Research

SSCE Cymru evidence

SSCE Cymru evidence

SSCE Cymru conducts various research activities to understand the needs of Service children and identify the most successful support they have received.

The views of schools, parents/carers and Service children have been instrumental in the development of the SSCE Cymru Toolkit and resources, as well as contributing evidence to make changes in policy and systems.

ALN survey

In 2024/2025, SSCE Cymru invited all schools and local authorities in Wales to participate in an ALN survey. 

The survey questions covered the following areas:

  • Experience of any challenges when accessing / implementing support for Service children with ALN.​
  • Positive experiences when accessing / implementing support for Service children with ALN. ​
  • Areas in which the school/LA would benefit from further support to assist with supporting Service children with ALN.
  • Specific resources that could further assist schools/LAs with being able to support Service children with ALN.​
  • Experience of Service children moving in/out of the Local authority with IDP/EHCP. ​​

Download the full survey findings analysis

School survey

In 2019, SSCE Cymru invited all schools in Wales with Service children on roll to participate in a survey. The survey questions covered the following areas: 

  • School information – e.g. number of Service children, language of school, location
  • Mobility data – the number of Service children joining and leaving the school
  • Challenges – Service children's challenges in education, and schools' challenges in supporting their Service children
  • Support – the support that schools offer to Service children, including mental health and wellbeing support, and how schools work together collaboratively
  • Funding – which funding schemes schools are accessing, and what this money is used for
  • Armed Forces community – how schools engage with the community
  • SSCE Cymru resources – to learn what schools would find beneficial in helping them to support their Service children
  • SSCE Cymru training – to identify the type of training schools would like, and for who. 

Summary of key findings

A total of 167 schools across Wales contributed details of their experiences in supporting Service children in education through an online survey.  

Challenges Service children face 

  • The most significant challenge identified by primary schools was the emotional impact of separation  
  • The most significant challenges identified by secondary schools are making friends and missing curriculum content.  

Challenges schools face in supporting Service children  

  • The most significant challenges identified by primary schools were supporting Service children with their emotional and wellbeing needs and understanding the Armed Forces lifestyle  
  • The most significant challenges identified by secondary schools were supporting Service children with the gaps in their learning and gaining information from a Service child’s previous schools 
  • Schools from the four key local authorities that have obvious links to the Armed Forces community (Isle of Anglesey, Pembrokeshire, Powys and Vale of Glamorgan) were more aware of the challenges their Service children face in education, in comparison to schools in all local authorities in Wales, yet they felt less equipped to support them.  

School support for Service children  

  • The most beneficial types of support offered to Service children was tailored pastoral support and having a dedicated member of staff to support their Service children  
  • A substantial percentage of schools have put specific interventions in place to support their Service children or referred them for Mental Health and Wellbeing support. Many of these schools had issues meeting the prioritisation threshold, presenting disadvantage to Service children.

Download the full survey findings analysis

Listening to our Service children

In 2019/20, SSCE Cymru ran a number of discussion groups with schools in Wales, to hear from Service children about their experiences of education in Wales. 115 Service children from 14 schools took part in the project. 

These findings fed into the Year of the Service Child Voice project by the Service Children’s Progression Alliance (SCiP Alliance). 

Summary of key findings

  • A number of discussion topics prompted responses and comments that were both positive and negative 
  • One consistent message that is seen throughout the discussions regarding mobility, is the importance of the support Service children receive from friends and family, and the negative view of leaving/being away from them  
  • Understandably, the majority of comments and views from Service children, regarding their experiences of deployment were overwhelmingly negative. A wide range of coping mechanisms are used by Service children to deal with their emotions and feelings during deployment  
  • Discussions about their experiences of living and being educated in Wales, prompted responses and comments that were both positive and negative but were primarily positive. 

 Download the project findings and analysis

Parent/carer survey

In 2020, SSCE Cymru conducted a survey with parents/carers of Service children. This gave them the opportunity to share their experiences about living in/moving to Wales, the impact their lifestyles have on their children’s education, and the support they have received from schools. 

Summary of key findings:  

  • Responses suggest that there is a lot of very successful support in place in schools in Wales, but there are significant variations across areas. 
  • Data indicates that there are many other support systems that could be beneficial to Service children.
  • Schools in the four key local authorities (LAs*)  have a greater understanding of Service children’s experiences and are better prepared to support this unique group of learners. 

* The four key LAs are those that have well-established military communities (Isle of Anglesey, Pembrokeshire, Powys and the Vale of Glamorgan). 

Download the full survey findings analysis

Service children ALN report

Commissioned by SSCE Cymru and conducted by the University of South Wales and Arad Research, this research explores the challenges of identifying, assessing and implementing support for Service children with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) in Wales. It also examines the potential impact of the new ALN Code for Wales.

Alun Davies AM, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services, officially launched the report at the SSCE Cymru conference in June 2018.

Key findings

“…the percentage of Service children (6.1%) being supported at School action level is considerably lower than the percentage of all pupils (11.17%) from across our sample. One explanation for this may be that the transient nature of this population may make it less likely for any initial differentiated learning approaches to be evaluated and, in turn, progressed onto support through School Action.”

Report overview film

Full report

The report includes the following:

  • Policy context
  • Literature review
  • Feedback from the SSCE Cymru Conference 2017
  • Analysis of survey data from schools
  • Key stakeholder interviews
  • Areas for further consideration.

Download the full report

Service children’s quotes

"Being a military child is hard, but it also gets you a lot of new experiences that I wouldn't have experienced otherwise".

Esme-Jane

"For military children they [Mount Street Junior School] do a club called Little Troopers, they've done a Remembrance service, purple up day. We celebrate Holi and Dawali".

Arushi

"My Mum is my parent that is in the Armed Forces. She is a reservist. So when I was younger it was a lot worse, she travelled around a lot. I've lived in the same house my whole life, but she has moved around me. I was in a constant cycle of saying goodbye".

Emma

"My Dad, he's in the Army and he works in the Engineers and he goes away on week days and comes back on weekends"

Emily

"Dad often goes away. It is a bit worrying not knowing where your Dad is going. It does worry me and my sister. Yeah, you just never know when he's coming home". 

Joe

"In June or July, my Dad is going away quite far. He's in the Army, he's a chef. Having your Dad gone is so sad."

Josie

"I've lived in many places. So, I was born in Cyprus, after that I've been to Germany, then I went to this place called Stafford. Then another place which is Wales."

Dominic

"I've moved seven times in fourteen years." 

Lilia

"Now we've got a forever home. I never have to worry about leaving or how long until I am leaving. I feel like I belong here a lot more, that's always great."

Oliver

"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

"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’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

"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

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