, your neurodivergent child and any other children in the family, particularly if you are also struggling with separation through deployment or weekending. We are just a phone call or email away 023 9263 9534 caseworkers@navalchildrenscharity.org.uk

Our bicentenary celebrations are in full swing, and we can’t help but be reminded of our beginnings. We would be delighted to connect with anyone who, in the past, received support in one of our Children’s Homes. If you or a family member spent time with us, we invite you to reach out and share your experience.
If you were lucky enough to have received one of our free Craft Kits, please do get pictures of your ‘Birthday Creations’ into us ahead of the closing date on 14th March. The judging of this competition will be undertaken by members of our Youth Council, and already we don’t envy their job as we have had some incredible entries sent in. Remember, the design could be a birthday card, a collage representing an event from our history or even their own life as a Naval child. With a £200 Merlin voucher up for grabs for the 1st place, don’t miss your chance to win!

Is someone in your household considering University?
Thinking about university… whether or not to go, the financial implications, which course to study, and where – we know there’s a lot for families to consider and young people often have lots of questions. Which is why we’ve teamed up with The Brilliant Club!
Across June & July of this year, The Brilliant Club will be hosting 7 online sessions for Naval young people. Current students will be telling us what university & their subject areas are like, whilst higher education experts will be talking us through topics such as UCAS applications and academic skills.
To make the most of these sessions, we’d like to let them know about topics or questions that our young people would particularly like support with. So, if someone in your house is considering university, please take a minute to pop your thoughts and questions here.

Best wishes,

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