Forces Children Scotland

Charity registered in Scotland SC038722

Forces Children Scotland directly/indirectly supports over 12,500 children & young people from armed forces and veteran families across Scotland.

We co-produce projects and services directly with children and young people which help to better understand and overcome unique challenges faced when it comes to mental health and wellbeing, education and learning, important transitions, and much more. We co-produce campaigns that amplify lived experience to help civilian audiences, like teachers and decision-makers, to better understand the lives they lead and to adopt a children’s rights approach to meet their unique support needs. We bring children and young people together to deliver life-changing experiences to develop new skills, build confidence and forge new friendships through a sense of belonging, shared experience, and collective purpose. We provide financial support when it matters most to armed forces and veteran families facing financial crisis as well as to young carers and students.


Current opportunity

Forces Children Scotland support children and young people from armed forces and veteran families when it comes to mental health and wellbeing, education and learning, financial help, and much more. It provides life-changing experiences which help develop new skills, build confidence, and make friends with other young people with similar experiences. 'Ruby Boots' is a project in which young people in the process of leaving the forces will be joined in a series of group sessions at school with peers who are already in a veteran family. Over a course of 6-8 weekly sessions, they will discuss the transition from military-veteran and give the young people a safe space to talk through any worries they may have. A volunteer facilitator will join the staff member and help to facilitate the group sessions through games and conversation. In the summer, we will also launch online support groups and so would like volunteers to also be involved in this. Though most of the support will come from peer-peer interactions within the groups, the facilitator will be involved in conversations which may touch on topics such as confidence, loneliness, being a young carer, amongst other worries.