Nine out of 10 Armed Forces parents have considered quitting because of the huge toll their children have had.
A report today warns that young people from military families are falling behind in school and struggling to get the grades they need after being shipped across the country from school to school.
It found that the Armed Forces Covenant – a legal commitment to treat them fairly – must be better implemented in all spheres of life to help children perform at their best when their parents are not serving the country.
But children who struggled with military service were more resilient than others when it came to coping with the damaging effects of their parents’ service, the Children’s Commissioner’s research found.
At least 750 Armed Forces personnel are expected to step in to drive ambulances and carry out missions as drivers go on strike today.
Another 625 will forego Christmas holidays with their families to step in when Border Force workers strike later this week.
Families told the Children’s Commissioner they were proud to belong to a service family and understood the need for personal sacrifice.
But 89 percent said they “often consider,” “sometimes consider” or “have decided” to leave the military because of the impact on their children.
Dame Rachel de Souza said today that children need help getting extra tutoring and tutoring, that they shouldn’t be at the end of a waiting list if they change schools, and that they shouldn’t lose them if they’re transferred to a new area. of special requirements.
Only 34 per cent of GCSE children who switched secondary school at least twice achieved good grades in maths and English.
In contrast, 56 percent of kids did not transfer at all.
Mrs Rachel de Sousa said: “As we face a difficult winter, the dedication of the many Armed Forces personnel called upon to support our public service has never been appreciated.
“No serving family should beg for the support to which they are entitled under the Armed Forces Covenant, and I hope this can be implemented more effectively across all public and voluntary services to meet their needs.”