Twilight Talks: A War Widow's Story: How military bereavement affects children and young people
- Online
- 15 Jan 2025 (16:00 - 16:30)
This webinar will consider the effects of military bereavement on the children we support, how this can impact them in our settings, and what support is available for us to signpost for families.
The webinar will feature a twenty-minute talk from Nikki Scott (BEM), the founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers – the charity for bereaved military children and young people- and will be followed by discussion and Q&A around the topic with Nikki and a nasen colleague.
After Nikki’s husband was killed in action, she saw the devastating impact this had on her young children and this inspired her to set up a charity to support British Forces children bereaved of a military parent. Scotty’s Little Soldiers (www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk) is a charity dedicated to supporting and providing guidance to children and young people, 0 to 25 years, who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. Scotty’s Little Soldiers provides its members with a variety of specialist bereavement support, through one-to-one bereavement support, respite breaks with the family, opportunities to meet others in a similar situation, and access to extracurricular activities. Scotty’s is there for its members to ensure they don’t feel alone.
About Scotty's Little Soldiers
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a charity dedicated to supporting children and young people, 0 to 25 years, who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.
Inspired by the experience of Army widow Nikki Scott, following the death of her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, in Afghanistan in 2009, the charity, which was set up in 2010, provides support and guidance to hundreds of bereaved military children and young people throughout their childhood.
When a young person joins Scotty’s, they become a member and are supported until their 25th birthday. Whether it be one-to-one bereavement support, a respite break with the family, an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation, or access to extracurricular activities, Scotty’s is always there for its members to ensure they don’t feel alone.
So far this year, Scotty’s has supported over 700 children and young people and services are delivered through three Family Programmes, available to all members:
The SMILES Programme is about fun and engagement and includes activities, gifts, respite breaks and group events. The aim is for bereaved military children and young people to form friendships, benefit from peer support, heal with their family and feel part of a supportive community.
The SUPPORT Programme looks after emotional health and wellbeing and includes 1:1 bereavement support.
The STRIDES Programme focuses on education and development needs, removes barriers to learning and helps young people gain confidence that can be lost after a bereavement.
Scotty’s has a long-term goal to be supporting over 1,000 bereaved military children and young people annually by 2030.
You can read more about our Twilight Talks sessions on our dedicated page.
Online
Suitable for: A parent/carer, Administration Staff, Assistant Head Teacher, Consultant, Deputy Head Teacher, Early Years Practitioner, Education psychologist, Governor, Head Teacher, Inclusion Manager/Leader, Newly Qualified Teacher, Other, SENCO, Senior Leader, Student, Support staff, Teacher, Teaching Assistant, Tutor, Young person
Meet your trainer
Nikki Scott
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a charity dedicated to supporting children and young people, 0 to 25 years, who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.
Inspired by the experience of Army widow Nikki Scott, following the death of her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, in Afghanistan in 2009, the charity, which was set up in 2010, provides support and guidance to hundreds of bereaved military children and young people throughout their childhood.
When a young person joins Scotty’s, they become a member and are supported until their 25th birthday. Whether it be one-to-one bereavement support, a respite break with the family, an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation, or access to extracurricular activities, Scotty’s is always there for its members to ensure they don’t feel alone.
So far this year, Scotty’s has supported over 700 children and young people and services are delivered through three Family Programmes.