ABOUT US
Sea Cadets helps teenagers to stretch themselves and become the best they can be. We know what that takes because we've been doing it for over 160 years.
The turbulence of youth
The pressures that young people face are ever-changing, but what remains constant is that the teenage years can be turbulent. Independence is exciting, but also daunting.
For orphans of the Crimean War, sleeping in the back streets of England’s sea ports, life looked bleak. To help them, coastal communities banded together to provide places for sailors to pass on nautical skills and training to give these destitute young people a future. This is how, in 1856, the Naval Lads’ Brigade was born.
Royal patronage
Soon, they were springing up across the country, and in 1899, Queen Victoria marked their importance to young people by becoming Patron, and giving £10 to the Windsor unit for uniforms. Today we are proud to have, HM The Queen as our Patron.
We are a charity that’s about learning and improving yourself.
We help to launch resilient teenagers who can cope with the world as it is today, and we support people who work at sea to take advantage of professional opportunities.
Our vision is to be the leading maritime charity for youth development and lifelong learning.
MSSC was formed in 2004 and is the parent charity for the Sea Cadets and Marine Society. The charity is made up of these two very old charities, which merged in 2004. Both helped young people to achieve more and make a life for themselves, often in very difficult times. You can read more about the
Sea Cadets and
Marine Society on their websites.
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The volunteers at my unit have been extremely supportive. They are like my second family. They help get you to where you want to be in the right way and the most effective way."
Our Memorandum of Understanding with the Royal Navy
Sea Cadets is an MOD sponsored cadet force and operates through a Memorandum of Understanding between MSSC and MoD. The Royal Navy is our biggest supporter making up just half of the charity’s income the rest is fundraised for by the national charity, based in London, and the individual sea cadet units across the UK of which we have 400.
Our structure
We employ around 190 employees geographically spread across the UK. Our national office is located at 202 Lambeth Road in London where around 60 members of staff work including our chief executive and the senior management team. The senior management team is our Chief Executive and six directors including the Captain of the Sea Cadet Corps.
The Sea Cadets charity has 400 local units across the UK from Lands End to John o Groats and they are run by trained and dedicated volunteers. Each of our 9,000 volunteers provide support and mentoring to young people in their care, of which we have 14,000. The national charity provides boats and bursaries to support activities and 12 national training centres and boat centres.
What we do
The charity’s outcomes framework gives a clear picture of the journey a young person or a seafarer goes on while with us. This helps to ensure we offer a consistent and conscious outcome for all our beneficiaries and that we always meet our long terms goals of making a positive, life enhancing difference.
"My experience with the Marine Society has been nothing short of exceptional. Their advice has been friendly and professional throughout the entire process. I could not recommend them more highly and would encourage anyone to get in contact for more information."
SEA CADETS
With Sea Cadets you’ll develop the confidence and skills you need to thrive - teamwork and leadership, plus you can work towards qualifications in our accredited courses.
Get the most out of every adventure and earn a badge to prove it. From a night at the unit to orienteering across Dartmoor. Get active with rock climbing, windsurfing and diving, or take part in more traditional activities like drill, piping and band.
When you’ve mastered new skills, you can represent your unit and compete in our national competitions. These let you compete against the rest of the Corps – from the Royal Marines Cadets’ Gibraltar Cup to our sailing regattas and ceremonial drill, there’s something to work towards and win.
VISION AND STRATEGY
Our focus is on maximising the impact our work has on the lives of young people and seafarers.
We are always looking at how we make that impact and ensuring we continue to do so in a way that is relevant and connects with our beneficiaries. Particularly as we emerge from the pandemic we focus on a two-year
Strategic Plan until 2023 designed to encourage growth and invest in our future.
Our vision
We are a charity that helps launch young people for life today whatever they want to do after school, and helps seafarers to keep learning all their lives.
The stories we hear and the results of our seafarer and cadet surveys paint a picture of a charity that has a clear transformational impact, often acting as a springboard to later success and personal development for many. We want to build on that to continue to attract support, all the while building a culture that champions innovation, leadership and team working.
For young people we have a clear focus through The Sea Cadets Experience – delivering the best possible head start, we believe we can show how that can improve a young person’s life chances at school, in work and for the community, while staying true to our unique nautical heritage and Royal Navy core. In doing so we create a strong cause for support that will resonate with our supporters, cadets and their parents at a time when the prospects for being young in our society can be daunting.
Sea Cadets makes exploring the world and who you want to be safe and exciting
You learn life skills. I was 12, very quiet and shy. Cadets makes you find the confidence. You feel part of something special.
Life feels different
Sea Cadets is different from school. There's a lot of learning. But it's done through activities – on the water and off the water – and our volunteers leading by example.
It's also different from home, a break from screens and being cooped up inside. The platform we offer is built on the customs and traditions of the Royal Navy. It inspires our work and commitment to supporting young people today.
Horizons open
Teenagers meet other cadets at events around the UK, and on trips abroad. Get comfortable with meeting people from different places and backgrounds, and confident in dealing with new situations, which can make going out into the world so much easier later on.
The support feels different, too
Our friendly, trained volunteers – some from a naval background, many not – are role models for cadets, looking out for them, and helping to draw out anyone who's shy.
If you think Sea Cadets sounds like having orders barked at you, think again. Many cadets do want to learn to be a bit more self-disciplined, and our volunteers will help with that and make it fun. But they also help young people to try things they've never done before, safely, and to support them until they achieve it.
A second family
Everyone looks after each other at Sea Cadets. There's a lot of respect in the air. And many teenagers and volunteers say it feels like a second family.
We take this responsibility extremely seriously and have robust, active safeguarding practices in place to ensure all young people feel secure and protected.
CONTACT US
Patron: HM The Queen
Sea Cadets is a charity registered in England and Wales 313013 and in Scotland SC037808