The National Assembly's Petitions Committee has reported on a petition submitted by Cymdeithas y Cymod (the Fellowship of Reconciliation) that called for the armed forces not to be able to go into schools to recruit.
The Committee was sympathetic to the concerns raised by the petition but found:
- there was no compelling evidence that the armed forces deliberately target schools in high deprivation areas;
- the armed forces did not cross the line between informing pupils of potential career choices and actively recruiting pupils; and
- that preventing the forces from visiting schools could disadvantage some young people, including those from less affluent backgrounds, from accessing high quality careers and training.
Despite this, the Committee recognised that employment in the armed forces is different to most other jobs and school visits should be treated with more caution than visits by other employers. Pupils and parents need to be fully informed of the nature of the job and there needs to be an open an honest exchange with pupils about the nature of what the armed forces do. The Committee has recommended that the Welsh Government reviews guidance to ensure that visits by the armed forces take place in an informed environment.
Although there was no compelling evidence of the armed forces targeting schools in poorer areas, a high number of visits are made to these schools. Committee Chair William Powell AM said:
"We found no evidence that the army was deliberately targeting schools in areas of high deprivation. However, there is evidence that a disproportionate number of visits are made to schools in these areas. There may be a number of reasons for this so we think it important that more research is done to look into the reasons. We've recommended that the Welsh Government should consider further research in this area."
"Although our recommendations do not go as far as the petitioners would like we are very grateful to them for submitting the petition. It has raised a very legitimate area of concern about the recruitment of young people by the armed forces. We are sympathetic to those concerns and agree that there is a need for continuing vigilance to ensure that the legitimate role of informing pupils of the work and role of the armed forces does not become a naked recruitment vehicle. However, we do not believe that the case has been made for an outright prohibition of the armed forces from schools in Wales at present."
The Petitions Committee has published it's final report, Stop the Army Recruiting in schools.pdf (PDF, 508KB)