On 20 October 2023, our University signed the Armed Forces Covenant, as a mark of its position as an armed forces friendly organisation. The Armed Forces Covenant highlights our commitment to ensuring members of the Armed Forces community receive fair treatment in our communities, economy and society.
Rear Admiral J.J. Bailey and Professor Jane Falkingham
As a community, we recognise the specific needs of students and staff from Armed Forces backgrounds, supporting them to ensure they face no disadvantage compared to their peers.
The University has committed to the following:
- Through the Military Education Committee, we promote inclusion and support of our University Service Units, Officer Cadets, members of the Reserve Forces and employees who are volunteer leaders in military cadet organisations.
- We have well-established special leave policies, to support employees who are members of the Reserve Forces, including accommodating training and deployment where possible.
- We host the annual Military Education Committee Lecture, and support work experience opportunities for University of Southampton students who are members of an affiliated Cadet unit.
- We provide academic support for the University Service Units and Officer Cadets; in-Service officers, and all postgraduate taught members of the armed forces across the University.
- We organise, facilitate, and promote remembrance services annually to honour members of the armed services who died in the line of duty.
Fewer children from Armed Forces families progress to higher education than their peers, and factors such as mobility, separation, wellbeing and caring responsibilities can result in a different experience for our students from service backgrounds.
The University of Southampton is one of six universities in Hampshire and Dorset working in partnership within The Southern Universities Network (SUN) and the Service Children in Progression (SCiP) Alliance.
Co-funded research and the subsequent Thriving Lives Toolkit have provided a framework for secondary schools to help them identify best practices to support service children within their schools. The SUN has also co-funded the development of a post-16 Thriving Lives Toolkit and this will be launched nationally when complete.