Washington schools recruit ex-armed forces mentors thanks to quarter-of-a-million pounds of funding
Three Washington schools are expanding an innovative mentoring programme involving ex armed forces personnel, designed to help pupils build confidence, resilience and stronger social skills, thanks to more than quarter-of-a-million pound in funding.
£251,092 is being provided by SHINE Sunderland, a charitable trust which has committed to invest £11 million in schools across the city to “help improve GCSE attainment and access to future opportunities”.
The money is being invested in the in-School Mentoring, Social Skills and Resilience Training programme Commando Joe’s which is delivered by ex armed forces mentors.
The character building initiative is aimed at pupils from Year 6 to Year 9 and will be delivered through Oxclose Community Academy and Washington Academy, as well as Barmston Village Primary School, “helping pupils develop teamwork, leadership and emotional resilience through engaging ‘mission-based’ sessions”.
The funding will allow mentors to work in schools for three days per week, delivering one-to-one mentoring, small group sessions and whole-class activities designed to help pupils overcome barriers to learning.
The programme builds on a successful pilot delivered during 2025, which placed mentors in five Sunderland schools for one day a week.
Oxclose Community Academy was one of the schools which took part in the pilot.
Headteacher Amanda Parkes said: “What we found very quickly is that the children would engage with Commando Joe’s; they would come into school on the day they knew that the mentors were working with them.
“This meant that their attendance was improving, but also their resilience around challenges that they would face within their school day.”
Teachers also saw pupils becoming more open to support and more willing to re-engage with learning.
Ms Parkes added: “They were more willing to engage in conversations and to be supported by staff in school, whereas previously they would often refuse to engage in ways to help them get back into the classroom.”
Mentors from a military background are not teachers or counsellors, instead they act as impartial adults who help pupils develop confidence, emotional regulation and communication skills.
The additional funding now enables the mentors to spend three days per week in the schools rather than the one day during the pilot.
Ms Parkes said: “What they are able to do is create more meaningful relationships with the young people because they can see them across the week at multiple times.
“Children are also being able to have more of a coaching model where that can really unpick some of those challenges that they are facing.”
A key focus of the programme is supporting pupils during the often-challenging transition from primary to secondary school.
The project will work with pupils from Year 6 through to Year 8, helping identify those who may need additional support before they move schools. Mentors in primary and secondary schools will coordinate closely so that pupils experience continuity in support during the transition.
The SHINE Trust is backed by local businesses and “aims to address the barriers to success that students in Sunderland encounter”.
The investment in the Commando Joe’s initiative is part of an £11 million education investment across the city by SHINE.
Ms Parkes added: “To know that we’ve got this funding in place now for a really prolonged period of time that will allow us to develop our own model is so exciting.”