Influencing strategy and manifesto available now

We have combined forces with young people from the armed forces community to co-develop our influencing strategy and manifesto.

Working directly with young people means lived experience is embedded at every step to deliver meaningful change for over 12,500 children and young people from armed forces and veteran families.

Together, we continue to work as a force for good to ensure Scotland is a place where they will feel increasingly heard, understood, respected, and represented.

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Why co-produce an influencing strategy?

Children and young people from armed forces and veteran families across Scotland have the right to be heard, with too many reporting a feeling of being hidden, unheard or misunderstood in policymaking and practice.

We do not know enough about this group and how being part of the armed forces community shapes childhood. Research suggests we need to consider their experiences of education, mental health, relationships, trauma, and transitional moments such as moving with their parents from military to civilian life.

The adults around children from armed forces and veteran families need to know more about their unique lives, which means educators and professionals, across military and civilian sectors, need to feel confident and equipped to support them at the right time.

Policy surrounding children and young people from armed forces and veteran families in Scotland falls to both the UK Government and the Scottish Government, meaning it is possible for this community’s rights to fall through the gap.

Co-producing our influencing strategy

The team has worked with young people to dig deep into the current evidence base to explore many of the common problems faced by peers from this community and, once we came up with a lengthy list, our attention turned to coming up with lots of potential solutions.

In coming up with these solutions, we also learned from effective campaigns delivered around the world, consider why they proved so successful, and what communication tools they used to put their message effectively across to a wide range of audiences.

We put all our research,  hard work, and learning together to gather thoughts, ideas, and creativity in order to consider how we present our strategy, what our behaviours should be, who needs to listen and develop specific calls-to-action for them to take action to achieve meaningful change.

Join our force for meaningful change

From the Scottish Government, Ministry of Defence, and local authorities to universities, colleges, schools, and many more.

Make Scotland a place for all children and young people from armed forces and veteran families to realise their potential and thrive.