Vacancy for Personal Assistant (PA) – Field Services, British Gas

Step Together 'Armed Forces Community Programme

Step Together run an 'Armed Forces Community Programme' supporting Personnel on Recovery Duty (PRD), Veterans and their families across the UK to make significant change in their lives. This is through one-to-one support and active engagement in the local community as a part of their recovery and resettlement.

To read the May bulletin please click here: AFC Bulletin May

Aurora New Dawn job opportunity with the Armed Forces - remote working

Job opportunity with Aurora New Dawn: 

Domestic Abuse Advocate, Armed Forces (Foreign & Commonwealth).

Please see further details: Domestic Abuse Advocate - Armed Forces (Foreign & Commonwealth), Portsmouth, Hampshire - Forces Families Jobs

Armed Forces Charities benefit from over £270K contribution from Defence Discount Service

Togetherall Military Group

 

If you need somewhere to share how you’re feeling, @Togetherall has a dedicated group for the military community to connect, share experiences and support each other.  The military community has access to the Togetherall peer support community, wherever they are, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.​

Togetherall is FREE to anyone in the UK Military, Veterans & Family members aged 16+ visit togetherall.com to register.

Guidance on Service Pupil Premium - Updated 19 May

Updated guidance on the Service Pupil Premium is now on Gov.uk at this link:  Service Pupil Premium: what you need to know - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Serve and Protect Credit Union: Social Media Competition - May 2023

 Serve and Protect CU are running a social media competition to win a £250 Virgin Experience Days voucher!

All participants need to do is follow the three steps outlined in our competition post. Participants can enter on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to increase their chances of winning.

​One lucky winner will be selected at random from one platform. The competition ends at 23:59 on Wednesday 31^st May.

Facebook post

Instagram post

Twitter post

Landlord Gas Safety Inspections (LGSIs) in Service Family Accommodation (SFA)

DIO and its suppliers are undertaking an important programme of works to carry out Landlord Gas Safety Inspections (LGSIs) across the SFA estate. This programme of works will commence on 22 May 2023 and is scheduled to complete by the end of June 2023.

You will be notified via letter if you are impacted. For families with short notice appointments during the week commencing 22 May 2023, you may also receive a telephone call and email from the suppliers.

It is vital that VIVO/Amey and their sub-contractors are allowed access to your home to carry out these inspections to ensure your family and neighbours remain safe. The Chain of Command across all three Services is supporting this programme and has agreed for Service personnel to make their SFA their place of duty on the day of appointment except where they are on essential duty elsewhere. DIO staff and unit staff have worked together to ensure that visits are planned around unit commitments wherever possible.

Families normally receive a one-hour slot for LGSI appointments. However, this has been temporarily paused for this important programme and an engineer will attend your home between the hours of 08:00 AM and 8:00 PM. We understand this may inconvenience some families and we are sorry for this, but we need to maximise engineers' time in your area to allow them to visit as many homes as possible throughout the day to complete the LGSIs.

LGSIs are required by law for all occupied rented homes and LGSI certificates need to be renewed every 12 months. It is vital that the engineer can access your home to conduct this mandatory safety inspection, providing access for this important safety visit is one of the terms of your licence.

For updates on Service Family Accommodation, please go to Service Family Accommodation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) where you can subscribe for update notifications

Mental Health Awareness Week

All this week we want to talk about anxiety and the things that can help.

Find out more about the week and how you can get involved here: Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 | Mental Health Foundation

Tax Credits are ending and are being replaced by Universal Credit - claimants will be notified when they have to reclaim

 

Migration notices will be issued to all Tax Credit claimants over the next two years. Claimants will need to take action to ensure their benefits do not stop.

For further information please click here​

Service Community Information on Universal Credit and Other DWP Benefits

 

My Forces Life Art Competition 2023 – Take part for a chance to WIN books and art materials

 

Full details: https://www.readingforce.org.uk/my-forces-life-art-competition-2023/

Closing date for entries: 21st May 2023​

Huggable Heroes

To find out more or place an order visit https://huggableheroes.uk/​
 

Wraparound Childcare (WAC) Monthly Q&A sessions May, June & July 2023

Want to know more about Wraparound Childcare?

Join the WAC team for a Q&A session.

Personnel and partners can join any session by using the links:

18th May 2023 14:30 – 15:00

26th June 2023 10:30 – 11:00

12th July 2023 12:30 – 13:00​

Remember, you can find the WAC FAQs at Discover My Benefits: Army, RAF, Navy or Marines

Young Minds: Support for Parents

We know parenting isn’t always easy. Although it’s often amazing and rewarding to watch your children grow up, and to help them learn to be independent, it can also be really hard work. It can feel especially hard if your child's mood and behaviour seem different and you're not sure why, or what you can do to help.

​We have lots of practical advice and tips on supporting your child​.

Click HERE​ for further information.

May Edition of the Quest Magazine is now out

 The May edition of Quest Magazine is out now, click HERE to view.

Defence Accommodation Policy Defence Connect Page to go External

The Defcon page will be external from 1 May 2023 giving access to family members and partners as well as Service personnel.

Over the course of the next year, we will update the page with the latest information and announcements on Defence Accommodation Policy.

Each member will receive a push notification email when announcements and changes are made to the page.

How to sign up:

* Click the link here

* Complete the MS Form

* Click the link on your confirmation email

Once you receive access to the Defcon page, you can opt to download the JIVE app to access defence connect.

Young Minds: Support for Parents

We know parenting isn’t always easy. Although it’s often amazing and rewarding to watch your children grow up, and to help them learn to be independent, it can also be really hard work. It can feel especially hard if your child's mood and behaviour seem different and you're not sure why, or what you can do to help.

​We have lots of practical advice and tips on supporting your child​.

Click HERE​ for further information

DIO Service Family Accommodation Newsletter : Families First Issue 6

 

Service Family Accommodation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)