The important bits

Sorry, this is the wordy page - but it is important stuff.

Why should you let your child join the CCF?

The CCF is about developing the important, but often neglected, non-academic skills of your child; developing life skills, building confidence, and helping them to be the best that they can be.

There is academic research that shows membership of cadets is beneficial in many ways, including:

• enhancing young people’s communication skills, confidence, resilience, leadership, and respect for diversity.

• improving the health and wellbeing of cadets, producing an annual return on investment in the region of £95 million.

• increasing young people’s educational performance through increased attendance and improved behaviour.

• Some of what is on offer is also designed to reinforce subjects at school:

  • The services offer STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) camps to encourage students in the real-world applications of these subjects.

  • Cyber courses teach them more about staying safe in the digital world.

  • Adventurous Training gives the opportunity to try a wide range of activities supported by well qualified instructors.

What is the commitment?

The first 3 weeks are run as "taster sessions", where your child will be introduced to a range of cadet activities. There is no commitment at this stage and they can leave at any time. If they decide to join the CCF, the forms on the last page of this leaflet must be completed and returned by Monday 2 November 2026.

By joining the CCF, your child is committing to attending regularly and with enthusiasm, and we ask for your assistance in meeting this by giving your child every encouragement, both now and throughout their membership. In return we will give them an exciting and worthwhile hobby.

As a cadet, your child is committing to attending every session appropriately dressed in their issued uniform, in accordance with military dress standards. More detail on these standards will be given when they are issued uniform, but some guidelines include that uniform should be clean and ironed, and hair must be worn as required for the activity – usually in a ponytail or bun if longer than the collar. Boys are expected to shave as required, and cadets should not wear conspicuous make-up or visible jewellery, including rings, piercings, or neck chains. Cadets who fail to meet our standards will initially be given warnings leading to disciplinary action and then, if no improvement is made, may be asked to leave the CCF.

What does it cost?

To fund our regular activities (including equipment and insurance) there is an initial charge of £35. Other activities are charged individually. We endeavour to keep all activity costs as low as we can and some have not increased in over 10 years.

Where cost is an issue, please contact us in the strictest confidence, and we will see if there is any funding available to assist you.

Our preferred method of payment for events is by Bank Transfer to THE VYNE SCHOOL CCF Santander bank account: Sort Code 09-01-53 Account number 22465486; using your child's initial and last name along with the reason for the payment or name of the event as the reference – for the joining fee this will be J SMITH NEW JOINER.

Cheques should have your child’s name on the back along with the reason for the payment or name of the event. We are also happy to take cash. Please put cash in an envelope with your child’s name on the back along with the reason for the payment or name of the event.

Events, Trips & Camps

The full benefit of CCF membership is only obtained if cadets take part in out-of-school activities, including those at weekends. These activities represent tremendous value for money and will be opportunities to take part in training that your child will likely not get the opportunity to take part in anywhere else.

You will receive a forecast of events at regular intervals throughout the year, so that you can mark them in your diary with plenty of notice. Please note that some activities are only available to specific teams and age groups, and this will be clearly marked.

For most activities, when you child has finished their recruit year they will be able to bid for places on the Cadet Portal – they will receive more information about signing up for this and accessing activities during their time as a cadet. Activity consent is obtained using automated emails from the CCF’s mailbox (office@vyneccf.org.uk), which will clearly detail the dates, times, locations, contacts, and give a summary of the activities involved.

Joining and Consent Form

For your child to join the CCF, we require the information on the attached form. Please take care to fill it in accurately and return it to the CCF Office by Monday 2 November 26.

The joining form will be your consent for your child to engage in CCF activities and training for the duration of their membership. We use electronic forms by email for activities wherever possible, but on the joining form we require a printed copy with a real signature, along with the following details:

• We need a parent’s email address so that we can advise you of activity dates and you can use an electronic form to consent to event attendance.

• We need the student’s school email address so that we can enrol them into our online training systems.

The consent form also includes the following permissions:

• Consent for your child to be included in all the training activities of the Contingent – we use electronic forms to request places on individual activities but need a physically signed consent to train.

• Consent for your child to fly in service aircraft. You will normally be asked to consent to this separately as the occasion arises, but there may be short notice opportunities to fly where this is not possible.

• Consent for your child to receive medical treatment if necessary. While all training is carried out to the highest safety standards, accidents do occasionally occur, or your child may become ill while away. This allows Contingent staff to sign any consent forms required to ensure speedy treatment.

• Consent for your child to access the computer systems run by the CCF and the MoD.

• Consent for information sharing between your child’s school and the MOD, to enable CCF staff and supporting MOD personnel to access important information when required.

Information from this form and shared from your child’s school is kept securely at The Vyne School, and recorded in the Ministry of Defence cadet database, which is used to record qualifications, attendance, and in case of medical emergencies on military camps and courses. This cadet database is secured to MOD standards and information is never passed on to third parties.

The information also accompanies staff on trips and to enable us to make contact in the event of an accident or emergency, so it is vital that these details are written clearly.

If any medical or contact details should change during the year, updates should be emailed to us.

What to do now

Encourage your child to attend for the three weeks of taster sessions, which will run on Fridays 2, 9 & 16 October. We will also be hosting an open day at The Vyne School on Saturday 10 October, to give parents and potential recruits an opportunity to see what the CCF is like.

If they wish to join at that point, complete the form found HERE – additional copies will be available on the taster sessions. The form should be returned to the CCF Office at Vyne, Lt Berte at Everest, or Mr Page at Sherfield, with a payment of £35.

In the meantime, if you would like any further information, please read the FAQs HERE. If those do not answer your questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our normal means of communication is by email (office@vyneccf.org.uk) but please remember that the CCF is run by volunteers, so you will not usually receive an immediate reply.

Kind regards,

Maj. D.N. Morris CCF

Contingent Commander