Service Children

What is Service Pupil Premium?

The Department for Education introduced SPP in April 2011 in recognition of the specific challenges children from service families face, and as part of the commitment to delivering the Armed Forces Covenant.

Who is eligible?

Pupils are eligible for SPP if they meet one of the following criteria:

one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces (including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service)
they have been registered as a ‘service child’ on a school census in the past 6 years
one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme
one of their parents is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England

What challenges do service children face?

Service children can experience a number of challenges, including the emotional cycle of having a parent posted on deployment, a higher degree of family mobility, or separation from a serving parent if they are posted further afield.

How we support service children?

Whilst it’s never our intention to make our service children feel different from their civilian peers, we do however champion the need to make sure our service children feel understood about their backgrounds, past experiences, and the concerns and challenges that are unique to having a parent in the Armed Forces.

Service children not a homogeneous group

We acknowledge that service children are not one homogeneous group, and therefore look to tailor our support to the individual. This could involve pastoral support whilst a parent is away on deployment, additional support for the child if they are moving schools, tailored guidance on careers, or simply helping them celebrate their armed forces background with their peers.

Celebrating our Armed Forces

We run regular lunchtime clubs for our service children, which they are more than welcome to bring a civilian friend along to if they wish. In our lunchtime clubs, we get involved in a range of different activities, including:

Creating student-led articles for the school newsletter about life and careers in the armed forces
Listening to, discussing, and getting involved in the Little Troopers SQUAD military podcast for teens
Getting involved in student-led community events and projects which celebrate armed forces life
Taking part in 'Reading Force'

Supporting Deployment

We recognise that children and families with a parent heading out on deployment can face a number of challenges.

The emotional cycle of deployment

The emotional cycle of deployment

If you are a parent serving in the armed forces and are heading off on deployment soon, please fill out the form below so the school is aware and we can get in touch and discuss the best ways we can support you and your child(ren):

Deployment form