A charity that employs former servicemen and women to run programmes in local schools has been boosted by a £65,200 MoD grant.
SkillForce send former military personnel to schools where they encourage young people to take on a greater contribution in their local communities.
The Community Covenant Grant will allow the charity to expand further their existing work in Moray’s secondary schools to include primary age children, with a pilot programme already running at Kinloss for P7 pupils.
Part of the funding will be used to deliver the SkillForce ‘Junior Prince’s Award’, supporting young people with their transition from primary to secondary school. Alongside normal lessons the award programme focuses on attendance, contribution, remembrance, confidence-building and a community based action project.
Dave McCallum, the SkillForce regional manager, said: “This project looks at three service bases at Kinloss Barracks, Royal Air Force Lossiemouth and Royal Air Force Leuchars to identify personnel who are leaving the service.
“It will demonstrate the positive impact veterans’ can have on young peoples and will encourage them towards a career working with young people in education.
“The project will provide training for veterans with SkillForce, along with work experience alongside existing staff in schools.”
The SkillForce Prince’s Award will be delivered in secondary schools and has the same aims and outcomes of the junior version (JPA). This is designed to inspire leadership and teamwork skills whilst at the same time supporting students with their transition to further education, training or employment.
SkillForce will also work with schools and families, improving the positive relationships needed by young people to succeed in their future.
Gayle Adnyana, Director of SkillForce Scotland, said: “The Community Covenant grant will allow us to inspire the pupils of Kinloss Primary and other primary schools in Moray.
“We will be able to build young peoples’ skills for life and to inspire them to grow in confidence, resilience and leadership. We are very grateful to the Community Covenant board members and the Moray Council for their kind support. We also look forward to continuing our much valued relationship with the Army Headquarters Scotland in Stirling.”
Moray Council’s armed forces champion, Councillor Chris Tuke, said the work the charity does in schools is already impressive: “As a council we are delighted to support them, because you can see the results of their work in the children,” he said. “They are confident, respectful and focussed.”
The Community Covenant Grant Scheme was established to support the community covenant and to fund local projects that bring together the civilian and armed forces communities. £30 million, over four years, was set aside to establish the Community Covenant Grant Scheme.
Now in its third year, the scheme has seen some £11 million allocated to projects supporting the armed forces and their local communities.