This section contains a range of useful information for professionals working with Armed Forces personnel, Veterans, Service Leavers, Reservists and their families.
This includes Merchant Mariners who have seen duty on legally defined operations.
Collectively, this is the Armed Forces Community.
Working with the Armed Forces Community
It is estimated that there are approximately 700 serving personnel, 200 Reservists and 90,000 veterans and their families living in Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire (The Needs of the Armed Forces Community across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire 2016).
For a large proportion of these people, serving in the Armed Forces is or was a positive experience. However, a minority experience adverse physical and mental health problems, which can be compounded by other factors such as financial and welfare problems.
It is also clear that the Armed Forces Community may experience problems with accessing appropriate services in comparison to the civilian population. This may be further complicated by a lack of understanding of the armed forces culture within civilian services.
The Armed Forces Covenant
The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve with their lives.
Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given the most such as the injured and the bereaved.
This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes statutory, voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces.
The Armed Forces Covenant e-Learning programme
The Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Armed Forces Covenant partnership have been developing an Armed Forces Covenant e-learning programme. This includes modules focused on:
- The Armed Forces Covenant for frontline staff in statutory and voluntary organisations
- The Armed Forces Covenant for Armed Forces personnel
- Housing, homelessness and the Armed Forces Covenant
- The Armed Forces Covenant for families of Armed Forces personnel
- Adjusting to life after the Armed Forces
Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire
The Needs of the Armed Forces Community across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire (2016).
This report provides a detailed picture of the needs and issues facing serving, ex-serving personnel and their families. It includes analysis of national and local data, including information from the MOD, national research and the Royal British Legion.
Housing and Homelessness
NHAS Guide to Housing Options in England for ex-Service Personnel
This guide has been developed to help frontline advisers working in local authorities and the advice sector in England, to advise ex-Service personnel and their families when dealing with housing enquiries and homelessness.
Housing Options for serving and ex-military personnel
This briefing paper outlines the housing options open to serving and ex-military personnel; it does not cover service accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence.
Cobseo Directory of Dedicated (Accommodation) Services for Veterans
This directory lists the known housing and accommodation services available to the ex-Service community; supported, sheltered and general needs, together with various wrap around services.
Haig Housing
Haig Housing provide housing assistance to ex-Service people and/or their dependents.
Currently this is achieved by letting general needs homes at affordable rents to the ex-Service community, and providing tailored housing solutions to suit the individual needs of severely wounded and disabled veterans. Haig Housing also offers a wide range of housing advice to the Service community and is the Strategic Housing Partner of Help for Heroes.
Stoll
Stoll are a leading provider of supported housing to vulnerable Veterans. Stoll provide affordable, high-quality housing and support services to over 600 people each year.
Health and Wellbeing
Service to Civvy Street- A booklet to help NHS and other public sector professionals support veterans in Warwickshire.
NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces community
Healthcare information and support for the UK’s 10 million-strong armed forces community, including serving personnel, reservists, families and veterans.
Meeting the Public Health needs of the Armed Forces
This resource has been developed for local authorities, local Defence Medical Services (DMS) and those supporting the health needs of the armed forces community in England to help support and strengthen local relationships to meet the public health needs of armed forces populations.
NHS Healthcare for the Armed Forces community
This e-learning programme is designed to highlight both the similarities and the differences to allow healthcare personnel to understand both the context of military life and also how to appropriately respond to patient need. The programme is broken into three broad areas – the NHS care of current serving personnel, the NHS care of the families of military personnel and veterans, and finally veterans themselves.
The Mental Health of Serving-and-ex-Service-personnel
This report is a review of the research evidence to date on the mental health of serving and ex-Service military personnel in the UK. It was commissioned in September 2012 by the Forces in Mind Trust.
Guidance: The role of Health Visitors and School Nurses: Supporting the Health and Wellbeing of Military Families
This document supports health visitors and school nurses to deliver improved outcomes, and outlines aspirations for service delivery.
Veterans’ Health in General Practice
This e-learning course covers the psychological and physical issues which are commonly faced by veterans and their families, and to outline some of the resources which are available to help them. The course also discusses retention of records and confidentiality.
This course has been developed in partnership with the Royal British Legion and with support from Changing Faces. It was funded by the Department of Health.
This course is free to all primary healthcare professionals in the UK.
The Battle Back programme
Battle Back is an adaptive sport and adventurous training programme for wounded, injured and sick (WIS) personnel from across the Armed Forces, including mobilised reservists. It is an MOD initiative delivered in partnership with Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion.
Battle Back Phoenix for WIS Veterans
Battle Back activity does not end when a WIS individual leaves the services. WIS veterans can continue to enjoy sport, expeditions, elite and adventurous activities through the Help for Heroes-funded Battle Back Phoenix programme, which are based on the programme delivered at the Help for Heroes-led recovery centres.
Schools and Learning
The Royal British Legion – support for service children
Children in Service families face some big challenges, such as emotional strain due to parents being deployed, frequent house moves and problems with admission into schools.
The Royal British Legion has explored these challenges and produced best practice guides looking at ways to support Service children in school. The guides share examples of good practice from across England and Wales, and recommend ways in which local authorities, schools and families themselves can improve Service children’s experience in education.
Service Children in State Schools Handbook
The handbook is a guide for teachers and other professionals, to the specific issues relating to the needs of children of service personnel.
Children’s’ Education Advisory Service
CEAS are part of the MOD’s Directorate Children and Young People (DCYP) and are a small dedicated team, who are experienced in advising service parents on a wide range of issues regarding the education of service children in the UK and overseas.
MOD Directorate Children and Young People
The Directorate Children and Young People (DCYP) provides appropriate professional direction, support and advice in order to ensure that children and young people are provided with every opportunity to achieve the best possible outcomes and fulfil their potential.
Service Pupil Premium
The Service Pupil Premium is designed to assist the school in providing the additional support that these children may need and is currently worth £300 per service child who meets the eligibility criteria. Eligible schools receive the SPP so that they can offer mainly pastoral support during challenging times and to help mitigate the negative impact on service children of family mobility or parental deployment.
Service Pupil Premium: Examples of good practice
This provides a selection of creative, innovative and effective ways of supporting Service pupils in both primary and secondary schools.
HMS Heroes
HMS Heroes is a national support group for the children of Service men and women and their relatives. Any School can join the tri-Service HMS Heroes who have over 4500 members of pre-school, primary and secondary school age. Members can be any age, from pre-school to eighteen. There are videos on the site, which aim to highlight to school teachers the issues children face when a parent is deployed.
Reading Force
Reading Force is passionate about using books to bring Service children and families closer together through families, schools and other organisations. Their reading initiative encourages families to read, talk, and scrapbook about a book, improving communication and enriching relationships with books and each other – one page at a time.
Employment
Capitalising on Military Talent
This is a Business in the Community toolkit to help organisations who may not have considered employing veterans before. It offers real working examples of best practice and shows how employers can enhance their workforces by offering veterans high quality and fulfilling second careers.
Recruitment for ex-Services-personnel
The Ministry of Defence’s Career Transition Partnership (CTP) connects a wide range of experienced, trained and skilled ex-service people with employers. The CTP provide a personalised service to employers, regardless of size throughout the UK and overseas.
Finances
Armed Forces Compensation Schemes
There are a number of compensation schemes administered by Veterans UK on behalf of the Ministry of Defence available to serving and former serving personnel who are injured as a result of their service in the armed forces.
Pensions and Compensation for Veterans
Details of service pension and services managed by Veterans UK.
Armed Forces and Reserve Forces pension schemes guidance booklets
Booklets explaining the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces pension schemes (AFPS75, AFPS05, RFPS05, AFPS 2015).