Armed Forces Families & Safeguarding - funding available for 2023

2023 Education Support Fund (ESF) : Applications can be accepted from publicly funded schools, Academies, Free Schools, Sixth Form colleges or from Local Authorities on behalf of publicly funded schools in their area.

The ESF, launched in 2011 and subsequently extended by the Secretary of State for Defence (2018-2020), provided funding to assist publicly funded schools, Academies and Free Schools throughout the UK to mitigate the effects of exceptional mobility and/or separation of their Service communities; Regular Armed Forces, including Reserves on Full Time commitment (FTRS FC).

In light of ongoing rebasing activity, with further unit and personnel moves and associated disruption expected, Armed Forces Families & Safeguarding has secured £3 million from the Head Office Top Level Budget to fund an extension of the ESF.
The 2023 ESF bidding round is open until Friday 30 September 2022. Applications from England, Scotland and Wales should be forwarded to People-AFFS-ESF-Mailbox@mod.gov.uk

Result letters will be circulated in January 2023 with payments made to successful applicants by March 2023.

For further information click on the flyer below.

SAfE and Service Pupil Premium

The Schools Alliance for Excellence (SAfE) is commissioned to deliver School Improvement on behalf of Surrey County Council.  Within this remit, SAfE has mechanisms to monitor the outcomes of Service Pupil Premium Children and we signpost our schools to any opportunities, which might support the specific needs of this small but distinct group of learners in Surrey.

WHAT TEACHERS AND SUPPORT STAFF NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SUPPORTING SERVICE CHILDREN:

• Service children are not a homogenous group and will have different experiences
• Service children may move home frequently, with all the disruption to education, friendships and social networks that this can imply. Leaving behind old friends and making new friends is one of the biggest challenges service children say they face. Educationally, they can miss key parts of the curriculum and unwittingly re-do other parts.
• Service children may have extended periods when their serving parent is away from home. Apart from missing their absent parent, this could also mean parents being unable to attend key school events. If the parent is deployed on active service, children may be worried about their safety (something to be aware of, for example during history or literature lessons). When the absent parent returns, that can also bring adjustments for the family.
• There can be significant benefits for service children of being part of the armed forces community and the challenges they may face can also increase their resilience. They may therefore develop strong leadership, peer mentoring, organisational skills and other positive attributes reflected by the military ethos.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR SCHOOLS TO BE AWARE OF THE NEEDS OF SERVICE CHILDREN?

If the school environment is responsive to the specific issues which service children can face, those service children will be better supported and thus thrive.

Surrey County Council has signed up to The Armed Forces Covenant.  This is a promise that people who serve in the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force will not be disadvantaged as a result of that service.

This means, for example, that if they have to move house, their children should not be disadvantaged in the school admissions process. More generally, councils are promoting greater awareness of the needs of the armed forces community and what can be done to address them.  Please follow this link:  https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/people-and-community/armed-forces to see what Surrey County Council is doing to support Armed Forces Personnel and their families at the moment. 

See also the Surrey Armed Forces Covenant Report 2019-20 here.