Why full time and extended early childcare matters for military families
It’s often said that it takes a village to raise a child – but for many families in the armed forces, that village can feel thousands of miles away.
Constant moves, deployments, and the unpredictability of military life can make building a strong local support network nearly impossible. Yet today, more than ever, that village is essential.
As the cost of living rises and dual income becoming a necessity rather than a luxury, service families are relying heavily on something that’s not always easy to come by – good, quality, reliable childcare.
“Access to affordable, quality childcare is a barrier to employment for all families in the UK, but being an army family adds an additional level of complexity for many” – 2024, AFF Spouse and Partner Employment Survey.
Early Years Programme
Delivered on behalf of the Ministry of Defence’ Armed Forces Families Fund, the Early Years Programme has been designed in mind to help tackle these issues by increasing capacity at settings to allow more service children to attend, enabling more parents to work.
Through targeted support, we’re not only supporting expanding access but also better learning environments and training and development to staff to meet the specific needs of service children. By equipping practitioners with the right skills and understanding, we can ensure that service children feel supported and able to thrive no matter the challenges they may face during service life.
Apply Now!
The Early Years programme aims to support by enhancing early childhood education and childcare settings to meet the specific needs of young children from armed forces families.
We want to support projects that will:
- Increase capacity at the setting to allow more service children to attend.
- Provide better learning environments for service children.
- Provide appropriate training and development to staff to support service children.
- Establish collaborative networks and shared resources through clusters to address the needs of service children
There are more information and helpful resources available on our Early Years programme page. But don’t wait – applications close on 12 noon on 8 October 2025.