Scotland's Children's Commissioner will be asked for his view on armed forces' visits to schools amid claims they are targeting deprived pupils for recruitment.

Religious group Quakers in Scotland and military recruitment watchdog Forces Watch told MSPs the armed forces "may be attempting to target students from more disadvantaged backgrounds".

A submission to Holyrood's Public Petitions Committee said: "Education Scotland said in 2015 that the Ministry of Defence had requested school deprivation data following an earlier attempt to obtain a database of sensitive student information for England in order to better target Army recruitment.

"In 2013 the Army stated that its schools careers advice 'is often more tailored and directed to those at risk of disengaging with education or work or those who struggle academically'."

They are seeking guidance on how school visits should be conducted to ensure "political balance and offer a realistic representation of the role of the armed forces and what a career in the armed forces involves".

They are also calling for public monitoring of the number and location of visits, the purpose and content of visits and comparison with the number of visits by other employers.

Parents/guardians should also be consulted as to whether they are happy for their child to take part in armed forces' activities at school, they said.

Committee convener Johann Lamont said MSPs should ask the Scottish Government and councils for their views.

"I can see in some localities with a strong connection to the army individual schools might be very keen on this but in other areas there is less of a connection," she said.

"We would also want to contact the Army, in terms of their careers service, for their response to the petition."

The committee may also contact Skills Development Scotland for their view, she added.

She added: "The Children and Young People's Commissioner and the Scottish Youth Parliament may have a view on this.

"This is a list that we can expand because we're really trying to get the information and sense of where people are with this.

"There is a dilemma between particular communities being targeted, but also recognising that some young people can potentially get good employment outcomes from making an active choice to go into the armed forces.

"We need to get a sense of what that looks like, what the safeguards are and the extent to which it is not being targeted at particular communities."

Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland Tam Baillie said: "Too many 16 and 17-year-olds are currently being recruited to the UK Armed Forces.

"This age group makes up a fifth of all recruits and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed its concern that schools in the UK are used as recruitment grounds for the armed forces.

"I would like to see the minimum recruitment age raised to 18 years, in line with UN recommendations, and for the armed forces to no longer actively target people aged under 18 - this would include strictly limiting the army's access to schools.

"Scotland, in particular, has high numbers of such visits and they often target groups who are disadvantaged. It is imperative that potential recruits, of any age, are properly informed of the risks and obligations that follow enlistment."

An MoD spokesman said: "The Armed Forces never visit schools for recruitment purposes and would only ever visit a school after being invited by a teacher to support school activities.

"These visits are of great benefit to pupils, and the three services consider it their duty to explain to children their role to protect the nation, and pass on valuable skills such as leadership, teamwork and citizenship."