Armed Forces School Visits Debated

(Pic : Education Business Partnership West Berkshire)

In June, the Assembly's Petitions Committee published a report (pdf) into armed forces recruitment, following a petition from Cymdeithas y Cymod – which garnered more than 1,000 signatures – calling for the military to be banned from visiting schools for recruitment purposes.

• See also : Should the military recruit in Welsh schools?

The Welsh Government responded to the report a few weeks ago (pdf) and accepted, or accepted in principle, the committee's three recommendations. On Wednesday (30^th September), the Assembly debated the report.

As is typical when I decide to cover an Assembly debate, lots of AMs wanted to have their say as it's a controverisal topic, but it means this is a long post in order to do justice to the debate.

Chair of the Petitions Committee, William Powell AM (Lib Dem, Mid & West Wales), outlined the key findings of the committee's report, which he said "merited detailed consideration" (clip).

The petitioners believed the armed forces target schools in areas of high deprivation and low achievement; and even if pupils weren't signed up, the military was promoted in an exciting and well-resourced way that could lead to recruitment later on. Opponents to the petition believed the armed forces have just as much right to visit schools and any other employer, and denying them visits could prevent deprived pupils learning about a possible rewarding career path.

However, the armed forces are unlike any other employer, and other employers don't ask staff to accept the possibility of harming or killing other people – though not all military roles involve combat. William said, therefore, that inviting the armed forces into schools was legitimate, but should be taken with care.

Although Forces Watch provided evidence that maintained schools in Wales were more likely to be visited than other parts of the UK, there was no hard evidence they were deliberately targeted, but additionally, no reason was given for the disproportionate number of visits either.

The petitioners accept there's no evidence pupils are actively recruited, but William outlined a moral dimension to their argument : Is the nature of the armed forces' role sufficient reason to prevent them from visiting schools? He said that argument is a "slippery slope" whereby the government influences which careers pupils should receive information on.

Jenny Rathbone AM (Lab, Cardiff Central) said the petition raises "thoughtful issues", saying the army has an important role in providing skills, physical fitness and transferable trades, often being a "life-redeemer" (clip).

Despite that, Jenny was worried youngsters are being given the impression that the army is "a real life video game", when there's a real possibility of being ordered to kill someone, or being killed or seriously injured themselves. There are also well-documented difficulties in adapting to civilian life after leaving the services.

Jenny was concerned that recruits may have lower levels of literacy and numeracy than the general population, and following high-profile scandals/deaths in recruit training, she believes the military should be subject to the same health and safety rules during peacetime as any other employer.

Darren Millar AM (Con, Clwyd West) spoke in his capacity as Chair of the Cross-Party Group on the Armed Forces, saying it's import to stress that the armed forces visit only upon invitation from a headteacher and "contribute to school life" by helping to deliver the National Curriculum (clip) - though this wasn't explained further. Some schools will inevitably get more visits than others – if they have a high proportion of pupils from military families, for example. Disallowing the military from schools visits would be "discriminatory".

Darren said the military isn't all about combat and has an important role in keeping the peace. He also mentioned the role of cadet programmes, which help young people to achieve things they otherwise wouldn't – cadet qualifications being the equivalent of 4 GCSEs.

Some AMs were keen to point out that many military careers don't involve combat at all.
(Pic : UK Government)

Jeff Cuthbert AM (Lab, Caerphilly) disagreed with the petitioners, but welcomed the balanced report and Welsh Government response (clip). He said the military is important in terms of jobs and skills, particularly in deprived areas. As an MPCT (a military-esque training company) patron, he's seen young people who've struggled academically or had behavioural problems progress on to other careers through the MPCT programme, and not necessarily into the military.

Jeff accepts that front line roles might not suit everyone, and it has to be stressed that it's a unique career. It would, however, be wrong to imply that the armed forces purposely recruit from deprived areas as there's no evidence. Plus, the armed forces shouldn't be treated any differently from other employers.

Committee member, Bethan Jenkins AM (Plaid, South Wales West), was disappointed with some of the reaction to the report, resenting any suggestion it was unpatriotic or did a disservice to serving personnel (clip).

It was incorrect to say school visits only happen by invitation only, as military visits have been described as "an ongoing conversation", often because other employers don't have the  resources to visit schools themselves. Also, "recruitment" has been specifically mentioned in relation to school visits in MoD documents obtained by FoI in 2009. She compared it to a McDonalds mantra of, "Get 'em young, get 'em for life".

Although Bethan accepts the military takes men and women and give them a decent future, those from deprived backgrounds need to be offered wider choices. Plus, there's no presentation of things like going into battle, injuries or the impact on families, and she added that recruitment information portrays the military as "a globe-trotting lifestyle that we'd usually associate with playboys".

Joyce Watson AM (Lab, Mid & West Wales) – another committee member – recalled a recent visit to Pembrokeshire College where demonstrable collaboration between industry and education establishments can open up opportunities for young people – as reflected in the report (clip). The armed forces should only be considered one option.

Joyce grew up in a military family and appreciates that the military is part of the fabric of many Welsh communities. She did, however, resent any inference that those with lower academic abilities join the military, as it doesn't give value to anyone who chooses to make it their career. Joyce recommended that the report is distributed to all secondary schools to ensure they give balance in their career advice.

Russell George AM (Con, Montgomery) – also a committee member – said it was right to proceed with detailed evidence sessions, and to trigger the debate as it's one of the most interesting they've had (clip). He said the military is an essential need as, although all AMs want peace, not everyone shares that view.

Russell said flat out that the military shouldn't recruit in schools, but there was no evidence they were doing so. It's impossible to join the armed forces outside a recruitment office and under-18s require parental/guardian consent. He believes the title of the peititon didn't reflect the true stance of the petitioners.

On widening access to other employers, he suggested the Assembly discusses whether the Welsh Government can provide financial support to enable more employers to go into schools.

Alun Ffred Jones AM (Plaid, Arfon) said the debate proves the value of the petitions system (clip). He represents an area with a strong tradition of army recruitment – Caernarfon reportedly has one of the highest percentages of people recruited to the army in the UK. He's seen people receive beneficial military training; but he's also seen locals sent to Afghanistan and come across veterans suffering from their experiences.

He doesn't blame the armed forces for recruiting in deprived areas as there are fewer job opportunities and the prospect can be appealing. However, like others in the debate, Alun emphasised the need for a level playing field amongst employers and more equal access to recruitment information. He also said nobody should join the military at 16 - with or without parental consent.

You won't see this in the recruitment bumf, but the Deputy Minister for Skills believes
young people are shrewd enough to know the potential risks of a military career.

In response, Deputy Minister for Skills, Julie James (Lab, Swansea West), welcomed the report (clip). She wants to encourage stronger links between all employers and schools, and the report's recommendations will inform part of a new employer-school framework that was launched this week.

Although the Welsh Government accepts the need to further research into armed forces visits, they don't see compelling evidence to make it a priority given present funding issues and the fact armed forces visits don't directly constitute recruitment activity.

Julie said it was impossible to believe that young people don't understand the risks of military life, and thinking along such lines was patronising. She also criticised any suggestion that military careers are solely about combat or for people with low academic achievement.

It's not a government's job to place barriers on legally-operating employers, and AMs will disagree on many things companies and employers do, like animal research or oil drilling in the Arctic.

The world of careers and work will be reviewed as part of the Donaldson reforms (Detention for Donaldson?), but in the meantime, updated guidance will be provided to schools to both ensure that employer visits "are set in an appropriate context" and a diverse range of employers visit schools.

The report and its recommendations were noted and agreed unanimously - though Ministers aren't bound by it.


The petitioners didn't get exactly what they wanted. However, the report's recommendations were as balanced as they realistically could've been, while the Welsh Government have accepted that a wider variety of career choices need to be presented to young people during school hours, and that the military has to be put in a certain context.

I doubt that would really satisfy the individual petitioners - who I suspect wanted an outright ban on military visits to schools - but it demonstrates that the petitions system works, and offers a way for ordinary citizens to get our politicians to debate issues that matter to us; the Assembly's due to debate the committee's report on defibrillators next week (Kickstarting Welsh Hearts).

Nothing changes my own opinion which, in short, is that the military is a legitimate (sometimes worthwhile) career choice and there's nothing inherently wrong with the military visiting schools, or informing pupils about military careers, as long as the information they provide is balanced and realistic – though the practice of recruiting under-18s into the full-time military needs to stop.

Forces Watch – who played a key part in the evidence gathering for the petitioners - issued a detailed statement in response to the debate on Wednesday (which you can read here), and also offer links to their research within their commentary.

They said :

"Forces Watch take a lot of encouragement from this Welsh Assembly process. Whilst some of the issues have not been given the attention that we think they merit, it is a huge step forward, with the Welsh Assembly and Welsh Government recognising that there are concerns with armed forces visits to schools that need to be acted upon. We will follow the Welsh Government’s work on the issue closely, and hope to see similar positive moves elsewhere in the UK."