Supporting Service Pupils Across Cornwall
We are delighted to be delivering the Military Roots programme in partnership with Cornwall Council Education Business Partnership (EBP), with funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust through the Service Pupil Programme.
Military Roots has been created to strengthen connections between children from Armed Forces families by bringing them together through shared experiences. Delivered collaboratively by Cornwall Council Education Business Partnership and Active Plus CIC, the programme supports secondary school students across Cornwall while also equipping education professionals with the knowledge and confidence to better understand and support service pupils. Together, we aim to help young people build confidence, resilience and aspirations while creating stronger support networks within schools and the wider Armed Forces community.
What is the Military Roots Programme?
Military Roots is an innovative programme designed specifically for school students in Cornwall who have a parent currently serving in HM Armed Forces.
Children from military families often experience unique challenges, including frequent house and school moves, parental deployments and adapting to new environments. While these experiences help many young people become resilient and adaptable, they can also impact confidence, friendships and a sense of belonging.
Military Roots has been developed to address these challenges by creating opportunities for service pupils to connect with others who share similar experiences. Through engaging activities and dedicated support, the programme aims to improve confidence, strengthen peer relationships, raise aspirations and develop self-belief. It provides a safe, inspiring space where young people can thrive.
Alongside supporting and celebrating young people within the Armed Forces Community, the programme also enhances the knowledge and understanding of education professionals, ensuring schools are better equipped to recognise and respond to the needs of service pupils.
How the Programme Works
Military Roots combines ‘command task; activities, practical workshops, careers guidance and professional development to create a holistic support programme for both pupils and schools.
The programme has three key elements:
- Veteran-led courses delivered by Active Plus CIC.
- Aspirations and Future Skills Workshops delivered by Cornwall Council Education Business Partnership.
- Professional development for schools – and community events – that strengthen understanding and support for service pupils across Cornwall.
– Veteran-Led Courses
Active Plus CIC brings over 14 years of experience supporting young people across Cornwall.
Sessions are delivered by Military Veterans who use their lived experience to inspire, motivate and encourage students through practical activities focusing on:
- Confidence and motivation
- Resilience
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Positive relationships
Across six engaging sessions, students work together to solve problems, overcome challenges and develop peer support networks that continue beyond the programme. Meanwhile, our Veteran Instructors serve as powerful and relatable role models.
– Aspirations and Future Skills Workshop
Alongside the veteran-led sessions, Cornwall Council Education Business Partnership delivers bespoke careers and aspirations workshops led by qualified Level 6 Careers Advisers.
These workshops help students:
- Explore their interests and ambitions.
- Understand education, training and career pathways.
- Meet local employers and training providers.
- Set realistic goals for the future.
- Receive personalised one-to-one careers guidance.
The workshops encourage students to reflect on the confidence, leadership and teamwork skills developed throughout the programme and consider how these strengths can support their future education and career choices.
Research consistently shows that developing clear career aspirations after the age of 16 can improve educational attainment and encourage positive outcomes later in life.
– Professional Development for Schools
Military Roots doesn’t only support young people; it also invests in the adults around them.
Military Roots includes a comprehensive professional development programme for education staff, designed to increase confidence in recognising and responding to the needs of children from Armed Forces families.
Beginning this year, the programme will deliver 15 professional development sessions for up to 300 education staff across Cornwall.
Training focuses on:
- Trauma-informed practice
- Mental health awareness
- Understanding the Armed Forces Community
- Identifying and responding to the needs of service pupils
Sessions are informed by Active Plus and include Veterans sharing their lived experiences, helping school staff better understand the realities faced by Armed Forces families.
These professional development opportunities are available to schools across Cornwall.
The programme focuses on harnessing a Community of Practice Development where community and celebration events will establish a supportive network uniting professionals, families, and young people to share experiences and best practices.
Why is the Military Roots Programme Important?
The most crucial element of this programme is understanding the “why”; why is this programme so important? Why is it needed?
Children from Armed Forces families often face circumstances that differ significantly from many of their peers.
Frequent relocations can mean changing schools every two to three years, disrupting education and friendships. Parents may spend long periods away on deployment or training, bringing additional emotional challenges and responsibilities at home.
Many service children also live away from extended family networks, making it more difficult to establish long-term support systems or feel rooted within a community.
Military Roots provides something many of these young people rarely experience: the opportunity to spend time with others who understand exactly what military family life is like. The programme recognises this group of young people and helps them to see they are not alone and have support in place as and when they need it.
While the programme acknowledges these challenges, it also celebrates the remarkable strengths that many service pupils develop, including resilience, adaptability, confidence and the ability to build relationships in new environments.
How the Programme Has Been Received So Far
The programme has already been delivered successfully across a number of schools in Cornwall, including, but not limited to:
- Torpoint Community College
- Carbeile Junior School
- Saltash Community School
- Helston Community College
- Mullion School
As the programme continues to grow, we look forward to welcoming more schools and reaching even more young people – and the adults around them – across the county.
Feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive, with an average session score of 4.3 out of 5.
Students particularly enjoyed the practical, team-based activities, with many saying their only disappointment was that they wished the sessions had been longer.
When asked why it was important to spend time with other students from Armed Forces families, one young person summed up the impact of the programme perfectly:
“Because it’s good to talk to people who share the same struggles.”
This simple but powerful statement reflects exactly why Military Roots exists; to ensure that service pupils feel recognised, understood and supported.
Students consistently highlighted teamwork, friendship, problem-solving and making new connections as some of the most valuable aspects of the programme.
The programme produces the clearest uplift in students’ confidence that they can achieve important things and in how positive they feel about the future.
Session satisfaction has been very strong overall, especially ratings of the instructors, and most students reported making friends and feeling connected afterwards. The open-text responses repeatedly mention teamwork, problem solving, friendship and wanting longer or more sessions, suggesting the social format is a major source of value.
The response has helped us to see why this programme is so valuable for the young Service Pupils within our community – who never cease to amaze and inspire us with their resilience and determination.
Meanwhile teachers, pastoral staff and senior leaders have been able to recognise the disparity in experience between service pupils and their peers. Areas of specific note include improved confidence in supporting service pupils, greater understanding of the Armed Forces community, positive changes in student confidence and engagement, the value of the Veteran-led delivery model and the benefits of pupils connecting with others who share similar experiences.
The Team Experience
Throughout delivery, the Active Plus team has witnessed first-hand the positive impact that bringing service pupils together can have.
Many students have arrived quietly or unsure of themselves before gradually becoming more confident, contributing to group discussions and forming meaningful friendships with others who understand their experiences.
One of the programme’s standout moments has been hearing pupils openly discuss challenges they had previously felt they faced alone. Watching those conversations develop into genuine peer support has reinforced the importance of creating dedicated spaces for service children to connect.
The Overall Impact
The results of the Programme so far demonstrate the positive difference Military Roots is already making.
– Student experience
- 88% enjoyed the sessions.
- 94% rated the instructors highly.
- 85% enjoyed working as part of a group.
- 71% felt the sessions were relevant to them.
-Building connections
- 77% made new friends.
- 85% felt more connected to others.
- 49% said spending time with other Armed Forces Community pupils was extremely important.
The programme also produced the strongest improvements in students’ confidence that they could achieve important goals, and increased optimism about their future.
Open feedback repeatedly highlights teamwork, friendship, problem-solving and wanting additional sessions; demonstrating the lasting value of creating opportunities for service pupils to connect.
The Case Study and review below, provided by Education Project Manager from the Education Business Partnership, Jo Ledger, clearly demonstrates the value of this programme for all those involved. The success is found, not only in the outcomes, but the process itself. As Jo relates,
“The positive response from pupils and staff highlighted the value of programmes such as Military Roots in raising aspirations, fostering resilience, and helping young people realise their potential.”
It is our aim to reach as many Service Pupils as possible; we are confident that they can gain valuable skills, meaningful connections, and increased confidence from taking part in this course.
Looking Ahead
Military Roots is designed to create a legacy across Cornwall.
Alongside expanding delivery into more schools, the programme will continue developing its Community of Practice through its provision of a comprehensive professional development programme for education staff, designed to increase confidence in recognising and responding to the needs of children from Armed Forces families. It will bring together education professionals, families and young people through a series of celebration and networking events.
These events will provide opportunities to:
- Share good practice.
- Celebrate student achievements.
- Strengthen partnerships.
- Continue improving support for service pupils across Cornwall.
As the programme develops, we aim to ensure that every Service Pupil has access to the support and understanding they deserve now, and into the future.
Get Involved!
Military Roots is already creating stronger connections, greater understanding and brighter futures for Service Pupils across Cornwall.
If your school has children from Armed Forces families and would like to find out more about the programme, we would love to hear from you.
Whether you’re interested in Veteran-led student sessions, careers workshops or professional development for staff, Military Roots offers practical, evidence-based support that helps both young people and schools thrive.
To find out more about future opportunities or how your school can become involved, please get in touch with the team and join us in supporting Cornwall’s Armed Forces community.
Together we can improve confidence, connection, aspirations and self-belief in service pupils and leave a legacy of better support in schools.
🔔Contact us to see how we could help you.
📞 01326 567174
📩 [email protected]
We would be happy to start the conversation and answer any questions.
Blog (Including Graphics): Suzanne Body, Active Plus
Photo Credit: Peter Blyth
