2025 Free

Impact Report 2025

Scotty's Little Soldiers supports bereaved British Forces children and young people aged 0-25. In 2025, 796 children and young people were supported across three programmes: SMILES (social connection), SUPPORT (mental health) and STRIDES (education). 349 children took Scotty Breaks; 78% receiving 1:1 support improved in three or more wellbeing areas; £73,149 in grants was distributed; 3,085 care packages were sent. The Behind the Uniform campaign influenced exam board guidance affecting 2 million+ exams.

Report snapshot
81 Views

About

SMILES Programme (respite breaks at 6 lodges, events, care packages, Remembrance weekend); SUPPORT Programme (1:1 bereavement support, accredited counselling, parent/carer support, advocacy); STRIDES Programme (education grants, school advocacy, teacher training, Behind the Uniform campaign); Scotty's Council (youth voice aged 12-25)

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 796 bereaved British Forces children and young people supported in 2025; 75% of new members joined within 6 months of bereavement
Key Metric 2 78% of children receiving 1:1 support improved in at least 3 of 5 wellbeing areas; 99% of Scotty Break families reported improved connection or communication
Key Metric 3 £73,149 distributed in 329 grants; 3,085 care packages sent; Behind the Uniform campaign shaped exam board guidance for WJEC and Eduqas (2 million+ exams annually)

Key Outcomes

  • 98% of event attendees felt stronger sense of belonging; 83% of children in 1:1 support improved coping skills; 90% of parents saw improvement in their child's communication, belonging or connection
  • Behind the Uniform campaign launched at Churchill War Rooms; Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote to Scotty's recognising campaign impact; Scottish Commissioner for Veterans called services 'invaluable'; teacher training materials published with Anglia Ruskin University
  • 15th anniversary milestone; 753-child longitudinal dataset published; 4 Scotty's Council members presented at Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research Forum; new START programme planned for 2026; ambition to support 25,000+ bereaved people by 2035

Geography

UK-Wide

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
Total income £18,180,000 and total expenditure £18,560,000 (year ended 31 December 2024, charity no. 1084958 England/Wales and SC039654 Scotland); in 2024 spent £3.8m on...
Key Metric 2
700+ members supported through in-person visits and support calls in 2025; 697 support grants allocated in 2025 for essential items including specialist clothing, cooling...
Key Metric 3
Largest global investment in EB research to date: multi-million-pound drug repurposing trial provisionally agreed with LifeArc partner at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation...
£34,000 raised in 2025 winter appeal supporting families like Darcie's with specialist items, emotional support and research; 697 support grants delivered in 2025; first Members Connect event in Northern Ireland; EB Priorities Setting Partnership study completed providing global research roadmap
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
22,507 households helped through RBL casework and specialist support services across 66 countries
Key Metric 2
22,600 grants given to those in need, totalling £11.8 million
Key Metric 3
733 beneficiaries represented at tribunals, resulting in £24.5 million in War Pensions awards
1,548 new families living with dementia supported by RBL Admiral Nurses service
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
3,600 blind veterans received support across the UK; 447 new blind veterans started receiving support in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
1,598 referrals to rehabilitation services completed; 313 veterans received assistive technology training
Key Metric 3
997 volunteers donated 26,824 hours of support; befriending service awarded Quality in Befriending Excellence — one of only 11 organisations in the UK to...
1,831 National Creative Wellbeing Project packs issued to help veterans reconnect with creativity and independence
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
349,000+ people completed the Know Your Risk tool to assess their risk of type 2 diabetes in 2024
Key Metric 2
£4 million invested in 17 new research projects; total active grants portfolio worth over £45 million
Key Metric 3
32% of people completing NHS England's Path to Remission programme — which Diabetes UK campaigned for — put their type 2 diabetes into remission
Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge invested over £23 million in 19 projects across 161 experts from 47 institutions in 8 countries since 2022