How the Armed Forces education trust supports military families

The Trust exists to support children and young adults whose education has been put at risk or compromised as a result of a parent’s current or former service in the Armed Forces. Its grants are designed to make a real difference, whether that means improving educational opportunities, helping a child stay on track during an important stage of schooling, or supporting special skills and talents.

The charity’s roots go back to 1855, when it was established as The Soldiers’ Daughters’ Home to support orphaned daughters of soldiers from the Crimean War. Over the years it evolved, later becoming the Royal Soldier’s Daughters’ School, before developing into today’s Armed Forces Education Trust. While much has changed since the Victorian era, its core purpose has remained remarkably consistent: helping the children of service families access the education and support they need.

Today, the Trust works with children from all three Armed Forces and is guided by a clear mission. It aims to help fund the education of children whose lives have been affected by military service, to ensure no child misses out regardless of age, ability, rank or whether a parent is still serving, and to provide schools with extra resources to support service pupils.

One of the main ways it does this is through individual grants. These are awarded directly to support a child’s education where service life has created particular difficulties. That might mean helping maintain continuity at boarding school during crucial years such as GCSEs or A-levels, or providing short-term support for additional needs at a state-funded school. For families dealing with mobility, deployment or moves between counties, countries or devolved nations, that extra help can be invaluable.

The Trust also offers collective grants, which are awarded to schools, education providers or local authorities. These grants are intended to fund targeted educational interventions that improve outcomes for service children. In practice, that can mean additional resources or specialist support aimed at helping pupils overcome the disruption and disadvantages that can come with military life.

At its heart, the Armed Forces Education Trust recognises something every military family understands: service can bring huge opportunities, but it can also create instability for children at exactly the wrong time. By helping individual pupils and supporting schools, the charity works to reduce that disadvantage and give service children the best possible chance to succeed. For Armed Forces personnel and veterans concerned about the educational impact of service life on their children, it stands as a valuable source of support.