Thanks to a generous grant from the Army Central Fund (ACF), HighGround is launching an exciting new pilot programme to support Army Spouses and partners in 2026. This initiative responds directly to the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey, which has repeatedly shown that the career challenges faced by spouses are a major factor influencing retention within the Army community.
The new Rural Weeks designed specifically for spouses and partners of serving Army personnel, will offer a welcoming space to explore fresh opportunities and build confidence. Through tailored training, career coaching, site visits, networking opportunities, and wellbeing activities delivered in partnership with leading landbased colleges, participants with gain the practical knowledge, insight and connections needed to build meaningful and flexible careers in the landbased sector.
Jamie Crisp, CEO of HighGround explained
“We have seen how transformational our Rural Weeks can be for serving members of the Armed Forces and are very excited to bring the same opportunity to spouses and partners. We are deeply grateful to the ACF for their continued support of HighGround and can’t wait to get to know this very important cohort within the Army community better.”
Funding from ACF will also support HighGround’s horticultural therapy programme, a clinically integrated rehabilitation service delivered on site at the DMRC Stanford Hall.
Both the ‘Rural Weeks for Army Spouses’ and Horticultural Therapy Programmes aim to create lasting positive impact for the army community. They reflect HighGround’s commitment to improving the wellbeing and widening career possibilities for serving personnel and their families through the green environment.
Caroline Crewe-Read, Director of the Army Central Fund explained the significance of this partnership:
“The Army Central Fund supports interventions that strengthen the wellbeing of serving personnel and their families in ways that also contribute to retention and stability in Army life. The provision of horticultural therapy at DMRC Stanford Hall is a powerful example of this in practice, supporting recovery in a clinically grounded way. We are equally interested in the potential of the Rural Weeks pilot to address one of the persistent challenges in service life: access to meaningful, flexible employment for spouses and partners. This pilot will help us understand what works, and where targeted investment can make a lasting difference.”
To find out more about these programmes and the work of HighGround, please visit www.highground-uk.org or contact us by email operations@highground-uk.org.
