Potteries Educational Trust
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-10)

We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

The Armed Forces Covenant

An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families

The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.

Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.

Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant

1.1 We Potteries Educational Trust will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment

2.1 Potteries Educational Trust recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:

We also pledge the following:

Promoting the Armed Forces: A number of our children and young people come from Service families. We are aware of the sacrifice their families have made and ensure we promote this and key national events like Remembrance Day in our academies. Child Wellbeing: We will support our Service children and young people, showing our under-standing for their disrupted social experience. We understand that a Service childs mental well-being can be affected if the requirement to re-locate results in the child losing access to support structures such as friends and teachers and will ensure they are supported fully throughout this process. Careers Advice and Guidance: As part of our commitment to ensure all children and young peo-ple receive individual advice and guidance about careers in the Armed Forces and have the nec-essary qualifications and skills to succeed. Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community: a number of our staff previ-ously served in the Armed Forces and have successfully made the transition to a career in educa-tion. We are and will continue to be advocates for our staff, providing induction and transition support. Education: as part of teaching of fundamental British values, we will ensure that our curriculum highlights the important contribution of the Armed Forces in the history and culture of the United Kingdom Civic responsibilities: the PET is an outward-facing trust, supporting our local community and region and contributing to the building of a trust-led system.

2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.