Resource
Take Action on Militarism
This pack is a toolkit for action. With inspiring case studies and campaign guides, Take Action on Militarism will help you challenge the normalisation of war in policy, the media, education and across society.
The UK military and weapons industry have a strong presence in schools encouraged by government policy. This is not a coincidence. The UK is the only the only European state to recruit soldiers at 16.
While young people should have an understanding of armed conflict, a blurring of the education system and the military endangers children's rights and wellbeing.
Schools have a duty to ensure political impartiality, which is compromised if only one view is presented by the military or an arms company. Not only is the military is unable to be impartial when it presents itself in schools, it has a stated interest in recruitment and building public support.
Schools also must safeguard children from the multiple threats faced by to health and wellbeing faced under-18 recruits even if they are never deployed to war. Moreover, children have the right to exercise their freedom of conscience when it comes to the military.
Fundamentally, society's attitude to war is influenced by education. If the next generation is to have a critical understanding of what war means, schools must be independent from the military.
Responding to military engagement in schools
One way a society's attitudes to war are influenced is through education.
We offer guidance for schools to navigate military engagement and consider their duties to students.
Thousands of British primary and secondary schools are visited each year by the armed forces and even arms manufacturers. In order to help schools and families respond to this, the Peace Education team has written a pamphlet providing guidance. Responding to military engagement in schools (PDF) encourages critical thinking about under-18 recruitment and draws on advice from English, Welsh and Scottish governments regarding educational impartiality. The pamphlet also explains where to find practical resources that can help introduce a range of perspectives, as well as the obligation to promote peace, tolerance and nonviolence (UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 29).
For schools in Wales a bilingual version is available with resources relevant to the Welsh curriculum. Request English or bilingual (English/Welsh) physical copies by emailing peaceedu@quaker.org.uk. Below are the PDFs for schools in Wales:
More resources on militarism in schools
The Unseen March (2015)
The Unseen March is a short film from Quakers in Britain. It brings together voices from education, the armed forces and public life, and it questions the creeping militarisation of schools.
War School film (2020 edition)
The documentary War School: the battle for Britain's children takes a close look at militarisation in Britain. Made by POW Productions, the film features interviews with former soldiers and Quakers in Britain staff who work on countering militarism.
Watch the film and find resources at war.school
Peace Education resources
Peace Education resources produced by Quakers in Britain encourage critical thinking about war. Find material including the classroom poster, “where is war visible?" on our teaching resources pages.
Other organisations
ForcesWatch | ForcesWatch is a UK organisation dedicated to investigating militarisation, military ethics and human rights concerns. www.forceswatch.net
CRIN UK | Child Rights International Network is a creative human rights organisation focused on children's rights. This includes their work exposing the harms of under-18 recruitment in the UK. www.crin.org
dED | Demilitarise Education are a community of modern day peacemakers who untangle, expose and end university ties to the global arms trade. https://ded1.co
