Service life can bring unique challenges for children and young people. Frequent moves, disrupted learning and periods of separation can all add up – and they can affect how children feel, learn and achieve.
Delivered on behalf of the MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund, the Service Pupil Support programme (SPSP) funds practical, evidence-led projects that respond to these challenges and strengthen educational outcomes for service pupils. With a new round of funding now open, the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (the Trust) are inviting schools and local authorities across the UK to apply, so more service pupils can get the right support to feel settled and succeed at school.
How much funding is available?
Grants of £5,000 to £150,000 for projects lasting up to two years are available. Projects must be evidence-led, clearly planned and time-limited, and work already covered by statutory provision won’t be funded.
What kind of projects are the Trust looking for?
The Trust want to fund projects that make a clear, practical difference for service pupils, based on a strong understanding of local need.
Projects must support service pupils aged 4–18 in full-time statutory education who are from currently serving armed forces families and your application must focus on one of the themes below:
- Closing the academic gap – identifying gaps in attainment, delivering targeted support and tracking measurable improvement.
- Support for service pupils with SEN/D, ASN, ALN – reducing barriers to identifying need, improving continuity when pupils move, and strengthening support within schools and local authorities.
- Mobility, deployment and separation – structured support to help pupils manage the educational and pastoral impact of moving schools, deployment or separation, especially at key transition points.
- Small numbers of service pupils – supporting schools with ten or fewer service pupils to identify need and provide effective, proportionate support.
Is this for me?
You can apply if you are a UK school or local authority with children of currently serving armed forces personnel on roll.
- Eligible applicants include:
- Maintained schools
- Academy schools and free schools
- Sixth form colleges and further education colleges
- Multi-academy trusts
- Local authorities
Anna Wright, Chief Executive of the Trust said:
“We’re delighted to once again be administering the Service Pupil Support programme on behalf of the MOD Families Team. Service pupils have a lot to contend with! As well as the usual challenges of school life and growing up, they face separation from a parent, moving home and schools many times and with that, managing gaps and repetitions in their education. This programme focuses on these nuances, giving service children the extra support they need to bring them more in step with their civilian peers.”
How to apply
The Trust are particularly keen to see collaborative approaches and encourage schools to work together where possible. There are two main routes to apply:
Cluster applications: apply for a project delivered across three or more schools. A school, multi-academy trust or local authority will act as the lead applicant and manage the project.
Single school applications: if you can’t collaborate, you can apply as a single school where you have more than ten service pupils on roll. You’ll need to explain the need, why the issue is urgent or significant, and why collaboration isn’t possible (and any plans to collaborate in future).
Local authorities can apply as the lead either as part of a cluster or through a single applicant route, depending on your project model.
Find out more
Full eligibility guidance and details of how to apply are available on the Trust’s website www.covenantfund.org.uk. deadline to apply is 12 noon on Wednesday 30 September 2026.
Keep up to date with funding opportunities
For the latest updates and announcements on each of these Covenant Fund programmes, and any other funding opportunities the Trust has available throughout the year, sign up to their e-newsletter via their website www.covenantfund.org.uk
