At Holy Trinity, we are very experienced in supporting children from service families and have a rich history of links with families from the military communities in Ripon, Topcliffe, Dishforth and Catterick. 

We understand the challenges faced when families relocate and children start a new school. Therefore, we have procedures in place to support pupils to settle and make friends. Our Service Pupil Champion is proactive in ensuring every service pupil feels valued and settles quickly.  So that we can fully support your child, we encourage parents to keep us updated regarding any changes and deployments.

Mrs Vicky Maher is our Service Children’s Champion. Mrs Maher is well-known to the children and is very approachable should you need to contact her. 

Hello! My name is Victoria Maher.  

As well as being a classroom teaching assistant, I am the Service Pupil Champion here at Holy Trinity.

I am a mum of three and spouse to a current service member, which gives me first-hand experience of the joys and challenges that our service pupils encounter when they have a parent serving in the forces. My role as a member of staff at Trinity, and as a member of the service community, means that I am able to offer our service pupils and their families the right support and information.

I run a weekly Little Heroes club across both the Infant and Junior sites, where the children can drop in during their lunch break to take part in different activities and socialise with other service children within our school community. The club can also be a place where children can speak to someone about the worries or concerns that service life can bring.

In addition to these group sessions, I am also available to the children for more one-to-one support, especially around deployments or during parental absence. 

I work in partnership with Maggie Newman, who some of you will recognise as part of the Army Welfare team. She supports in the running of the Little Heros club and is a great link between school, families and the Army Welfare Service. 

If you would like to contact me, please email service@htceschools.co.uk 

Did you know..?

The Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme: Service families can apply for up to 20 hours per week, per child, of wraparound childcare funding for 4- to 11-year-old children attending before and after school childcare in the UK. For further information, please follow the link: Childcare for service children – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)