Membership Criteria
Do you know a bereaved military child or young person (0-25 years) who needs support?
Any child or young person bereaved of a parent who has served in the British Armed Forces can potentially join Scotty’s Little Soldiers if they are aged 0-24 (inclusive). We support until their 25th birthday.
Our Members are aged 0-17 years and our Springboarders are aged 18-25 years.
Scotty’s can support any child or young person, regardless of the cause of death, as long as they meet our Membership Criteria.
Membership Criteria:
For children whose parent was serving at time of death:
Scotty’s can support any child of a deceased parent who was serving in the Armed Forces, including any unborn children at the time of death.
For children whose parent was a Veteran (parent not serving at time of death):
Whilst we are committed to supporting the children of veterans, we are mindful that the services we offer at Scotty’s Little Soldiers may not be suitable for every bereaved child or young person.
Our ethos is very much based around beneficiaries embracing their military connections and being part of a community that recognises the significant highs and lows of family life in the military. We therefore recommend that our services are suited to the following:
- Any CYP of a deceased parent who served with the Armed Forces during the child’s lifetime.
- Any CYP of a deceased parent who served with the Armed Forces whose death was attributed to their service.
- Any CYP of a deceased parent who served with the Armed Forces and the child is significantly impacted by the loss of the military community connections.
We may discuss the impact of their parent’s death (time and cause) and military connection with you to review if our service is the most beneficial for your child.
For Veteran children who have not experienced military life or military connections:
Our service offer emphasises a parent’s role in the Armed Forces and the military community. We want to ensure our services are the most appropriate for any bereaved child referred to us. Therefore if the child has not been significantly impacted by the loss of military life or community connections, we are unable to support their bereavement needs. Our service programmes would be confusing and have the potential to be negative to a child’s wellbeing. We will signpost you to more suitable organisations.
Click here to download the Membership Form for children aged 0-17 years inclusive (Our Scotty Members)
If you are aged between 18-25 years, click here to complete the Springboard Membership Form.
If you prefer, you can also contact us by email at [email protected] or call us on Freephone 08000 928 571 and selecting option 1 Monday to Friday between 1000-1600, to request a paper copy.
If you know a child or young person who has experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces, they could be eligible for specialist bereavement support from Scotty's Little Soldiers. Hundreds of bereaved military children aren’t getting the support they need but we are here to help.
- If you are seeking support for a bereaved military child or young person, click here.
- If you are the parent or carer of a bereaved military child or young person, click here.
- If you work with bereaved children & young people, click here.
- If you are a bereaved young person seeking support, click here.