MORE children from military families are being supported by an NSPCC service in Tidworth thanks to funding from the ABF The Soldier’s Charity.

The NSPCC runs a Military Lunch Club from its service centre in Tidworth.

It first launched in 2013 for children aged five to seven before being extended to seven to 11 year olds in 2017. With the donation from ABF The Soldier’s Charity in 2019, children aged 11 to 14 at Stonehenge School can now attend the club, which the NSPCC co-runs with the Army Welfare Service, which supports them to develop essential skills to help them cope with problems that are unique to growing up in a military family.

Children’s services practitioner at Tidworth Service Centre, Jane Lyle said: “The Military Lunch Club is an invaluable service offered to young people in the area.

“The group helps young people with a variety of different aspects of being in a military family, which is a big part of life here, such as relocating to new areas, and parents being deployed.”

During sessions the children learn how to manage their emotional wellbeing.

Assistant headteacher at Stonehenge School, Fiona Staker added: “At Stonehenge School we have been working with the NSPCC to provide support to our students for a number of years.“At first this was limited to a drop-in lunch club, and now it is being delivered in a more structured weekly support session.

“Being a services child offers young people a particular lifestyle that comes with lots of opportunities but also challenges.

“The NSPCC work with the children to celebrate these opportunities but also look towards how they can overcome these challenges.

“Feedback from our students has been overwhelmingly positive and we are grateful for the support the NSPCC has given us over the years.”

The NSPCC’s Tidworth Service Centre provides a number of services to families, such as Seeking Solutions, Pregnancy in Mind, Family Focus and Building Blocks, as well as drop-in groups such as Time Together, Babies and Emotional Resilience in Children (ERIC).

For more information about the services provided the Tidworth Service Centre can be contacted on call 01980 846164.