Scottish Government urged to introduce pupil premium for armed forces children

Children with parents in the armed forces are being failed, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have said.

Willie Rennie, the party’s education spokesperson, wants an armed services pupil premium to be introduced in Scotland, similar to the policy introduced in England in 2011.

It would provide £320 per child of service personnel and would be paid to schools to acknowledge the disruption the children face to their education and the potential mental health concerns of having a parent in the army.

There are approximately 2,500 children of service personnel in Scotland.

But Mr Rennie said the Scottish Government’s Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville is “failing children” by rejecting the proposals.

In a response to Mr Rennie’s parliamentary question, Ms Somerville said additional support is available for all children who need it, including those with parents or carers in the armed forces.

But Mr Rennie said: “The SNP have failed forces families for a decade.

“Many young people with parents in the armed forces are forced to chop and change between schools as they move around for their parents’ work. That can be very disruptive to their studies.

“Likewise, the worry of having a parent away in a dangerous place for a long time means they often need extra support.”

He added: “We all owe the members of our army, navy and RAF a huge debt. An Armed Forces Pupil Premium would help ensure their children get the support they need.”

Ms Somerville said: “We continue to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing through the provision of counselling through schools.

“This is now in place across secondary schools in Scotland. We have also introduced new guidance to support whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing, complementing the work that education authorities and schools already do to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

“Children of service personnel in Scotland will have their needs met by the supports outlined above and as such there are no plans to introduce a Service Pupil Premium.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Armed forces families already receive additional support, including for school education. For example the Scottish Government funds the ADES national transitions officer (NTO) role, which assists councils to support the children of armed forces families.

“Education authorities have a duty to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. This includes needs arising from the disruption caused by the mobility and deployment of a parent or carer in the armed forces.

“We have also introduced new guidance to support whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing, complementing the work that education authorities and schools already do to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.”