Service Children

Two Stronger Schools Officers have joined the Hillingdon Access to Education Team. These roles were established at the end of 2025, thanks to project funding from the Ministry of Defence Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. The roles will provide dedicated support to Service children, their families and the professionals who work with them across the London Borough of Hillingdon. This work is vital because service children often face unique challenges related to mobility, separation and parental deployment.

What we do as Stronger Schools Officers

The Stronger Schools Officers help schools across the borough with providing targeted academic, attendance, SEND and wellbeing support for Service children, acting as a single point of contact within the local authority to help navigate and coordinate the support available. They support with school transitions, to ensure continuity across moves so that Service pupils settle into new schools smoothly. They will focus on consistency of support across the borough and ensure that pastoral care is provided to address challenges linked to mobility, deployment and separation. In addition, they will support schools with sourcing resources and exploring funding opportunities to further enhance the provision available to Service pupils.

Advocacy and Community Building

They will advocate for service pupils within schools and the wider community, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are met by fostering collaboration and strengthening partnerships between schools - including those with lower cohorts of service pupils - families, RAF Northolt and community agencies.