Stoke-on-Trent College
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 Stoke-on-Trent College 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 Stoke-on-Trent College 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:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
- Flexible Leave For Spouses
- UK Reservists
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Armed Forces Charities
We also pledge the following:

Promoting the Armed Forces: The College will actively promote that we are an Armed Forces-friendly organisation and have signed a pledge to the Covenant, and we will do so by displaying the accreditation logo and some accompanying text on our website and on all externally focused literature and materials, internally to our staff and students, to our partners and suppliers, customers, contractors and to the wider public. Our Marketing team will create a page on our website, to in-form applicants for our jobs and our courses, that we recognise the service contribution that all Armed Forces personnel make. Our College actively promotes careers in the Armed Forces, which is led by our Public Services Department, which offers a number of vocational courses in Uniformed Services at Levels 2 and 3. A number of lectures are delivered to our learners by visiting personnel from the MoD, Cadets, and the Territorial Army, to enable learners to have a first-hand, real life account of service experience and deployment. Additionally, the College holds an annual Remembrance Service in honour of veterans, in memory of service personnel who have lost their lives and in recognition of those who have been injured in service. Some years, we work with the British Legion and organise the sell poppy corsages within our Reception areas to raise funds for the British Legion and Armed Forces charities. Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community: The College offers wide-ranging support to all staff and students, and this includes any staff members and students who may be ex-service personnel. We proactively screen new appointees and students and enquire about any additional support needs that they may have to carry out their role, complete a course or to support their employment or learning. A supportive plan is then implemented for the individual, which may include a referral to our Occupational Health provider for specialist information and advice, and/or signposting to staff and student services such as Counselling, Careers, Eye Testing, Health Surveillance Assessment, etc. At the College, we have an on-site Careers Service; a telephone-based Staff Counselling Service; an on-site Student Counselling Service; opportunities for staff to enrol on and study College reduced cost or fully subsidised courses whilst in our employment, both on-site and remotely via Distance Learning; a specialist Occupational Health provision and access to other services such as Physio-therapy, Life Coaching and CBT; and additional services for vulnerable staff and students or those with additional learning or health needs. The College also has a vast range of clear and supportive Employment Policies and Procedures which are supportive and enhancing of staff health and well being, including Compassionate Leave, Parental Bereavement Leave, a Family Friendly suite of Policies, Statutory and Informal Flexible Working policies, enhanced Annual Leave and Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Leave entitlements, an inclusive and clear Fair Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure which includes Disability Confident Employer status and recognition, and a suite of mandatory training courses which all employees have to complete within their first weeks of employment, to ensure understanding and awareness of matters such as Health & Safety, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Prevent, Safeguarding, etc. The College has corporate Strategies in place for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion; Dignity & Respect; Health & Wellbeing, amongst others. It is our belief that the provision of these policies and procedures would provide good support to ex-service personnel as employees, and their families and family life. Communications, engagement and outreach: The College pledges to publicise our commitment to the Covenant through our social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, etc) and PR campaigns and on our College website. We will also promote our commitment to Armed Forces personnel at our Jobs Fairs, Careers Fairs and community activities in and around the City of Stoke On Trent, in which we operate with our two campuses. We also invite feedback from all new starters about their first few weeks and months in our employment, and will pay particular attention to feedback received from new appointees who disclose that they were members of the Armed Forces and will analyse and publicise this feedback. With regards requirements for our job vacancies, we also commit to considering practical and real life experience and service and the plethora of skills which their service equips individuals with and instils in them, instead of the focus being on academic qualifications or industry/commercial work experience. Recruiting managers will be briefed on this. We aim to form a partnership with a local Army Careers office, to work with personnel leaving service and returning to civilian life and to encourage them to enter Further or Higher Education at our College, or to consider any of our employment opportunities which they may be suitable for. Health The College actively supports the health & wellbeing of all of its staff and students, and the Health & Wellbeing strategy sets out our commitments and vision. The College offers many benefits such as a Cycle To Work salary sacrifice scheme; heavily discounted high quality on-site Restaurants and cafes including the offer of free breakfasts for all staff and students; a discounted on-site Day Nursery; a discounted on-site Gym and Fitness Centre; free Eye Testing; free Health Surveillance assessment for certain job roles exposed to noise, dust, chemicals, etc.; specialist Occupational Health support and assessment; a Staff Counselling Service; a diverse programme of health and wellbeing activities; a number of campus-based College staff who are trained and qualified Mental Health First Aiders; a number of campus-based College staff who are First Aid At Work trained and qualified; a number of campus-based College Managers who are qualified Coach/Mentors; and access for staff and students to peripheral services such as Physiotherapy, Fitness Classes, Massage and talking therapies such as CBT/NLP. The College systematically carries our Risk Assessments over and above HSE requirements, to ensure a safe, healthy and productive working and learning environment for all. Education: As a provider of Further and Higher Education, the College offers a wide variety of courses in a diverse range of subjects as well as a large number of easy-access, subsidised Distance Learning courses and qualifications. Service personnel could access some of these courses remote-ly whilst still in active service, as well as after discharge when looking to start a civilian career or job role and further their education to increase their options. College staff are also encouraged to undertake regular CPD, and have designated, timetabled days on which CPD must be undertaken. Veterans: The College pledges to proactively supporting the recruitment and employment of service veterans and service leavers, recognising and valuing the military skills and qualifications that they will have gained, as part of our recruitment and selection processes. Our Fair Recruitment & Selection policy and procedure have been updated to reflect these practices. The College Public Services Department enables students to learn from real life experience shared by veterans and ex-service personnel, to enhance the richness of their studies and depth of their understanding and appreciation for service life, duties and combat. As mentioned earlier, our annual Remembrance Service on the College campus honours and pays tribute to all serving and ex-service personnel, and we have partnered with the British Legion in past years to fundraise. We aim to do this again in 2023. Service Spouses and Partners: The College will support service spouses and families in its employment, by the provision of our wide range of Employment Policies and Procedures, offering enhanced leave entitlements and pay, flexible working options and a means of requesting a wide range of informal and formal flexible working patterns/arrangements, recognition of time off required on occasions by reservists, etc., and will consider requests for flexibility, sabbaticals or periods of unpaid leave, for example, from service spouses/family members due to their spouse or family members deployment. Reserves: The College supports employees who are members of the Reserve Forces, and has provision in its Policies and Procedures for the consideration of additional paid/unpaid leave requests for annual Reserve Forces training, mobilisation and deployment, and these are reviewed and considered fairly, on an individual, case by case basis. National Events: The College actively supports and promotes staff and student involvement in Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal and Remembrance Day Activities. Members of the Colleges Senior Leadership Team lay a wreath at the Citys cenotaph, to commemorate the fallen. Groups of College Public Services learners also visit the UKs National Memorial Arboretum each year, to learn more about the World Wars, and other wars and conflicts, and what this meant for those serving, their families, civilians at home, industry, the country and international relations and politics. Armed Forces Charities: The College will support Armed Forces charities, such as the British Legion, where possible and where designated as our chosen annual charity, with fundraising and supporting staff who volunteer to assist. Staff and students have also taken part in fundraising activities on a number of occasions this year since the commencement of the Russian War on Ukraine, to help provide aid and support to Ukrainian families and service personnel. One such event was a sponsored static bike ride to Ukraine, which took place over 5 days. Any additional commitment the organisation wishes to make. The College already proactively encourages job applications from those who may not meet the requirements of a Person Specifica-tion by traditional means such as academic qualifications. We are an open and inclusive employer and education provider, and aim to widen participation and opportunity. We wish to actively im-prove our appeal to ex-service personnel, to help them back into civilian life and careers, and to recognise the immense value that their skills, experience and knowledge brings to an organisation. We also recognise the sacrifices that they have made, which may affect their health and wellbeing, family lives and employment prospects after their service is completed, and we have established, high quality wrap-around support in place to help staff who may suffer from physical and mental ill health from time to time, need additional support or adjustments due to physical injury or impair-ments, PTSD, or bereavement, for example, but who have a lot to give to our College and our learners.

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.