Month of the Military Child (MotMC) began in the USA almost 40 years ago as a way of celebrating the role of Service children who support a serving or veteran member of the Armed Forces.
Wales began its own celebration of Service children in 2021 through the work of SSCE Cymru and after this the Ministry of Defence (MOD) launched its own month of recognition of Service children and has worked hard to bring together the work that is being done across the UK and overseas to celebrate and support these children further.
The MOD has a dedicated webpage which outlines the importance of the month and details activities that people can participate in – Month of the Military Child – GOV.UK. It is also encouraging people across the UK to wear purple on 25 April – the day designated by the MOD to show support to our Service children.
Back to topOrganisations across the UK have focused events during April and continue their support all year round. Many of them share activities that can be completed by schools, childcare settings, local communities and at home. We have detailed some of these below as a starting point as to how you can get involved with your family.
Back to topSSCE Cymru works tirelessly to support the best outcomes in education for Service children who are based in Wales. SCCE Cymru was one of the first in the UK to fully embrace MotMC and its website has information for how schools and families can get involved as well as details of its ‘Purple Up’ day on 30 April 2025.
Forces Children Scotland focuses on supporting Service children in Scotland and has created bespoke resources for MotMC, including a celebration pack available to download.
Forces Children Education works closely with education settings and local authorities to ensure Service children get the support and understanding they need when living in Scotland. During MotMC it has a dedicated webpage containing ideas for how to celebrate Service children as well as encouraging people to support ‘Purple Up Day’ on 25 April.
Service Children In State Schools (SCISS) is a platform for schools in England to find information about how to best support the Service children in its settings. It has information for schools about MotMC on its website as well as ideas for how you can celebrate these children all year round.
Never Such Innocence (NSI) runs events all year round to support Service children and in April, in collaboration with the MOD, it runs an art and poetry competition each year for school-aged children and part of the prize includes a presentation ceremony in London. The competition opens on 1 April and details can be found on its website; the competition can be entered by individuals and schools.
Little Troopers supports Service children across the UK all year round. In April it has specific activities on its website for MotMC. This year it is asking people to mark a special day on 4 April which it has called ‘Dandelion Day’ to show its support of Service children. All activities and information are available on its website.
Service Children’s Progression Alliance (SCiP) advocates for Service children all year round and helps to promote events during MotMC. SCiP raises awareness as to how schools can better support Service children with its free online resource the Thriving Lives Toolkit.
AFF would love to hear about any events happening in your area for Month of the Military Child or if you want to find out more, please contact educationsupport@aff.org.uk
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