Month of the Military Child

April/Ebrill | #MotMCCymru

April is designated as the Month of the Military Child, which highlights the important role Service children play in the Armed Forces community. It is a time to applaud Armed Forces families and their children for the daily sacrifices they make and the challenges they overcome.

Why Purple?

Purple was chosen because it symbolizes all branches of the military, a combination of Army Green, Air Force Blue, Coast Guard Blue, Marine Red and Navy Blue.

SSCE Cymru would like to encourage education settings to carry out activities during this month to celebrate and raise awareness of the unique experiences this group of children and young people have and become a more Armed Forces-friendly environment.

'Purple Up' Day

Wednesday 30th of April is the day to 'Purple up' for Month of the Military Child in Wales!

How can you get involved?
- Wear purple (consider raising money for an Armed Forces charity)
- Create purple artwork and displays
- Take photos of what you get up to
- Share your photo/s on social media (tag @SSCECyrmu on X and Facebook) using the hashtag #MotMCCymru – with a message to Service children, thanking them for their important role in the Armed Forces community
- Send your photos to SSCECymru@wlga.gov.uk

Events

See the SSCE Cymru events page for details of events taking place in April, as part of Month of the Military Child.

UNCRC

Article 8: I have the right to an identity.

UNCRC

Article 31: I have a right to rest, relax and play.

Month of the Military Child 2025 activities

Llanfair Primary School celebrate Purple Up Day!

Llanfair Primary School (Vale of Glanmorgan) enjoyed celebrating Purple Up Day this year by holding a special assembly where Service children bravely stood up in front of their peers are shared their experiences of life as part of an Armed Forces family. During the Month of the Military Child, the school were also visited by Sian Woodland from Woody's Lodge who explained how Woody's Lodge support veterans and emergency service workers. Alyson Jones, the MOD LSA at the school shared "All our pupils wore purple and our MOD school ambassadors were brilliant leading the assembly." Diolch/ Thank you Llanfair Primary school for sharing your Month of the Military Child celebrations with us! 

Month of the Military child activities and crafts at Pencoed Primary School

Pencoed Primary School (Bridgend) have been very busy getting crafty throughout the month of April to celebrate Month of the Military Child.  The school held a purple craft workshop where Service children and their peers made purple bunting, paper chains and posters to 'Purple Up' the school! The Service children also enjoyed making bracelets out of loom bands and pony beads, Month of Military Child keyrings and lots of chalking and drawing and colouring dandelions on the yard around the school.  The school were also visited by Never Such Innocence for one of their 'Memoir' Month of the Military Child songwriting workshops. The year 5/6 pupils thoroughly enjoyed this experience! What a busy month at Pencoed Primary School! Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us!

'Purple Up' display at Prestatyn High School

Prestatyn High School (Denbighshire) enjoyed getting together in the well-being room with their Service children School Champion to celebrate 'Purple Up' day. They got crafty and created a purple handprint poster which is now proudly displayed on the Service children/ young people board. They also had a great time completing World War 1 and 2 wordsearches and enjoyed a few treats together. Some of the young people shared: "I enjoy meeting up with other Service children in school, I have got to make more friends from different years." "I look forward to celebrating /meeting up and doing art activities as I love art." The school also had a visit from Nik Perring, a writer in residence with the charity Never Such Innocence to lead a series of poetry workshops for 5 classes with high numbers of Service children and their peers. This event was kindly funded by the Naval Children's Charity, aimed to highlight and further promote the strong community connections the school already shares with the Armed Forces. With Nik's guidance the young people involved in the workshops produced some incredible poems that their Service Children School Champion is going to submit as part of the Never Such Innocence Poetry Competition. It was a wonderfully enjoyable day, and lovely to see the young people surprise themselves with their poetic flair and final piece! A big diolch/thank you to the Naval Children's Charity, Never Such Innocence, the school staff for organizing the event, and of course, the participating young people. Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us Prestatyn High School!

Romilly Primary School celebrate Month of the Military Child

Romilly Primary School (Vale of Glanmorgan) have had a very busy month celebrating Month of the Military Child as a school. The schools Service children school Champion, Ashleigh, shared: "The children at Romilly Primary School have loved taking part in activities to raise awareness and celebrate the Service Children in our school. They have taken part in a range of activities throughout the month, including: creating artwork with the theme of ‘Purple Dandelions’, learning and performing the dandelion poem and song with their year group and entering a competition held by ‘Never Such Innocence’ with the theme of ‘Memories’. During these activities, children learnt about the military and our military services and watched a video explaining the experiences of some Service Children in Wales. Our Service Children did talks in their classes about what it means to be a Military Child and took part in Little Troopers workshops where they shared their own personal experiences. Towards the end of the month, Forces Fitness came into school to deliver team building sessions for the whole school where the Service Children got to be team captains. Finally, we ended the monthly celebrations with ‘Purple Up Day’. All children came into school wearing purple and the Service Children were given their own special t-shirts. It was a lovely day for raising awareness and celebrating our Military Children!" Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us Romilly Primary School!

Little Troopers virtual workshop at Pontarddulais Primary School

The Service children at Pontarddulais Primary School (Swansea) got involved in the 'live' Little Troopers workshop this year, celebrating what it means to be a 'Little Trooper'. Little Troopers is a registered charity supporting all children with one or both parents serving in the British Armed Forces (regular or reserve). They provide a wide range of free Little Troopers At School resources that can be used in educational settings to support Service children.  Nichola, the schools Service Children School Champion shared: "The children thoroughly enjoyed the programme and had a wonderful time with all the activities. We had a purple theme throughout our outfits and room and they had purple goodies to take home with their certificates." Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us Pontarddulais Primary School. We're glad to see that you had a fantastic time taking part in the workshop!

Pembrokeshire Service pupil promise events

On Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th April, to coincide with Month of the Military Child, the first Pembrokeshire Service Pupil Promise workshops took place. The Service Pupil Promise will be a commitment from the local authority to support children from Armed Forces families, ensuring the LA listen to their voices, and strengthen their commitment to the Covenant.   Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us. We're glad to see that the Service children of Pembrokeshire enjoyed taking part in the workshops!

Celebrating Month of the Military Child at Ysgol Golwg Pen y Fan

On Friday 4th April, the charity Never Such Innocence returned to Wales to deliver a special creative workshop at Ysgol Golwg Pen Y Fan (Powys) in celebration of the Month of the Military Child (MotMC). The session was led by Katie Salari and Clive Sanders from Never Such Innocence, joined by Jo, the SSCE Cymru Participation Lead Officer, who was delighted to take part in the day. During the workshop, Service children created MotMC-themed bracelets and wrote heartfelt poetry, helping to highlight and strengthen the school’s meaningful connection with the Armed Forces community. Never Such Innocence is a fantastic charity that runs creative competitions throughout the year. Their current MotMC competition closes on 2nd May, with finalists invited to an awards ceremony at the Ministry of Defence Main Building in London this June. The pupils at Ysgol Golwg Pen Y Fan embraced the creative challenge with enthusiasm and care. Guided by Clive and Katie—and armed with their “poetry pencils”—the children produced imaginative and powerful pieces. The workshop was not only inspiring but also filled with creativity, with many pupils surprising themselves with their poetic voices. A big diolch/thank you goes to Never Such Innocence, the school staff who supported the event, and of course, the wonderful pupils who took part. Clive, Katie, and Jo were warmly welcomed by the school community and had the privilege of hearing Service children share their stories and reflections. To mark the occasion, the children’s efforts were further celebrated with invited guests including the Service children's parents. The local mayor and Lt Col. Price, the Commanding Officer of the Infantry Battle School (Brecon) kindly presented each Service child with a certificate for participating in the workshop, which made the day even more memorable. Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us. We're glad to see that  the Service children enjoyed taking part in the workshop!

'Purple Up' day at Coed-Y-Lan Primary School

Coed-Y-Lan Primary school (Rhondda Cynon Taf) celebrated Month of the Military child this year by wearing purple to school on 'Purple Up' day. They also had an assembly about Month of the Military child and the Service children read the Dandelion poem to their peers. Pupils also went out and looked for dandelions in the school garden and made lots of purple pictures to be displayed in the school.  Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us Coed-Y-Lan Primary School!

Powys' Vulnerable Groups Team, Service children and their families get together at Pentre farm

Powys', Vulnerable Groups Team, with funding from SSCE Cymru were able to facilitate an event for Service Children and their families at Pentre Farm during the month of April. The event focused on celebrating the month of the military child, family well-being and making connections. Jane Watts, Specialist Teacher – Vulnerable groups, Schools Service, shared: "It was a wonderful day with lots of smiles, giggles and chatting amongst families and the Vulnerable Groups Team. Families enjoyed: grooming, walking and feeding the farm animals, toasting marshmallows, fun races, crafts, team races, a picnic and plenty of cake!" Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us Jane!

Month of the Military Child at Ysgol Bae Baglan

Throughout the month of April, Ysgol Bae Baglan (Neath Port Talbot) have been busy celebrating Month of the Military Child with their primary and secondary phase children completing activities and competitions to celebrate themselves and their experiences. Abby Challenger, Service Children School Champion at Ysgol Bae Baglan, shared: "Our service children from Nursery- Year 11 have had the opportunity to enter an art competition where they produced a piece of artwork that displays their experiences of military life. A variety of fantastic artwork was produced which is displayed in the school for all to see. The pupils were presented Easter egg rewards for their hard work in front of their peers which gave us opportunity to discuss MOTMC with non-service children in our school also. Pupils and staff throughout our Primary and Secondary school have been provided with pin badges and stickers to celebrate MOTMC which have been worn with pride all month. We have displayed our MOTMC banner outside of the school to inform the wider community that we are celebrating MOTMC and to inspire others to do so also. In addition to this we have displayed our Armed Forces Friendly School zap stand in the reception of our upper school to remind visitors of our dedication to our Armed Forces families. Our younger classes have enjoyed participating in Little Troopers colouring pages, whilst wearing their MOTMC stickers with pride. They have loved taking part in walks looking for dandelions and discussing how the flower represents the military child. We have taken the opportunity to update parents and our wider school community with the work we are doing by adding images and updates to our school website throughout the month of April. We then came together with other service children within the LA and participated in a fun day, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. Additionally, some of our YBB service children joined veterans in the Aberavon shopping Centre for a “street party” to celebrate VE Day. The pupils shared cards of appreciation they made for the veterans to thank them for their service." Diolch/ Thank you for sharing these lovely photos with us Ysgol Bae Baglan. It looks like you've had a very busy month of celebrating and raising awareness of your Service children and their experiences. 

Previous Month of the Military Child Activities

Service Children Quotes

Case Studies

Service children’s quotes

"Being a military child is hard, but it also gets you a lot of new experiences that I wouldn't have experienced otherwise".

Esme-Jane

"For military children they [Mount Street Junior School] do a club called Little Troopers, they've done a Remembrance service, purple up day. We celebrate Holi and Dawali".

Arushi

"My Mum is my parent that is in the Armed Forces. She is a reservist. So when I was younger it was a lot worse, she travelled around a lot. I've lived in the same house my whole life, but she has moved around me. I was in a constant cycle of saying goodbye".

Emma

"My Dad, he's in the Army and he works in the Engineers and he goes away on week days and comes back on weekends"

Emily

"Dad often goes away. It is a bit worrying not knowing where your Dad is going. It does worry me and my sister. Yeah, you just never know when he's coming home". 

Joe

"In June or July, my Dad is going away quite far. He's in the Army, he's a chef. Having your Dad gone is so sad."

Josie

"I've lived in many places. So, I was born in Cyprus, after that I've been to Germany, then I went to this place called Stafford. Then another place which is Wales."

Dominic

"I've moved seven times in fourteen years." 

Lilia

"Now we've got a forever home. I never have to worry about leaving or how long until I am leaving. I feel like I belong here a lot more, that's always great."

Oliver

"As soon as we get used to a house, you get moved - I’ve been to four schools and moved six times."

Aiden

"I lived in Nepal, then we went to Brunei, then Malaysia."

Ashim

"In my eyes, you have hundreds of friends in different places."

Chloe

"I’m used to moving now and mixing with the children... I’ve done it so many times, it’s just a normal thing now."

Chloe

"It's ok talking over skype and that, but sometimes you just want a hug when Dad is away."

Georgia

"He signed off last week, so he will be done by the end of this year. He’s done 24 years. I find that better because he will be around a lot. He likes watching us playing rugby, so he will get to see us more."

Lewis

"I’ve enjoyed going around to lots of places around the world, it's adventurous and exciting."

Harry

"In my eyes, you have hundreds of friends in different places."

Ieuan

"My mum got a chalk board and it says how many sleeps on it with chalk, every minute it’s getting closer for him coming home."

Mia

"I don’t want him to get promoted... I want him to get promoted but I don’t want to leave."

Oliver

"I might be going to boarding school so that I don’t change schools every few years."

Ryan

"I've been to seven different schools; I’ve not stayed put in one school long enough."

Shana

"He has been away for six months and he is back for two weeks, then he goes away again."

Sianed

"My parents were in the Army. My mum is a like a nurse and my dad went to the war in Afghanistan. I actually didn’t really know what he was doing so I was like, ‘Cool Dad, go there,’ but then I found out and thought, 'Thank God he came back alive.'"

Sanjog

"I’m going to a new place entirely. They don’t know anything about me and that’s a big restart and that’s really good for me."

Piaras

"I moved to Wales because my dad was posted in the Army. I thought I would get bullied and I was shy when you meet new people, but I made some friends."

Dan

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