Schools and learning
Support for service children
Children in Service families face some big challenges, such as emotional strain due to parents being deployed, frequent house moves and problems with admission into schools.
The Royal British Legion has explored these challenges and produced best practice guides for the support of service children looking at ways to support service children in school. The guides share examples of good practice from across England and Wales and recommend ways in which local authorities, schools and families themselves can improve service children’s experience in education.
Service children in state schools handbook
The service children in state schools handbook is a guide for teachers and other professionals, to the specific issues relating to the needs of children of Service personnel.
Children’s’ Education Advisory Service
The Children’s education advisory service is part of the MOD’s Directorate Children and Young People (DCYP) and is a small dedicated team, who are experienced in advising service parents on a wide range of issues regarding the education of service children in the UK and overseas.
MOD Directorate of Children and Young People
The Directorate of Children and Young People (DCYP) provides appropriate professional direction, support and advice in order to ensure that children and young people are provided with every opportunity to achieve the best possible outcomes and fulfil their potential.
Service Pupil Premium
The Service Pupil Premium is designed to assist the school in providing the additional support that these children may need and is currently worth £300 per service child who meets the eligibility criteria. Eligible schools receive the SPP so that they can offer mainly pastoral support during challenging times and help mitigate the negative impact on service children of family mobility or parental deployment.
Service Pupil Premium: Examples of good practice
The service pupil premium provides a selection of creative, innovative and effective ways of supporting service pupils in both primary and secondary schools.
MKC Heroes
MKC Heroes is a national support group for the children of Service men and women and their relatives. Any school can join the tri-Service HMS Heroes who have over 4500 members of pre-school, primary and secondary school age. Members can be any age, from pre-school to eighteen.
Reading Force
Reading Force is passionate about using books to bring service children and families closer together through families, schools and other organisations. Their reading initiative encourages families to read, talk, and scrapbook about a book, improving communication and enriching relationships with books and each other – one page at a time.