THE Army Families Federation (AFF) is delighted to hear that a new £200,000 fund to support Service families in Wales has been announced by the Welsh Government.
In 2017, the charity sent a detailed brief on families’ behalves to Education Minister Kirsty Williams highlighting the need for targeted pupil funding for Armed Forces children in Wales, and AFF is pleased to see that this important issue has now been recognised.
Families’ voices heard
In England, this funding is provided by the Service Pupil Premium and AFF has frequently received feedback from families who felt their children were at a disadvantage in Wales.
Using their views as a platform, AFF has advocated a similar scheme to support Service children in Wales. The charity sees this newly-announced provision as a positive first step to increased support in more areas of the UK.
The Education Minister said: “Service children often have to move schools at very short notice, and can also face the anxiety of having a parent away on active service. That’s why we need to ensure schools are there to support them.”
Annabel Ingram, AFF’s Regional Manager for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said: “AFF works hard in our devolved nations to ensure parity across the UK for all our Service families. We’re very pleased for our families in Wales, who will now see their children receive support to deal with the unique challenges of life as a Service family.”
The fund will be administered by the Supporting Service Children in Education Project and schools are encouraged to make a bid this school term to access funding ready for the new school year in September.
To find out more about the work AFF does on behalf of Army families worldwide, visit aff.org.uk