During the academic year 2018-2019 there were 3017 Service children in Oxfordshire entitled to the Service Pupil Premium (SPP). 193 schools had Service pupils on roll entitled to the SPP. There were 10 schools in Oxfordshire with over 25% of their cohort who are entitled to the SPP. Many Oxfordshire schools have a small number of Service pupils who are entitled to the SPP. 21% of Royal Air Force personnel are based in Oxfordshire.
In November 2020, Oxfordshire County Council launched ‘A Service Pupil Promise’ to the children and young people in Oxfordshire from a military background.
This included the promise to work with headteachers to:
• Make sure that Service children are at the front of their mind when decisions are made about teaching and organisation of the school;
• Make sure that Service children are represented on the school council so that their voice is heard;
• Make sure that every school with children from a military family has a Service Pupils’ Champion;
• Share things that really work so that headteachers can provide effective support for Service children;
• Make sure that moving to a new school is less stressful for Service children, and that teachers know the important things about them;
• Make sure that Service children get the support that’s right for them.
This short briefing session for headteachers is intended to support them in better understanding the specific needs of Service children, and will be a conduit to disseminate information in relation to the provision for Service children, share good practice in the use of the SPP funding and signpost headteachers to high-quality support available to schools in supporting Service pupils.