A report has called for a national review to ensure that armed-forces visits to schools are appropriate.

The report, published today by the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee, follows a petition from Quakers in Scotland and ForcesWatch, which called for “greater guidance, scrutiny and consultation in relation to visits made to schools by the armed forces”.

Committee convener Johann Lamont said: “There are clearly strong feelings on all sides of the argument about the role of the armed forces in Scotland’s schools and we have listened carefully to all the views we received, and of those we heard from, including the armed forces.

“A career in the armed forces is a legitimate choice. It can, however, be very different from many of the career options that young people consider, which is why we believe that the Scottish government should undertake a child rights and wellbeing impact assessment to make sure that the information being given to our young people is appropriate.”

Ms Lamont added: “It is also important that armed forces visits should reflect both the opportunities and the risks associated with a career in the armed forces.”

The committee wants to see “a child rights and wellbeing assessment”, to “ensure that armed-forces visits to schools are appropriate”.

Its report notes that there is a lack of data about the number and names of schools being visited by the armed forces. It recommends that this should be made more accessible to the public, so that “credible and consistent data is available for analysis”.

Deputy committee convener Angus MacDonald says: “The decision to invite armed forces is rightly a decision for the schools themselves. However, there is clearly wide interest about which schools are being visited and indeed how often.

“That is why our committee is calling on the Scottish government to liaise with the Ministry of Defence to publish information about armed-forces visits to schools on an ongoing basis.”

The Scottish government has been contacted for comment.

As well outlining potential careers, the armed forces have worked with some schools on issues such as leadership. There have also been attempts in the past to ban the armed forces from schools.