Research

Data

Why we capture data on Service children

  • Data is the key to understanding the impact of an Armed Forces lifestyle on Service children
  • Schools can be better prepared to support their Service children
  • Comparisons can be made on attainment levels between Service and non-Service children
  • Patterns in school absence can be identified
  • Local authorities can prepare to support Service children with their mental health and wellbeing needs
  • Agencies can provide support and identify where there are gaps in provision
  • Resources can be targeted to support specific needs in different geographical locations
  • Further research can be conducted with an inclusive group of participants.

Welsh Governments definition of a Service child:

A ‘Service child’ has parent(s) or person(s) exercising parental responsibility who is/are Service personnel serving:

  • In HM Regular or Reserve Armed Forces – Royal Navy and Royal Marines; British Army and Royal Air Force, Or
  • Is an Armed Forces Veteran who has been in Service within the past two years, Or
  • One of their parents died whilst serving in the Armed Forces and the learner has received a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme.

SSCE Cymru also encourages schools to consider identifying children and young people who don’t fit within the above definition but have a link to the Armed Forces.

Service parent/carer survey (2020).

Challenges schools face in supporting Service children: 58% Identifying Service children.

Service parent/carer survey (2020).

Support systems that would be beneficial to Service child(ren): 61% Identifying Service children during the admission process.

I’ve enjoyed going around to lots of places around the world, its adventurous and exciting.

Service children in Wales

SSCE Cymru worked with all 22 local authorities and independent schools in Wales to conduct a data collection activity on Service children. This provided a snapshot of the number and location of Service children in Wales.

Click on the name of a local authority to see the data.

Anglesey Gwynedd Conwy Denbighshire Flintshire Wrexham Ceredigion Powys Pembrokeshire Carmarthenshire Swansea Neath Port Talbot Bridgend Rhondda Cynon Taf Merthyr Tydfil Caerphilly Vale of Glamorgan Cardiff Torfaen Newport Blaenau Gwent Monmouthshire
Local authority (LA) Number of schools in LA Schools with SC Number of SC
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council 30 4 11
Bridgend County Borough Council 61 41 156
Caerphilly County Borough Council 86 21 75
Cardiff Council 132 11 36
Carmarthenshire County Council 113 30 96
Ceredigion County Council 46 12 33
Conwy County Borough Council 61 16 86
Denbighshire County Council 60 19 41
Flintshire County Council 85 7 49
Gwynedd County Council 99 5 22
Isle of Anglesey County Council 49 10 90
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council 29 8 57
Monmouthshire County Council 37 17 91
Neath Port Talbot Council 64 19 57
Newport City Council 57 30 132
Pembrokeshire County Council 68 23 207
Powys County Council 94 39 245
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council 115 27 120
Swansea Council 100 26 69
Torfaen County Borough Council 33 21 47
Vale of Glamorgan Council 57 38 289
Wrexham County Borough Council 73 10 19
  1549 434 2028

* table data correct as of March 2025

Inform SSCE Cymru of the Service children in your school

Help us to gather data on the number and location of Service children in Wales, to ensure schools gain the best possible support for Service children.

Schools can utilise the following template: 4. Templates: Data Collection on the SSCE Cymru Tools section of our website.

Please note by completing this form you will be added to the SSCE Cymru network. SSCE Cymru will share details of any upcoming events, funding, the School Bulletin, resources and support available from the SSCE Cymru team.

Click here to complete our online form

Supporting Service Children in Education Cymru: A Study of Data and Support Provision in Wales (2015)

Commissioned by SSCE Cymru and conducted by the Data Unit Wales, this report involved interviews with schools from across Wales and found that there was very little data on Service children available, indicating a need for more information and guidance to enable schools to collect data and access support.

What the report did identify, based on the most recent census data (2011), is that there are Service families with children up to the age of 16 across all 22 local authorities in Wales. The 2011 census data indicates that there are a minimum of 2,486 children in Wales where the HRP (household reference person) indicated that he or she was in the Armed Forces. This does not include information where the non-HRP(s) is/are in the Armed Forces, or information on veterans or Reservists, or where families with Service children do not live at the same address.

Download the full report here

Service children’s quotes

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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