Month: September 2016

Media coverage of our petition to the Scottish Parliament

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On Thursday 15 September, ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland went to the Scottish Parliament to give evidence to the Public Petitions Committee about armed forces visits to schools.

On Thursday 15 September, ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland went to the Scottish Parliament to give evidence to the Public Petitions Committee about armed forces visits to schools. Read more about the petition here. The session can be watched or read and was covered by:

STV News online: Army recruitment ‘targeting deprived pupils’, Holyrood hears

Common Space: Campaigners welcome parliament progress on military recruitment in schools

The Herald: Campaign to monitor military in schools takes step forward

BBC Online: Concerns raised over school Army visits

The National: Armed forces’ school visits to be reviewed amid fears disadvantaged pupils are being targeted


From the BBC:

Concerns raised over school Army visits

Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner is to be asked for his view on members of the armed forces visiting schools.

It comes after MSPs heard claims that the military was targeting pupils from deprived areas for recruitment.

Religious group Quakers in Scotland and military recruitment watchdog Forces Watch raised the issue with the Public Petitions Committee.

Their submission said the MoD had asked Education Scotland for school deprivation data last year.… Read more

Petition on Military Visits to Scotland’s Schools being heard in Parliament

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A petition calling for increased transparency and scrutiny of armed forces visits to schools in Scotland comes before Holyrood this Thursday 15 September.

The Scottish Government is being urged to investigate the way the armed forces operate in secondary schools, after the Welsh Assembly agreed to take similar steps in 2015.

According to available data the military make a disproportionate number of visits to schools and colleges in Scotland, compared to England.

A 2014 ForcesWatch report highlighted how over four-fifths of state secondary schools in Scotland were visited by the armed forces during a two year period. (1)

In some areas every school was visited, and some as many as 20 times or more over a two year period. About one third of the visits were explicitly about careers in the armed forces, while other visits will also have had a careers related element.

The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament Education and Culture Committee to hold an inquiry into armed forces visits, and for the Scottish Government and local authorities to:

  • Produce guidance for local authorities and schools on how visits by the armed forces should be conducted, taking account of the unique nature of armed forces careers, and ensuring political balance.
… Read more