APPG Meeting on Service children with special or additional educational needs

Last week, I chaired the latest meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Armed Forces Community, beginning with our AGM and followed by an important discussion on how the Armed Forces Covenant works in practice for Service children with special or additional educational needs or disabilities.

There are around 120,000 Service children in the UK, many of whom move schools frequently, across local authorities, across the four nations, and sometimes overseas. For children with SEND or additional needs, this mobility can mean assessments not transferring, support plans not being recognised, and long delays before help is put back in place. Too often, children lose months or even years of vital support.

The Armed Forces Covenant is meant to prevent disadvantage arising from Service life, but evidence shows its application remains inconsistent, particularly in education. With SEND systems under real strain and the new Armed Forces Bill extending the Covenant Duty to education and childcare, it’s essential that the needs of Service children with SEND are properly built into reform.

I’m grateful to Dr Claire Lee and Graham Short MBE TD for sharing research and insight, and to the Royal British Legion for their continued support as Secretariat. We need better data sharing, clearer guidance and stronger accountability so the Covenant delivers in practice.