An invitation to attend a free event at York St John University, 0930-1600 5th February 2026. Book by the end of December to secure your place!
The Garrison Assist Project are delighted to invite you to this important, regional dissemination event in the North of England. The main target audience is school headteachers / SENCOs of schools that educate sizeable Service children cohorts, but we are also inviting national specialists, subject matter experts, and those involved in policymaking. We hope to be joined by policy leads from the MOD and DfE. The draft agenda is provided here, for your information.
The aims of the event are three-fold:
- Research: To provide an overview of some recent research undertaken by Oxford Brookes University which looked at the lived experiences of Armed Forces families with children with additional needs (‘Supporting All To Thrive’).
- Practice: To promote good practice by sharing the key messages, and some of the learning, from the SEND Garrison ASSIST Project (GAP) which has taken place over the past 3 years, involving 8 schools that serve Catterick Garrison (with over 350 Service children with SEND between them).
- Policy: To learn about the newly created Theory of Change developed by the Confederation of Service Charities’ Children & Young People’s Cluster, an important call for action led by the Royal British Legion. https://www.cobseo.org.uk/
By attending, you will not only gain invaluable insights into this potentially vulnerable group of Service children, along with examples of effective provision, but you will also be part of the important discussions currently ongoing over how policy changes could better support them in order that the Armed Forces Covenant’s ’duty of due regard’ is met.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/armed-forces-covenant-duty-statutory-guidance
The event is being funded by the GAP and through the generosity of York St John University. Places are likely to be limited to 100 and we expect there to be high demand – please complete the online form located at https://forms.gle/jVvVuKj2msruki837 by the end of December.
Places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
If you have any questions, please email mattblytoneducation@outlook.com.
