Cadets equip young people with new skills

Purpose

To develop young people's teamwork, confidence and self-discipline, and equip them with a broad range of skills

Project

Copley Academy Sea Cadet Unit

Funding

Tameside Sea Cadet Unit received a £10,000 grant from the government's Cadet Expansion Programme last year to set up and support the unit at Copley Academy. Its continuation has been secured with a three-year bursary of £21,000 from the Combined Cadet Force Association

Background

In 2012, the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence pledged £10.85m to help set up 100 new cadet units in state schools over the next three years. In February last year, Graham Broadbent, commanding officer of Tameside Sea Cadets, was asked by Sea Cadets North West to set up one of these new units locally. When he met with the head teacher of Copley Academy, he found he was "knocking at an open door".

Action

Cadets were recruited from the school last summer, when Broadbent and colleagues attended assemblies to speak to pupils. Within two weeks, 25 pupils had asked for enrolment forms.

Copley's cadet unit opened last September. At first, recruits were aged 13 and 14, although younger pupils will be accepted from this autumn. Cadets meet on Wednesday afternoons after school finishes. Their two-hour sessions follow the standard sea cadet programme, starting with six weeks of new-entry cadet training and allowing young people to move up the ranks.

The programme includes seamanship skills such as rope work and navigation, drill and ceremonial skills, first aid and engineering.

Copley cadets attend the Tameside unit in Ashton-under-Lyne, where they do water-based activities including sailing, rowing and powerboating. Cadets gain qualifications in these skills from organisations including the Royal Yachting Association and can also pursue a Duke of Edinburgh award from 14.

Cadets attend school in their cadet uniforms on Wednesdays. "They're very proud to wear their cadet uniform," says Broadbent. "Without doubt, the pride they feel is the source of better achievement."

Broadbent says he and colleague petty officer Richard Hampson have been "treated like staff" at the school. They have just taken on a new volunteer and hope to double the number of school recruits this autumn. Another unit is set to be established at a second Tameside school in January.

Outcome

Records show behaviour and school attendance improved over the academic year for 40 per cent of the 15 regularly-attending cadets since the unit was established in September last year.

Of the 12 cadets surveyed by unit staff in July, all said they felt a lot more confident and focused in the classroom since becoming a cadet. And all said they had a lot more self-esteem, friends and skills.