Strategic intent

VISION

To be a leading tri-service charity providing grants to eligible service children and young adults, including indirect grants through education providers, to enhance and improve their education.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Trust’s mission is to award grants in order to improve opportunities and outcomes for service children and young adults whose education has been adversely impacted by their families’ service in the UK Armed Forces.

CHARITABLE OBJECTS

The Constitution of the charity defines its objects as:

For the public benefit the advancement of education (including social and physical training) of people under the age of 25 years who are or were dependents of serving or former members of the Armed Forces of the Crown in such ways as the charity trustees think fit, including by:

  • Awarding such persons scholarships, maintenance allowances or grants tenable at any school or university, college or institution of higher education.
  • Providing their education (including the study of music, other arts or sports), to undertake travel in furtherance of that education or to prepare for entry into any occupation, trade or profession on leaving the educational establishment.
  • Providing to educational and training establishments funding to enable additional resources (not otherwise available) to be made available to support the education of such persons.

STRATEGIC OBECTIVES

Our objectives, in order to deliver our vision and mission and fulfil our mandated Charitable Objects, are:

  • To advertise for, encourage and seek applications from currently serving service personnel and veterans on behalf of children and young adults whose education has been disadvantaged because of a family member’s service.
  • To Support service children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) with short term support where their education has been put at risk during due to mobility or other service reasons.
  • To support the continuity of education for service children, particularly during key stages of their education.
  • To Support schools, colleges or other organisations in addressing additional needs of service children and young adults e.g. due to mobility, separation or deployment.

TYPES OF FUNDING

The Trust will distinguish between individual and collective funding grants.

  • An individual grant is a grant awarded to an individual child or young person who requires funds to support their education either for fees or 1-1 support in conjunction with a state school.
  • A collective grant is a grant awarded to an education provider (normally a school) to provide targeted support beyond that possible with state funding, to support the specific needs of service children.

SOURCES AND SCALE OF FUNDING

The Trust accrues its funds through rent paid quarterly by Cognita, to lease the site and building now housing North Bridge House School, and its investments. The Trust has also received payments from the enfranchisement of houses on their residential estate, with only one leasehold property now remaining.

Acknowledging the need to maintain fiscal probity, Trustees will determine annually the amount of funding available for individual and collective grants.  This may be greater than the annual income, providing reserve levels can be maintained above that agreed by the Trustees.

BROADER SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES

The Trust will maintain a board of Trustees with the relevant skill sets to understand the challenges faced by service pupils as well as a working knowledge of the current education system at all levels including reception, Key Stages 1-5 and tertiary education.  This skill set of Trustees will be reviewed annually by the Chair of Trustees.

The Trust will endeavour to reach as wide a base of service personnel as possible, ensuring that it is accessible to all ranks and all three services, including veterans of those services.

The Trust will endeavour to work closely with COBSEO, SCISS, SCiP, the MOD and other like-minded institutions as required and seek opportunities for exchanging best practice and broadening awareness of the Trust’s work as well as developing links with other charities and organisations who might be able to support service children.

The Trust will monitor Government policy insofar as it impacts the core applicant base and may, where appropriate, make available to policy makers the benefit of its experience.

The Trust recognises that, from time to time, it may need to recruit advisors to assist in specialised areas (e.g. education, marketing, IT, property).

The Trust will maintain their relationship with their tenant Cognita, ensuring that the Trust’s main asset is being well maintained and cared for and will also monitor the risk of failure of Cognita as their rent is the prime source of grant income for the Trust.

The Trust will, as freeholder, maintain the necessary oversight of the residential estate and act as required in order to minimise risk to the Trust and seek to maximise financial benefits of the asset.

The Trust’s strategy will be reviewed annually.

Charmian Hickman, CEO, December 2024