Scotty’s Little Soldiers and The Royal British Legion Call for Policy Change Following Groundbreaking Findings.
At an event held on 24 March at the Churchill War Rooms in London, Scotty’s Little Soldiers and The Royal British Legion revealed powerful new research highlighting the challenges faced by bereaved military children in UK schools.
Funded by Lloyds Patriotic Fund and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, the research exposes the emotional impact of curriculum content that unintentionally triggers painful memories for children who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. The funding also made the impactful event possible, bringing together policymakers, educators, and advocates to discuss the findings and explore necessary policy changes.
Key Findings Include:
- Over three-quarters (77%) of bereaved children and young people encountered lessons that directly related to the cause of their parent’s death or explicitly reminded them of their bereavement.
- More than half (52%) faced multiple instances of potentially traumatic content in lessons.
- Just over one in eight experienced distressing exam questions that reminded them of their grief.
- Less than a third (31%) of families felt schools handled sensitive curriculum content in a supportive way.
The report draws on insights from 190 bereaved military families and includes powerful testimonies, such as one young person’s experience:
“In physics, we had to learn about the effects that different bombs had on people. When I asked to leave, I wasn’t allowed because I might have a question about it in the GCSE. My dad was killed by a bomb in Afghanistan.”
Event Highlights and Powerful Animations
The event, attended by members of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, Royal British Legion and representatives from Department for Education, Ministry of Defence, Members of Parliament and corporate supporters, premiered two powerful animations created by Scotty’s Council – a group of bereaved military children and young people who use their experiences to raise awareness and inspire change.
The animations, titled “Do You Think That’s Funny” (Watch Here) and “Time’s Up” (Watch Here), were led by council members Micah Matson (21) and Joshua Kirkham (19), who shared their lived experiences of navigating education after the death of a parent.
Micah Matson, whose dad, Flt Sgt Robert Matson (RAF), died of cancer in 2018 when Micah was fourteen, said:
“Using my experiences to create this animation was emotional but important. I wanted to show people what it’s really like to go through school when your parent has died, and I hope it raises awareness and leads to real change.”
Scotty’s Council Member Tuscany (18), whose dad, Leading Marine Engineering Mechanic Paul Crowther (Navy) died by suicide in May 2020 when Tuscany was thirteen, added:
“It’s hard enough being a young person going through education with exam stress etc, but carrying grief around with you every day makes it even tougher. I hope this research and the animations can open the eyes of teachers and policymakers to the issues at hand and help them to understand how they can better support bereaved young people like me.”
Call for Policy Change
Following the release of these findings, Scotty’s Little Soldiers and The Royal British Legion are calling for The Department for Education to publish best practice guidance for meeting the needs of bereaved children in the classroom. This should include provision for:
- Appropriate warnings to affected parents, carers and children regarding potentially distressing content.
- Alternative topics for bereaved children and young people to study where possible, resulting in equitable academic attainment.
- Alternative safe spaces for bereaved children to work from where appropriate.
Nikki Scott, Founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, said:
“Bereaved military children face challenges that often aren’t understood or acknowledged. Our research shows the need for policy change to ensure these young people receive the support they deserve throughout their education.”
Angela Kitching, Campaigns, Policy and Research Director at Royal British Legion, added:
“All children deserve a fair chance at school and too often bereaved children’s attainment and wellbeing is affected when they don’t receive enough warning about, or support to respond to curriculum content relating to war or sudden death. The Government have an excellent opportunity to address this through the Curriculum Review and by strengthening teacher training. We hope they listen to the voices of bereaved military children.”
The Research in Full
To read the full research report, go to https://www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/education-research
About Scotty’s Little Soldiers:
Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a charity dedicated to supporting children and young people, 0 to 25 years, who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.
Inspired by the experience of Army widow Nikki Scott, following the death of her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, in Afghanistan in 2009, the charity, which was set up in 2010, provides support and guidance to hundreds of bereaved military children and young people throughout their childhood.
When a young person joins Scotty’s, they become a member and are supported until their 25th birthday. Whether it be 1:1 bereavement support, a respite break with the family, an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation, or access to extracurricular activities, Scotty’s is always there for its members to ensure they don’t feel alone.
So far this year, Scotty’s has supported over 730 bereaved military children and young people. Scotty’s estimates that each year 2,100 children are newly bereaved of parent who served in the British Armed Forces*. The charity wants to support these children and has a long-term goal of supporting over 1,000 young people annually by 2030.
To find out more, go to: www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk
* Scotty’s Little Soldiers has produced estimates drawn from reliable national datasets (including the Census 2021 and MoD data).
