ForcesWatch » The military in education & youth activities

The UK armed forces visit thousands of schools each year. They offer career presentations, curriculum resources and other activities aimed at promoting the interests of the military and long-term recruitment. Since 2012, the Department for Education have promoted ‘military ethos’ programmes such as cadet units in state schools and ‘alternative provision with a military ethos’.

The armed forces and arms companies are increasingly involved in the provision of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activities for school and college students. and they also sponsor a number of careers-led secondary schools. The armed forces also now sponsor youth organisations like Girlguiding and Scouts. See more here.

Should the armed forces by given access to children within education? How can we challenge their activities in schools and colleges? How can a more balanced view of the military be given to young people?

While there are claims that school involvement is not about recruiting young people, the Ministry of Defence has itself stated that visits to educational establishments are a ‘powerful tool for facilitating recruitment’.

In having contact with young people, the military aim to sow seeds in impressionable young minds. In 2007, the head of the Army’s recruitment strategy said, “Our new model is about raising awareness, and that takes a ten-year span. It starts with a seven-year-old boy seeing a parachutist at an air show and thinking, ‘That looks great.’ From then the army is trying to build interest by drip, drip, drip.”

The influence of military interests in education and youth activities raises concerns around:

recruiting-related activities in school
child welfare issues
the unrepresentative portrayal of the armed forces
weapons in schools and at public events aimed at interesting children and teenagers in a military career
the need for balance in teaching controversial issues
the lack of balance with other career providers coming into schools
the lack of parental consultation and policy scrutiny
concerns around targeting disadvantaged areas and prioritising over other youth activities
lack of balance with education for peace
marginalising individuals and groups to do not wish to participate in military-related activities

See our briefing on Military involvement in education and youth activities in the UK.

We recognise the importance of debate and critical thinking in helping young people make an informed choice about the military and its activities. This is particularly important for those thinking of a career in the forces, a uniquely risk-laden occupation. If the military are allowed to have a presence and influence in the UK education system then it should be balanced by a thorough exploration of opposing views and approaches, as demanded by the 1996 Education Act.

Useful resources

Teach Peace pack

revised 2016

Teach Peace, a new resource from the Peace Education Network, is a set of eight assemblies, follow-up activities, resources, prayers and reflections on peace for primary schools. From the UN peace day, 21 September, to the International Day for Children as Victims of War, 4 June, the school year is ?lled with opportunities to use the assemblies and activities in Teach Peace. This resource will help to ensure peace is a key theme in our children’s education and help you to celebrate peace and the peacemakers in your school. The entire resource is free to download below. Hard copies of Teach Peace are available from the Peace Education Network for £5. Also available in Welsh.

Questioning military academies and free schools

This article explains what we mean by 'military academies' and 'military free schools', and explores the concerns that they raise: the lack of evidence that they will raise attainment; that they can employ unqualified teachers; their limited accountability to the local community; the fact that they can set their own curriculum. Crucially, there are various agendas behind military academies and free schools, including providing employment for the growing number of veterans, and encouraging pupils to join the armed forces after they leave school. There is also unease about what military-style discipline would look like in a school environment.

Why are education projects run by ex-services being prioritised?

On 15 November 2013, the Department for Education announced "£4.8 million to projects led by ex-armed forces personnel to tackle underachievement by disengaged pupils".

ForcesWatch has a number of concerns about the military-led 'alternative provision' being developed in schools: who benefits? the armed forces certainly will; military-led 'alternative provision' targets young people seen to be 'failing' - precisely those who need more options and, if channelled into the forces, are most at risk in warfare; the policy is based on limited evidence and ideological assumptions; will there be space for ethical issues around conflict to be addressed?

Camouflage Kids: How the military affects young people’s lives

November 2013

A ForcesWatch poster showing policy, cultural and other recent developments affecting the extent of military influence in young people's lives.

The military’s influence in UK education

2013

by Emma Sangster in Sowing Seeds: The Militarisation of Youth and How to Counter It, War Resisters International, 2013

‘Catch them young before the army loses them’

2013

by David Gee in Sowing Seeds: The Militarisation of Youth and How to Counter It, War Resisters International, 2013

Unpacking ‘recruitment’: what does the MoD mean when it says the armed forces do not run recruitment activities in schools?

Our education campaigner looks at the MoD's assertion that the armed forces do not go into schools for recruitment purposes. This is based on a definition of 'recruitment' that limits it to 'signing up' there and then. We argue that the armed forces are indeed recruiting in schools and that 'recruitment' is a broader activity that involves interesting young people in the idea of enlisting by engaging in the range of activities from careers talks to visits to bases.

We shall reach them in the classrooms: promoting a ‘military ethos’ in schools

Earlier this month the Department for Education published a statement on their website outlining their ambition to promote a military ethos in schools across the country. Through developing projects such as Troops to Teachers and expanding schemes such as the cadets and other alternative military provision in schools (such as Challenger Troop), the government is now actively encouraging schools, especially newer Academies and Free Schools, which tend to exist in more disadvantaged areas, to foster a military ethos. This article was originally published on Bright Green

Militarising Education

This article was originally published on openDemocracy The incursion of the military into the British education system will mean that alternatives to war and peaceful ways of resolving conflict will be more difficult for young people to explore. In the long term we will all pay a heavy price.

Service Schools and more cadet forces – an exercise in recruitment

Over the past month, amid announcements of major cuts to the armed forces, came some unexpected news on public spending: £10.85million to expand cadet forces into state schools , a £1million grant to promote a military ethos in schools and senior Labour politicians calling for a series of 'Service Schools', staffed entirely by former members of the armed forces, to be established. Unexpected, that is, to anyone who hasn't previously been aware of the importance that military policy makers place on access to young people within education.