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News

ForcesWatch welcomes Welsh Government stance over military visits to schools

23/09/2015

ForcesWatch press release

The Welsh Government has been praised by ForcesWatch over a โ€œgroundbreakingโ€ decision to support in principle more research into how the armed forces operate in secondary schools in Wales.


News

Updates on ยฃ50m for over 300 new Cadet units in disadvantaged state schools

13/07/2015

Schools Week, Children & Young People Now, Ekklesia.

Here are several updates following last week's government budget announcement that ยฃ50 million would go to expanding the number of state school Combined Cadet Forces to 500 (an increase of over 300), focusing on disadvantaged schools.   * Criticisms of the funding decision have come from the National Youth Agency ("it's a real missed opportunity not to have invested some of it in good quality youth work which delivers 'character' and a whole lot more besides for young people"), and the Quakers (โ€œUltimately, militarism in schools leads to two kinds of recruitment: the recruitment of teenagers into the armed forces, and the recruitment of wider society to be war ready. Both go undebated. Why canโ€™t we invest in education for peace, not war?โ€)


News

‘Character Building’ range of HM Armed Forces toys

06/07/2015

hmarmedforces.com

A 'Character Building' series of armed forces toys licensed by the MoD is discredited by the new Veterans for Peace UK short film on some of the things that these toys don't show, and by developments in 'character education' that indicate there is no need for 'military ethos' initiatives in UK schools.


Comment article

A former cadetโ€™s experience of the Combined Cadet Forces

09/06/2015

ForcesWatch comment

Looking back on being part of a school-based cadet unit, the author reflects that, despite the fun and experience to be gained, the benefits could be achieved with non-military activities which would not present a dangerous and risk-laden career as an enjoyable and exciting activity or expose young people to an environment where bullying and hazing are normalised.


Comment article

Celebrate or commemorate? The Department for Education and VE Day

07/05/2015

ForcesWatch Comment

The DfE's recent communication to schools about the 70th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May suggests that schools 'will want to celebrate and commemorate' the event. This is the third set of learning materials promoted by the DfE within the past year around military issues. Do 'celebrations' around remembrance events inevitably drown out the more cautious messages about the price of victory?


Comment article

Questions for general election candidates about the military and young people

22/04/2015

ForcesWatch Comment

Here we provide two sample questions that you can ask candidates as well as key points and further sources of information. You can find your candidates contact details using https://yournextmp.com/. Let us know if you get any responses!


News

Government accused of military propaganda in the classroom

27/02/2015

ForcesWatch / Quakers in Britain press release

The Government's material for schools about the armed forces has been criticised today by the human rights group ForcesWatch and Quakers in Britain.


News

New report raises concerns about armed forces visits to Scottish schools

18/12/2014

ForcesWatch press release

A new report published today shows that the armed forces visited four fifths (83%) of state secondary schools within a two year period, between 2010-2012. The report argues that the purpose of many of the visits is related to recruitment into the armed forces.


News

“Catch-22”: Campaigners launch legal battle with MoD over recruitment of minors

08/10/2014

Child Soldiers International press release

Campaigners lodge claim for judicial review of โ€œCatch-22โ€ rules, which force youngest recruits to serve for longest. New poll: public support for raising armed forcesโ€™ enlistment age to 18 continues to grow.


Comment article

Military activity in UK schools

02/10/2014

ForcesWatch comment

The encroachment of the UK military and โ€˜military ethosโ€™ on the UK education system means that alternatives to war and peaceful ways of resolving conflict will be more difficult for young people to explore. This article was originally published on Information for Social Change.