Festival of Friends: sharing what works for Service children
A growing collection of school case studies strengthening support and provision through collaboration and shared learning
Every Service child deserves support that understands their experiences and helps them thrive. No two schools are the same. But every school has something to share – and something to learn.
That’s why the Festival of Friends case study collection brings together examples of effective practice from schools across England. Linked to the SCiP Alliance's Thriving Lives Toolkit, these resources show how schools have responded to the needs of their Service children, offering practical ideas that other settings can learn from and adapt.
Learning from schools across the country
Festival of Friends projects have taken place across a number of regions, creating a growing collection of case studies that showcase how schools are strengthening support for Service children.
Each project has encouraged schools to use the SCiP Alliance's Thriving Lives Toolkit to identify areas for development and implement evidence-informed improvement activities. The resulting case studies provide practical examples of effective provision that can be adapted and applied in other settings.
Led by SCiP Alliance Management Group member, Matt Blyton, Festival of Friends brings together schools, local authorities, universities and funders across the UK. Through a consistent focus on collaboration, school improvement and the Thriving Lives Toolkit, these projects have created a rich and growing collection of practical examples that schools can use to strengthen support and provision for Service children.
Explore the case studies. Share the learning. Strengthen support for Service children.
Whether you’re a school leader, practitioner, local authority representative or partner organisation, these case studies offer practical ideas and inspiration for supporting Service children.
We encourage you to explore the resources, share them with colleagues and consider how the approaches featured could inform your own provision. Because when schools learn from one another, more Service children benefit.
Access the case studies below
East Anglia Festival of Friends
In the most ambitious version of the project to date, thirty-two schools from five local authority areas - Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – were arranged into 4 geographical ‘hubs’, supported by six school leaders. This edition ran in partnership with two UniConnect partnerships - Make Happen & the Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (NEACO) and was again generously funded by the Armed Forces Education Trust.
Over 250 Service children, from Year 2 to Year 12, participated in three Pupil Voice conferences held at Anglia Ruskin University (Peterborough campus), the University of Essex and Norwich’s University of the Arts, At these highly successful events, the children’s lived experiences were explored through the arts, led by practitioners from the charity Never Such Innocence and social enterprise Seekers Create.
The project culminated in a celebratory event hosted by Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge campus), including a pop-up exhibition of the schools’ work together with a ceremony including entertainment from Britain’s Got Talent winner, Richard Jones, The Military Illusionist.
Read the case studies:
Portsmouth and Gosport Festival of Friends (2024-25)
Schools across Portsmouth and Gosport came together to strengthen support for Service children through collaboration, shared learning and local Hub Networks.
Twenty-seven schools took part, supported by Portsmouth City Council and the University of Portsmouth to develop sustainable improvements for Service children using the SCIP Alliance’s Thriving Lives Toolkit. The project was generously funded by the charity Armed Forces Education Trust.
More than 120 Service children took part in a pupil voice conference, exploring and celebrating their experiences through creative workshops. The project concluded with a celebration event showcasing the impact of schools' improvement work and the difference collaboration can make to the lives of Service Children.
Read the case studies:
Lincolnshire Festival of Friends (2023-24)
Thirty-nine schools across Lincolnshire came together to strengthen support for Service children by sharing learning, building local partnerships and developing effective practice. With a particular focus on supporting settings with smaller numbers of Service children on roll, schools used the SCiP Alliance Thriving Lives Toolkit to identify areas for development and implement targeted improvement projects.
Funded by the Armed Forces Education Trust and supported by UniConnect partnership, Linc Higher, the project strengthened links between schools, promoted the sharing of effective practice and raised awareness of Service children's experiences across the wider school community. The project culminated with a well-attended celebration for Service children, school staff and guests held at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. This included a range of exciting pupil workshops, a campus tour and a formal presentation ceremony.
Read the case studies:
Oxfordshire Festival of Friends (2022-23)
Twenty schools and one early years setting worked together to strengthen provision for Service children through professional development, school improvement projects and collaborative learning.
Funded by the Armed Forces Education Trust and supported by Study Higher UniConnect and the RAF Families Federation, the project equipped school-based Armed Services Pupil Champions with specialist training, giving them the confidence to lead improvement activities within their own settings.
The project concluded with a celebration event at Oxford Brookes University, bringing together Service children from across the participating schools.
Read the case studies:
North Yorkshire and York Festival of Friends (2019–21)
Twenty-four schools, working across three geographical areas, developed improvement projects focused on one or more of the following:
• Spreading awareness of Service children;
• Supporting the integration between Service and civilian children;
• Promoting access to Further and Higher Education
Funded by North Yorkshire County Council, and supported by Future HY York and North Yorkshire UniConnect (now renamed to Inspiring Choices), timescales twice had to be shifted due to the Covid 19 pandemic, and the end-of-project celebration event had to be moved online. Nevertheless, with memorable contributions from comic and juggler Steve Royle, and some inspirational words from Dame Tanni Grey Thompson, the event was a huge success.
Read the case studies:
Further Festival of Friends resources and case studies will be added here as they become available.
