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Grant funding Service Pupil Support (SPS) programme
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Service Pupil Support (SPS) programme

Partnered with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), this programme is administered by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT), a charity who supports the Armed Forces Covenant by delivering funding programmes that create real change to Armed Forces communities across the UK.

What is the funding purpose?

The Service Pupil Support programme will award grants of £5,000 to £80,000 to projects supporting Service children along their educational pathway. This year, the programme will prioritise applications from clusters of three or more schools supporting Service children.

The SPS programme replaced the MODs Education Support Fund (ESF) from 2023.

Who is eligible?

  • Schools (maintained schools and free schools)
  • Further Education settings
  • Local authorities
  • Multi-academy trusts
  • Academies.

NOTE: Schools are expected to work collaboratively and apply in a cluster of three or more. Applications from single schools can only be made in exceptional circumstances.

What are the priorities?

  • Closing the gap in attainment between Service and non-Service pupils, using data led evidence
  • Addressing the needs of Service pupils with additional needs through early identification and intervention using a collaborative and coordinated approach
  • Identifying and addressing the needs of small cohorts of Service pupils within educational settings.

NOTE: Your project will need to meet at least one of these themes.

Application deadline: 12:00pm on 8th May 2024 (you will receive a decision before the end of June 2024)

Further information here

Service children’s quotes

"As soon as we get used to a house, you get moved - I’ve been to four schools and moved six times."

Aiden

"I lived in Nepal, then we went to Brunei, then Malaysia."

Ashim

"In my eyes, you have hundreds of friends in different places."

Chloe

"I’m used to moving now and mixing with the children... I’ve done it so many times, it’s just a normal thing now."

Chloe

"It's ok talking over skype and that, but sometimes you just want a hug when Dad is away."

Georgia

"I’ve enjoyed going around to lots of places around the world, it's adventurous and exciting."

Harry

"In my eyes, you have hundreds of friends in different places."

Ieuan

"My mum got a chalk board and it says how many sleeps on it with chalk, every minute it’s getting closer for him coming home."

Mia

"I don’t want him to get promoted... I want him to get promoted but I don’t want to leave."

Oliver

"I might be going to boarding school so that I don’t change schools every few years."

Ryan

"I've been to seven different schools; I’ve not stayed put in one school long enough."

Shana

"He has been away for six months and he is back for two weeks, then he goes away again."

Sianed

"My parents were in the Army. My mum is a like a nurse and my dad went to the war in Afghanistan. I actually didn’t really know what he was doing so I was like, ‘Cool Dad, go there,’ but then I found out and thought, 'Thank God he came back alive.'"

Sanjog

"He signed off last week, so he will be done by the end of this year. He’s done 24 years. I find that better because he will be around a lot. He likes watching us playing rugby, so he will get to see us more."

Lewis

"I’m going to a new place entirely. They don’t know anything about me and that’s a big restart and that’s really good for me."

Piaras

"I moved to Wales because my dad was posted in the Army. I thought I would get bullied and I was shy when you meet new people, but I made some friends."

Dan