scsn newsletter spring 12
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Sharing Best Practice tosupport Service Children Spring 2012
Service Children Support Network
In this issue….
My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures‘Takeover Day’ in BucksThe 2012 SCSN Photo CompetitionSoldiers in MindCarnagill CHIPS in actionSharing Information in North Yorks
SCSN
It’s been a very busy 3 months since I last wrote forour SCSN newsletter. I’ve met a lot of people fromall walks of life and had many opportunities topromote the needs of Service children and families.I’ve been heartened by all the positive responsesand I hope we will all be able to continue ‘spreadingthe word’ in 2012.
In January, Kev and I were invited to the NorthYorkshire Service Pupil Information Sharing Day inHarrogate and it was great to see how muchsupport is available to Service pupils within theCounty. Matt Blyton, the event organizer, hassubmitted an article about the event which appearslater in this edition together with another thatdescribes the outstanding work of the CHIPSsupporters in Carnagill Community Primary School.I’m only sorry you’re unable to see the wonderfulwork the CHIPS children do in person, they areinspirational… Keep up the good work Carnagill!
I was also privileged to be asked to be a guestspeaker at the SSAFA Forces Help In ServiceConference in February. SSAFA Forces Help haveworked tirelessly to support HM forces and theirfamilies for over a hundred years and they continueto do so. SSAFA social workers and In Servicevolunteers can offer emotional and practicalsupport to Service families and are very happy towork in collaboration with schools and otherprofessionals.
In this issue we also highlight the work of some hardworking Military spouses: Heledd Kendrick (Recruitfor Spouses); Sally Scarbrough (Support4Spouses);and Linda and Louise (My Daddy is a SoldierAdventures) have all taken the plunge and set uporganisations to support Service families. I wisheach of them every success for 2012.
On the research front, Dr Grace Clifton, the SCSNAcademic & Research Advisor, is organizing our firstSCSN Research Conference which will go ahead atOxford University in September 2012. Grace iscurrently ‘calling for papers’ so don’t be shy, we’relooking forward to hearing from both experiencedand novice researchers.
I’m also very pleased to be able to share with yousome exciting new research into Military childrens’issues that was conducted in Canada. Thank youDani for allowing us to be the first UK newsletter topublish this work.
Also of note, SCSN in collaboration withBuckinghamshire County Council and Halton School,have been successful in a bid for funding from theMOD £3M Service Children Fund which will enableus to run a 1 year pilot project in Buckinghamshire.Following the success of the Halton School ‘ServiceFamily Mobility Coordinator Project’ we are nowrecruiting two peripatetic ‘Service Children SupportCoordinators’ for the county. The vacancies arebeing advertised across the region and are alsoreproduced later in this newsletter. Our experiencehas shown that it is extremely important to identifythe right candidates for these roles. They need tohave the right personal qualities and depth ofrelevant experience if they are to be genuinely ableto deliver the wide range of support we are lookingto provide. That said, the successful candidates willfind themselves at the forefront of best practice andwill no doubt find the job very rewarding! The DCYPat the MOD are looking closely at the project with aview to potentially expanding the initiative acrossthe rest of the country in the future.
And finally, SCSN is also collaborating with The OpenUniversity on another very exciting project. We areputting together a high quality on-line ContinuingProfessional Development (CPD) Course thatfocuses on the issues affecting Service children andtheir families and explores ways to mitigate them.The course materials will be underpinned by thelatest related research from the UK and overseasand the course will be the first of it’s kind in the UK.All the groundwork is done and we are now activelyseeking funding to progress the project further.
By the time this is published SCSN will havecompleted the first of a number of training days inSuffolk and I look forward to seeing some of you inMarch and April at seminars and training eventsthat have been organized at the Universities ofOxford, Warwick, Reading and the VulnerableChildren Conference in Buckinghamshire. Pleaseremember that SCSN are able to offer bespoketraining days to meet the needs of LA staff, schools,governors and other health and welfareprofessionals as required. For more details pleaseemail:[email protected] todiscuss your needs further.
Joy O’Neill - Founder and Chair, SCSN
SCSN Update
My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures is a charitableinitiative founded by Louise and Linda in June 2011.The organization is dedicated to British Armychildren who face unique challenges especially whena parent deploys to an operational theatre of warfor sometimes up to 7 months at a time or even ashorter exercise or course away from the familyhome. In March 2011 they organized the ‘My Daddyis a Soldier Trek’, an ascent of Mount Snowdon!
This enabled three British Army children to escapefrom the stress and worry of their dads beingdeployed on active service in Afghanistan. Followingthe success of this event, the ‘My Daddy is a Soldier’team realized that many other British Army childrencould benefit from such activities. Our aim is toprovide easily accessible activities via the web andvarious activity workshops and events, bookableonline, for all British Army children with a parentserving away from the family home to attend,offering a distraction to the child at this difficulttime. We see a time in the future when British ArmyChildren will benefit from various nationwideworkshops and activities covering many differentinterests, run by My Daddy is a Solider Adventuresand appointed regional co-ordinators. In time thesewould spread worldwide to wherever the BritishArmy serve and their families live. Our children willbe able to have a positive experience with ourevents with children in a similar situation. Ourultimate goal is to open a residential adventurecentre available to all British Army Children with aparent away providing a retreat with plannedactivities offering respite in a communityenvironment. The objects of the Charity are to
enhance the support already given to British ArmyChildren via various sources by the following, butnot exclusively;
� To undertake to promote and enhance thequality of life of those who have a servingparent away from the family home.
� To provide workshops and activities thatoffers a distraction to British Army children.
� To give the parent serving their countryaway from the family home the reassurancethat their child(ren) have support .
� Support the parent left at home and providea wider community.
The support and positivity we have already receivedhas been phenomenal and we already have runsome fantastic events for children with a parentaway from the family home, including a ChristmasParty at The Victory Services Club in London for 300and also a day in January for 56 children at ChelseaFootball Club. Looking into 2012 we have a PopAcademy in Aldershot coming up with SameDifference from X Factor and a weekend event inBordon with The British Army Orienteering Club inJune plus many more events and workshops beingconfirmed for the months ahead.
All the comments and feedback we receive fromparents and children who have come to our eventshas made it all worthwhile and 2012 looks set to bea busy year for us! We are always looking for peopleto run events and workshops for us and anyone whofeels they have a skill or talent or service that wouldenhance our offering we would love to hear fromthem! This project has the potential to become afundamental resource for British Army children andfamilies and we need to utilise all the resourcesavailable to do this. The AFF, HIVE and TheDirectorate of Children and Young People have beenso supportive as have many units and regimentsacross the British Army, we can't wait to meet lotsmore Little Troopers at an event near you soon!
Follow us on Twitter: @daddyisasoldierFacebook: My Daddy is a Soldier AdventuresEmail us at: [email protected] or set up a donation page for an event at:BT MyDonateRead our blog:http://mydaddyisasoldieradventures.blogspot.comOur website:www.mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org
Later this year SCSN will host its first ResearchConference and the event will bring togetheracademics and professionals working in thisimportant area. We aim to create a positive andcollegial atmosphere and will provide opportunitiesfor participants to be able to meet, talk andsocialise.
Papers are invited from participants working withinthe fields of education, psychology, health and socialcare and childhood studies, carrying out researchrelated to the education or life experiences ofservice children in the UK. The conference will beheld at The Department of Education, University ofOxford, on Monday 10th September between 10amand 5pm. Lunch and all refreshments will beprovided. Booking will open in the spring on theSCSN website:www.servicechildrensupportnetwork.com
Abstracts
Electronic abstracts of between 300-500 wordsshould be submitted to Grace Clifton
([email protected]) by May 1st. Authors will be
notified of acceptance by May 15th.
Organisation and accommodation
Further information can be obtained by e-mailingGrace Clifton (see above). Participants will beresponsible for organising their ownaccommodation although the ConferenceCommittee can offer some information.
One of the (only?) perks of being the Editor of thisillustrious publication is that from time to time I getto slip in a piece at the last minute that Joy doesn’tknow about! This is one of those occasions I have totake such a liberty because I know she would neverblow her own trumpet!
Joy, our extremely hardworking Founder and Chairwas selected as a finalist in the 2012 Daily Mail &Wellbeing of Women ‘Inspirational Women of theYear Awards’. As well as being pampered by thesponsors including Sir Phillip Green and the BHSGroup, and attending the Celebrity Gala Dinner atthe Marriot Hotel in Grosvenor Square, London, Joywas invited along to No 10 Downing Street to meetMrs Samantha Cameron to discuss the work ofSCSN. Rest assured Joy made the most of theopportunity to get her message across and MrsCameron was very interested in our work. I justwanted to say well done Joy!
SCSN Research Conference 2012
A Call for Papers
Inspirational WomenOf the Year 2012
On Friday 11 November, children and young peoplefrom Buckinghamshire took charge for the day aspart of the Children’s Commissioner for EnglandTakeover Day 2011, a national event, which giveschildren and young people the chance to shadowjobs, get involved in decision-making and offer theiropinions on key issues.
This year, Takeover Day coincided withRemembrance Day which was particularly poignantas Buckinghamshire County Council’s Children andYoung People’s Services are seeking the views ofService Children and Young People to help thosethat work with them to gain a greater understandingof the issues that can be faced by Service Families,particularly the challenges that can arise fromService Life and the impact it may have at school.
The day saw seventeen Service Children and YoungPeople, aged 7 to 18 years, from Halton CommunityCombined, Princes Risborough and HighcrestSchools and Aylesbury College come together toproduce guidance about the issues that can be facedby Service Children and Young People.
The Guidance produced focuses on support they feelthey need when moving to a new area, when aparent is deployed and when they start at a newschool. The guidance will be sent to all schools in thecounty, published on various web sites and
promoted to other organisations who work withchildren and young people.
At 11.00 am a two minute silence was observed as atribute to those who have lost their lives fighting fortheir country. Pupils also had the opportunity toattend the Remembrance Service held at RAFHalton, where Royal Air Force personnel were in fulldress uniform.
Comments from the children and young peopleparticipating in the activities included:
“That I know other people are going through thesame thing.”
“I learnt that other people feel the same way.”
“Talking to other Service Children and discussinghow it affects us.”
“I learnt a lot and it was nice to meet and talk toother Service Children.”
“I now understand what all children are goingthrough and what they're feeling.”
“That other people feel the same and know what Iam feeling.”
Marion Clayton, Cabinet Spokesperson forAchievement, who presented those that took partwith certificates on the day, commented:
"The children and young people had some excellentideas for helping service children to overcome theinevitable difficulties they face, not least in thefrequent moves that are part of service life. Theguidance they have produced will contribute to thework that Buckinghamshire is developing to supportservice families, which is gaining nationalrecognition."
NATIONAL businesses are being invited to supportthe British Forces and their families, through thenot-for-profit organisation, Recruit For Spouses,
which launched on 17th January 2012.
Recruit For Spouses has been set up to bridge thegap between national employers and a growingband of service spouses who are seeking to re-enterthe workplace, after subjugating their careers dueto their partners’ numerous postings and frequentdeployment.
The company has benefited from funding and sup-port from the Women’s Section of the Royal BritishLegion and the web development skills of interna-tional digital agency, STEAK. The founder, HeleddKendrick (herself an Army spouse and mother oftwo young children) who has been developing theconcept for over two years, said that it had been “along but worthwhile journey bringing the site to itslaunch this month”. She continued, “One of thehardest things about being married to a soldier, sail-or or airman, is the constant moving around; ren-dering it almost impossible to find a job. Employersperceive service spouses as being too transient tomake a worthwhile contribution to their organisa-tions. However we’re here to prove otherwise – beit short term, contracts, flexi working, job-sharing,full-time employment or virtual (online) work”.
Kendrick will be introducing potential employers toover 400 registered candidates from a diverse back-ground, and who count skills and trades such as ac-countancy, HR experts, lawyers and PAs among theirnumbers. STEAK has created a sleek web design,which makes it simple for employers and spouses toregister their vacancies and CVs.
A nominal charge will be made to employers (signifi-cantly less than most recruitment agencies) andprofits from the venture will be ploughed back intoservice charities, fully embracing the much talkedabout military covenant.
Recruit for Spouses already has partnered with bothBritish Telecom, Siemens and Golly Slater providinga range of opportunities for service wives and hasestablished a meaningful dialogues with the region-al Chambers of Commerce, resulting in the NorthEast Chamber of Commerce advocating the initiativeto their 4000 members.
For further information, please contact:
Heledd Kendrick, Founder01666 837786 / 07714 [email protected]
Support4Spouses is a Facebook support group setup by a military spouse, Sally Scarbrough. Sally has ayoung son who is severely sight-impaired due to arare genetic condition, primary aphakia. Sally saw aneed for a support group for military spouses withchildren with disability, additional needs and illness.She set up this group in December 2011 and italready has over 100 members. It is a place wherespouses can discuss problems, let off steam orsignpost information and advice.
Support4Spouses can be found atwww.facebook.com or contact Sally [email protected]
Support4Spouses
Charity Number 1040419
Supporting Service Children and Families inLoss and Bereavement
Suitable for all those whose work involves contact with service childrenand families including unit welfare officers and community development
officers, teachers and school support staff, psychologists,health andwelfare professionals, social workers
29th March 2012
Workshop to be held at:
The Clare FoundationWycombe Road
SaundertonBucks
HP14 4BF
For further details please contact:
CBC Training DepartmentEmail:
Tel: 01494 568909
www.childbereavement.org.uk
Details of the day:
10.00am–4.00pm(Registration 9.30am)
FEE: £99(to include refreshments
& alight lunch)
AimTo provide an overview of the range of loss experiences military families face withparticular focus on bereavement.Learning Outcomes
� To gain an understanding of the models of deployment and the impact on thefamily.� To gain an understanding of the theories and models of bereavement and
bereavement support.� To identify and understand the additional losses experienced by military families.� To identify positive ways of supporting bereaved military families.� To gain information about the Child Bereavement Charity and other military support
organisations and resources available.
Parental Deployments, Adolescents’Household Work, and Gender: TheFindings of a Canadian Interview Study.Danielle Kwan-Lafond (PhD candidate, YorkUniversity), Deborah Harrison (University of NewBrunswick and OISE/UT), and Patrizia Albanese(Ryerson University).
Across Canada there are about 30 Canadian Forces(CF) communities, populated by thousands of youngpeople – an invisible minority – who grow up inmilitary families and experience frequent moves andparental deployments. One of the purposes of ourresearch project was to examine the impact ofmilitary life stressors on CF adolescents(http://www.unb.ca/youthwellbeing/research.php).In 2009-2010, we conducted 61 interviews with 35girls and 26 boys who attended Armyville HighSchool ([AHS] a pseudonym) and whose parentswere present or former CF members. Our projectpartner was the Armyville Regional School District.Our main joint objective was to facilitate enhancedschool-based support for adolescents affected byparental deployments.
Our recent paper in Studies in Political Economyexplored possible impacts of the military stressorsdeployments and PTSD upon the self-esteem of girlsat AHS. In examining our participants’ engagementsin activities that contribute to building self-esteem,we found that while the boys built their self-esteemprimarily through sports, the girls tended to buildtheirs through their familial roles: taking onincreased responsibilities (unpaid domestic and carework) when their parents were preoccupied withdeployments, and with deployment-related injuriessuch as PTSD. We found not only gender differencesin the amount and kinds of work that militaryadolescents did at home, but also a gendereddivision of work that intensified during deploymentsand if the military parent returned home with PTSD.As noted in the literature, one significant impact of
deployments and PTSD on adolescent children is thewhole or partial loss of both parents as parentalfigures (parenting deficit). From our interviews withCF adolescents, there were significant genderdifferences in the ways that this impact wasexperienced and discussed.
The boys we interviewed did extra work at homewhen their parents were deployed, but the nature ofthe work they took on was different from that oftheir female peers. When they described the choresthey typically performed, they described yard work,car repair, shoveling snow, and other typicallymasculinized (and physical) tasks. When one oftheir parents was deployed or suffered from PTSD,the boys reported forsaking extra-curricularactivities to provide enhanced support to theirundeployed parent far less frequently than the girlsdid.
In contrast, the girls talked about building self-esteem by taking on responsibilities in their families,including parenting work, such as dressing, feeding,or supervising their younger siblings, and otherchores, such as food preparation and householdcleaning tasks. They described their increaseddomestic work as being very important to theirfamilies, and felt good about taking onresponsibilities that they perceived as preparingthem for adult life. Less obvious, but perhaps morelabour intensive, was the emotional support orcarework many of these young women provided toone of their parents while their other parent wasdeployed or suffering from PTSD. Many of the girlswere hyper-aware of their at-home parent’smental/emotional state, as well as his/her stresslevel and work load, and wanted to be as helpful andsupportive to him or her as possible. This workincluded doing a better-than-usual job of managingrelations with siblings, suppressing their ownemotional needs, and giving up their extra-curricularactivities and outings with friends.
We can best understand these findings by situatingmilitary family life within the context of theoverarching military institution. In military families,daily life is expected to revolve around supportingthe goals of the military institution. Although thereare more women in the CF today than forty yearsago, women are still dramatically under-representedin leadership roles and combat occupations.Military fathers are still positioned as the traditional
heads of households, acting as the leaders,providers and protectors of nuclear families, even astheir jobs demand that they often be separatedfrom their families in order to “serve their country.”Hence, concomitant with the continued devaluationof women in the CF (especially in army combatoccupations), gender expectations about work andfamily life remain deeply ingrained in militarycommunities. Boys and girls are consequentlyvalued and gain self-esteem largely according tohow well they fulfill their expected roles in thefamily - roles which reflect their respective genders.
Military culture in Armyville also appears to presideover the activities that are promoted and facilitatedby the school and community. While sportsopportunities are plentiful for youth of both gendersin Armyville, the young men reported participatingin more sports and sports leadership roles (e.g.,coach, team captain) than the young women, andbeing immersed in a larger number of rich friendshipnetworks as a result of their sports involvements.Sports therefore appear to be more central to thecreation and maintenance of Armyville boys’ self-esteem than to that of their female peers. The CFrecruits especially heavily from among the male AHSstudents, and since physical fitness is a pre-requisitefor qualifying for army training, it makes sense thatsports and other physical activities are ofheightened importance to, and a major source ofself-esteem for, Armyville’s adolescent males.
We were troubled to discover that an importantsource of increased self-esteem for young women inCF families appears to comprise meeting the verygender role expectations that keep women’sinterests subordinate to men's in CF culture. Likeother demanding occupations in Western countries,military organizations rely upon the unpaid work ofspouses (in this case mostly wives) of members. Ourresearch suggests that military organizations alsobenefit from the unpaid housework and carework ofdaughters.
These tendencies simultaneously reinforce genderstereotypes and contribute to military organizations’operational effectiveness. Given the number of CFfamilies that have been, and continue to be,affected by multiple overseas deployments, and byPTSD, it is likely that the gender role differencesidentified in this paper will continue or intensifyduring the coming few years.
Suggested Readings
Armstrong, P., & Armstrong, H. (1990). Theorizingwomen's work. Toronto, ON: Garamond.
Enloe, C. (2000). Maneuvers: The internationalpolitics of militarizing women's lives. Berkeley:University of California Press.
Harrison, D., & Albanese, P. (2012, in press). The'parentification' phenomenon as applied toadolescents living through parental militarydeployments. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth.
Harrison, D., & Laliberté, L. (1994). No life like it:Military wives in Canada. Toronto, ON: JamesLorimer & Company.
Huebner, A., Mancini, J., Wilcox, R., Grass S.,& Grass, G. (2007). Parental deployment andyouth in military families: Exploring uncertaintyand ambiguous loss. Family Relations 56, 112-122.
Kwan-Lafond, D., Harrison, D., & Albanese, P. (2011).Parental military deployments and adolescents’household work. Studies in Political Economy 88,163-189.
Luxton. M. (2006). Feminist political economy inCanada and the politics of social reproduction.In Social reproduction: Feminist political economychallenges neo-liberalism. M. Luxton andK. Bezanson (Eds.). Montreal: McGill-Queen’sUniversity Press, pp. 3-11.
Mmari, K., Roche, M., Sudhinaraset, M. & Blum, R. (2009). When a parent goes off to war: Exploringthe issues faced by adolescents and their families.Youth & Society, 40 (4), 455-475.
Segal, L. (2008). Gender, war and militarism:Making and questioning the links. FeministReview 88, 21-35.
This work was funded by the Social Sciencesand Humanities Research Council of CanadaStandard Research Grants Program.
SCSNService Children Support Network
Photography Competition 2012Sponsored by
‘Through the Eyes ofa Service Child’
SCSN
PhotographyCompetition2012The Service Children Support Network (SCSN) in collaboration with the
Royal Air Force Museum are pleased to announce the launch of theSCSN Photography Competition 2012.
Service Children are invited to submit a photograph that reflects life…
The Entry Categories are:
5’s and under, 6 - 9 years, 10 - 13 years and 14 - 18 years
Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each category.
The Prizes*:
1st - £150.00, 2nd - £75.00, 3rd - £50.00* Prizes to be chosen by the winners and taken in goods from the Museum Shop (cash
alternatives are not available). Winners and their families will also be invited to thePrize Giving Ceremony at the RAF Museum London on 8 June 2012 and will also receive afamily ticket to the stunning 4D Theatre at the RAF Museum London or the simulators at
the RAF Museum Cosford.
Eligibility and Competition Rules
The competition is open to all children of HM Forces(and Reservists).
For full details of submission and Competition Rules please go towww.servicechildrensupportnetwork.com
‘Through the Eyes ofa Service Child’
SCSNSCSN
Officially CHIPS stands for ‘Childline in Partnership’but the 26 fully-trained peer supporters at CarnagillCommunity Primary School on Catterick Garrisonprefer to be called Children’s Problem Solvers.
The CHIPS (ChildLine in Partnership with Schools)initiative was set up in 2008 to raise awarenessabout ChildLine and encourage schools to supporttheir pupils with project-based activities whichhighlight Childline's service.
Although funding was later withdrawn and theCHIPS programme closed down by Childline, anumber of schools including Carnagill CommunityPrimary have kept the initiative alive through theirown in school programmes and it is still providingimmense support to those children involved.
The CHIPS volunteers are all children from years 5and 6 and they regularly give up their lunch timesand make themselves available to listen to theworries of other children and help them find asolution to their problems.
Initially, comprehensive training for this importantrole in our school was given by a coordinator from
Childline and focused on developing pupils’ listeningskills. Thankfully, some of our school staff were alsotrained at the same time so we have been able toensure that this valuable initiative can be sustainedin the future. Children are asked to make a formalapplication explaining how they would deal willcertain tricky situations and what they wouldpersonally bring to the role of a CHIP.Parents/carers show their support by assisting theirchild to complete the form and giving their consent.Successful applicants (everyone so far) are invited toattend an interview with the Headteacher andHome School Support Adviser and are informed byletter if they have been appointed. Being a CHIP hasa high profile at Carnagill Community PrimarySchool and the impact has been extremely positiveempowering children and enhancing their life skills.The CHIPS recently gave a well-receivedpresentation at a North Yorkshire conference forpersonnel involved with service pupils.
But perhaps the best way to describe how the CHIPSprogramme has had such a positive impact atCarnagill is through the words of the childrenthemselves…
Charlotte: Training to be a CHIP is quite a bigresponsibility; I mean a really big responsibility. Weknow that we can help other children who arehaving problems like moving or a family member inAfghanistan.
Fiona: It is really important to be confidential butwe cannot keep secrets. A child’s worries often goaway when a CHIP has helped.
Natasha: Children come to CHIPS for lots of reasons,if they have no-one to play with, if they think peopleare being unkind to them, missing their mum or dadif they are away or if their pet has recently died. Butthe main reason children come to CHIPS is becausethey know that no matter why they came we willalways listen.
Sandie Fitton - Headteacher
N Yorks ‘CHIPS’In Action!
In partnership with theLt Dougie Dalzell MC Memorial Trust
Soldiers in MindInformation Sheet
MissionSoldiers In Mind is committed to providing free mental health services to military personnel and theirfamilies, who are, or have been affected by military duty. It is an independent mental health service,separate from the military, and offers complete confidentiality subject to assessment of occupational risk.
BackgroundSoldiers In Mind is a new service that has been designed and developed in a creative and innovativepartnership between Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) and the Lt DougieDalzell MC Memorial Trust.
Soldiers In Mind is based on the guiding principles of reducing the stigma associated with seeking mentalhealth care, offering choice and improving confidentiality and accessibility. We aim to ensure that servicepersonnel, who might otherwise fail to seek or receive appropriate services, now have a new option foraccessing the mental health support they may need.
The other main area of focus for Soldiers in Mind will be in providing a signposting, assessment, support andtreatment service for the families or identified significant others (ISOs), including children and adolescents,of active service personnel who have been physically injured or psychologically affected in the line ofmilitary duty.
How it worksSoldiers In Mind will be launched in March 2012 and will be piloted in the South of England. Theservice is currently in its developmental stage.
All serving personnel are able to self-refer to the service via a telephone call or email. Those wishing torefer serving personnel on their behalf, or refer families or significant others, will be required to complete abasic referral form via email.
Eligibility will be determined at the point of referral and an appointment for assessment will be offeredwithin ten working days of a referral being made. Consultations will take place in the afternoons, eveningsand at weekends, at a location suitable to the patient to ensure a convenient and easily accessible service.
Soldiers In Mind will offer treatment and support in accordance with guidelines from the NationalInstitute of Clinical Excellence in treating acute stress, adjustment disorder and post-traumatic stressdisorder (PTSD) and will also respond to other mental health needs such as depression and anxiety.Soldiers In Mind aims to provide an equivalent service to that which is offered by the military to ensureequality and fairness.
Although independent of the military, Soldiers In Mind will aim to work in partnership with themilitary’s own healthcare professionals wherever possible.
ContactFor further information please contact Soldiers In Mind, Nicola Lester, on 07912763247 [email protected].
On the 27th January, 2012, almost 120 delegatesattended the North Yorkshire Children and YoungPeople Service’s Schools with Pupils from ServiceFamilies Project: Information Sharing Day. Thisincreasingly-popular event, now in its fifth year, wascoordinated by the LA’s Quality andImprovement Service in conjunctionwith a ‘leadership’ working party ofsenior school leaders and governors.Its aims were to:
� Strengthen partnership working.
� Provide national and regional updates.
� Learn from case studies and presentationsof good practice.
� Reflect on possible work-streams for the LAsupported project during 2012.
The composition of the audience realised the first ofthese aims. 35 schools were represented, 12 localauthority staff attended from a variety of servicedelivery areas, 25 MoD staff were present (includingboth Unit Welfare Officers and CommunityDevelopment Officers), together withrepresentatives from a variety of military-associatedorganisations including SSAFA, AFF, RBL, CEAS, SCSNand the Royal Caledonian School’s Trust. We alsowelcomed delegates from schools in Germany,Oxfordshire and Scotland, Local Authoritycolleagues from York and Nottingham City Councils,and two researchers from London. Some slots werebuilt into the day to facilitate discussion of a rangeof issues.
The day was jointly launched by Cynthia Welbourn(Director of CYPS), Brigadier Greville Bibby, CBE(Commander of 15 Brigade) and Group CaptainTerry Jones (Station Commander of RAF Linton onOuse). They highlighted the importance of the‘community around the child’, the currentchallenges faced by Armed Forces families as aresult of chronic mobility, and the current tempo offierce operational deployment. Therefore it isextremely important that educationalestablishments provide a haven of normality andsupport.
Sharing InformationIn North Yorkshire
Cynthia Welbourn, Director of CYPSopened the event.
Brigadier Greville Bibby, addressingthe delegates.
The Brigadier described the conference as anexample of ‘the Military Covenant in action’ andoutlined the number of Catterick-based familieslikely to be affected by Operation Herrick 17deployments from October. He made the point that‘those who stay behind can have it tougher thanthose who go’. He reinforced the key message thatwhilst children of military families bring manypositives to our schools, they also have some uniqueneeds and potential vulnerabilities as a result oftheir families’ lifestyles.
A lively start to the conference was assured when agroup of 4 Year 5 pupils from Carnagill CommunityPrimary School, one of five primaries on CatterickGarrison, outlined their roles and responsibilities asCHIPs’ peer mentors. This Childline initiated schemereminded the audience of the power andimportance of peer support.
Our keynote speaker, Jane Melbourne (HMI), thenaddressed the conference with a brief overview ofthe key findings published in the Children in ServiceFamilies survey report she authored last year. Ofparticular interest, however, were the examples ofgood practice she outlined that inspectors had seenat both school and local authority level, but whichcould not be published within the report. Theseincluded effective communication systems, policieson pupil mobility and the use of Armed Forces‘champions’ and points of contact. Her presentation
rightly drew on the positive and unique influencesservice pupils bring to schools. To conclude, sheoutlined some of the implications of the 2012 Ofstedevaluation schedule for schools with service pupils;an aspect of particular interest to the many schoolleaders present.
The morning was concluded with case studies fromtwo North Yorkshire schools that had been visited byinspectors as part of this survey. Dishforth AirfieldCommunity Primary School and Thirsk SecondarySchool and Sixth Form College were both judged tohave ‘good partnerships practice’: Julie Lyon, theHeadteacher of Dishforth Airfield, outlined the rangeof systems the school has put in place to minimisethe potential negative impact of service mobility anddeployment, such as the maintenance and regularupdate of a vulnerability register. She was ablysupported by seventeen KS2 pupils who shared thepositive experiences they have at the school throughthe media of dance, readings and song.
Pauline Simpson, the pastoral head of ThirskSecondary, followed this with examples of goodpractice from a secondary perspective, andintroduced one of the winners of last year’s SCSN artcompetition ‘Through the Eyes of Service Child’. Thisextremely articulate sixth former moved theaudience with her reflections of what it means to bea service child and what inspired her to produce herpicture.
Helen Butler, the school’s Armed Forces LiaisonOfficer, concluded the morning with a poignantrecount of how the school community was affectedand coped with the bereavement of a parent.
During the afternoon, and following various localand national updates from the Local Authority, ArmyWelfare Service, DfE and CEAS / SCISS (ServiceChildren in State Schools), the floor was handedover to the RAF, mirroring a similar army slot at lastyear’s event. Wing Commander Jim Prudin (OCSupport Base Wing) and Sqn Ldr Andrew Cavaghan(OC PMS), both of RAF Leeming, outlined thewelfare support structures available through theRAF together with the significant scope of the RAFwithin Yorkshire.
In a memorable conclusion to the day, BatterySergeant Major Dave Taylor, supported by his wifeGayle and Sergeant Andy Tomlinson, shared someperspectives of Armed Forces parents. As membersof 5 Royal Artillery, Dave and Gayle have first-handexperience of both chronic mobility and the impactof operational deployment on a service family. Withfour children between them, Dave and Gayle sharedsome of the difficult choices they have been facedover their children’s education. They certainly gavethe delegates plenty to reflect on as they left theconference centre in Harrogate.
As a result of the success of the day, and in responseto feedback from delegates, new work-streams arebeing agreed for working parties to address in thefollowing year with the intention to again sharesome of the outcomes at the 6th Information SharingDay, provisionally scheduled for the 25th January2013.
All presentations and resources from the day havebeen uploaded into a web-based learning platformroom and can be accessed until the end of theacademic year throughwww.fronter.com/northnorks (username: nyservicepassword: pupils). Visitors to the ‘room’ areencouraged to post a comment on the forum.
Matt Blyton, Education Development Adviser (NorthYorkshire’s Quality & Improvement Service)
Research project investigating the experiences of, and impact upon, children andadolescents when a family member goes missing.
Who is running the project?My name is Jennie Norris and I am a final year Clinical Psychologist in Training at the University ofHertfordshire. I am also on a specialist placement at CHUMS Child Bereavement and Trauma Service inLuton where I provide psychological therapy and support to children who have been traumaticallybereaved.
What is the project about?I am currently running a doctoral research project exploring the experiences of, and emotional impactupon, children and adolescents when a family member goes missing, e.g. missing in action during combat.T o date, there has been no research focusing on how young people cope when an immediate familymember (mother, father, brother, sister) goes missing. As such, little is known about the type of practicaland emotional support that they may require having gone through such an experience. This project aims tospeak to several young people in affected families to understand their lived experiences and give them avoice. It is hoped that the research will shed light on how best to support young people in this situation, soappropriate help can be given in the future, as currently there is little practical or emotional supportavailable.
Who can take part?All children and young people between the ages of 7 and 16 who have an immediate family memberwho is missing, or has previously been missing, are invited to take part.
What will participation involve?All participants will be interviewed informally about their experiences since their family member wentmissing. The interview will focus on how they have been affected emotionally, socially and practically, aswell as on the things that have helped them to cope through this difficult time. The interview can takeplace at home, school or a location of the participants’ choosing. Parental consent will be required.Participants can withdraw from the study at any time.
ConfidentialityAny information collected will remain strictly confidential and all names will be removed so thatparticipants cannot be recognised. The only circumstance under which confidentiality would be broken is ifinformation is disclosed which suggests that the participant, or someone else, is at risk of harm.
Who else is involved?The project is being run in conjunction with Missing People and the Missing Persons Bureau at the NationalPolicing Improvement Agency. It is being carried out as part of a doctoral qualification in ClinicalPsychology at the University of Hertfordshire, where it is being supervised by Dr Saskia Keville, AcademicTutor and Clinical Psychologist. The study has been approved by the University of Hertfordshire PsychologyResearch Ethics Committee (Protocol number: PSY/10/11/JN), whose role is to ensure that research isconducted in a safe and ethical manner.
What will happen to the results of this research study?The findings will be published in a thesis for the purpose of gaining a Clinical Psychology qualification. Asummary of the main research findings will be published in an academic journal.
How to get involved If you decide that you would like to take part, please contact me at 07765 004112 [email protected]. I am happy to answer any questions you might have.
Since 2002, I have been carrying out research intothe experience of education of service childrenattending secondary schools in the UK. Thisemerged from my own experiences as an Army wifeand as a secondary school teacher. The researchinvolved spending over a year in a secondary schoollocated near an Army garrison in the South ofEngland, carrying out in-depth observations andinterviews with four focus children as well as theirparents, teachers and headteacher. In order tocorroborate their evidence, I also interviewed localArmy and education officials, as well as people withan interest in the subject at a national level, such asthe Ministry of Defence Service Families Task Forceteam. These findings were compared to a secondschool in the East of England, also located near anArmy garrison.
The Findings
By the age of eleven, all of the children hadattended at least four schools, including schools inother Nation States of the UK as well as within theSCE in Germany. This level of mobility wassomething which the children seemed to neutralise,not wanting to talk about how painful a move mightbe. Nor were they able to take ownership of any ofthe schools that they had attended, talking in termsof ‘the school’ rather than ‘my school.’ In lessons, Idid not feel that the children were ‘active’ learners,preferring not to engage directly with their teachersand asking friends for help instead. Theirfriendships were defined by fluidity and change,with the girls maintaining friends outside of theArmy structure, whilst the boys had friends fromother Army families (particularly from the sameregiment as their fathers). The Army had a verystrong influence on all of the children – most
notably when, for two of the children, their fatherswere sent on tours of duty to Iraq. During this time,these children worried about their fathers and, mostsignificantly, about the effect his absence wouldhave on their mother. Consequently, school worktook second place to coping with their father’sabsence.
The families of these children were able to givethem varying levels of support. The serving soldierswere rarely able to attend school events due towork commitments. The most involved mother,from the sample, worked within childcare and was,therefore, I felt more comfortable with contactingeducation professionals and negotiating on herchild’s behalf. For the other mothers, their ownexperiences of school had not been so good andthis, together with earlier difficulties in theirchildren’s education and their own difficultiescoping with mobility and the absence of theirhusband, had led them to take a less proactivestance towards their children’s schools andteachers.
All of the parents had employed similar means ofchoosing a school for their children – they reliedheavily of ‘word of mouth’ and chose the schoolnearest to their quarter for their child (if that schoolhad an available place!) Some of the parents werenot able to visit the school before registering theirchild. For all of the parents involved, boardingschool was not an option – not for financial reasonsbut because they all felt that children should be withtheir parents and not sent away. Teachers in bothschools described the difficulties they faced workingin ‘Service’ schools. These included receiving newstudents who had no files or, at the very least, fileswith significant gaps in them. Students had oftenstudied different areas of the National Curriculumand, at Key Stage Four in particular, this led to acutedifficulties.
Funding issues did not help schools to support Armychildren effectively, with funding for new studentsoften arriving well after that student had joined anew school. Education professionals repeatedlymentioned concerns that mobility was having anegative impact on children’s attainment – andwhilst the link between mobility and attainment isdifficult to make, within the small group of focuschildren involved in this research, all of the childrenhad lower than average literacy levels. Concernswere also raised that there may be higher incidencesof special educational needs in Army children.
The Experience ofEducation ofService Children
My feeling was that schools did not really understandthe Army ‘culture’ and that this led tomisunderstandings between teachers and Armystudents and their parents. Similarly, local Armyofficials did not realise the extent to which their wayof life had an impact on the ability of schools to dotheir work and links between schools and the Armywere often weak.
Theories Emerging from this Research
I concluded that there were five theories to emergefrom this research. Firstly, Army children developedindividual coping strategies to help them negotiatetheir time at school. Social coping strategies involvednot getting too close to their friends and ‘letting go’ ofthem when they knew they had to move on. Outsideof school, all of the children developed a very strongbond with their mother as she was the constant pres-ence at home. Academic coping strategies involvednot taking responsibility for one’s own work and main-taining a ‘low profile’ in the classroom. The implica-tions of these coping strategies are clear - they helpthese children to ‘get by’ at school although theydidn’t necessarily thrive there. Secondly, I felt thatmobility both directly and indirectly affected theeducational experiences of Army children. Relation-ships with teachers and friends, described above, weremost affected. However, mobility also meant that par-ents were unlikely to know about local schools and, inthe run up to moving quarter, were not able to sup-port their children at school due to the sheer energyinvolved in moving house. Mobility was also seen toaffect the delivery of the curriculum in schools and theway that schools in highly mobile areas were funded.I felt that mobility had a particular impact on the de-velopment of a child’s literacy skills since other re-search has indicated that literacy and self-esteemissues are inter-linked.
The third theory to emerge from this research, as Ihave indicated above, was that there was a clash ofcultures between the Army and schools. The world ofthe Army, involving its own particular brand oflanguage and traditions, was misunderstood byschools and, as such, the lifestyle of the Army childrenwas not fully appreciated by teachers. Fourthly, theculture of the home was seen to have a particulareffect on the educational experiences of Army childrenas these children had to negotiate mobility, theexigencies of Army life and the absence of theirparents. Finally, bringing together all of thesetheories, I felt that neither the Army nor schools reallyunderstood the experiences of education of Armychildren. As a result, I felt that these children wereexpected to integrate into local schools rather thanbeing actively included in them.
Wider Implications of the Research for all ServiceFamilies
Since finishing my PhD, I have been involved inpromoting education issues for all service children, notjust those specifically from an Army background. Withthat in mind, the theories outlined above can bedeveloped and applied, to a greater and lesser degree,to children from both RAF and Navy Families.Essentially, the key to understanding the experience ofeducation of all service children is analysing the extentto which, firstly, the service child leads a highly mobilelifestyle and, secondly, the extent to which the servicechild identifies with the service ‘culture’. Generally,children from RAF and Naval families lead less mobilelifestyles than their Army peers. As a result, the firsttwo theories outlined above may well apply less toRAF and Navy children. However, all service childrenare likely to identify with the culture of the armedservices – particularly if the service family live in aquarter and the service child attends a school wherethere is a high percentage of service children. Both ofthese would lead to a stronger understanding of andidentification with the service lifestyle. This could wellput service children at risk of exclusion if schools donot meet their particular needs.
Recommendations for Families
I do feel that making broad-reachingrecommendations from such a small-scale study, albeitin-depth and at doctoral level, is not possible.However, I feel that there are things that I hope thatservice parents can learn from this. I would urge allparents to ask for further clarification of the syllabusand curriculum requirements from schools so that youcan help your child to work out what they have alreadycovered and what they may need additional supportwith before you move to another posting. When youknow you are going to move, let your child’s schoolknow as soon as possible and start thinking about anew school. Ask around but also find out from othersources about education in your new posting area.Ofsted, for example, has an excellent website whichcan help you to make choices. At every stage of amove, involve your child – talk to them about whereyou’re going to go, involve them in the decision aboutwhat school to go to next. Finally, find out how you,or your partner, can get involved in school life becauseit’s only through informal links like this that schoolsmight understand the service lifestyle a bit more and,in doing so, be able to support your children a bitbetter.
Dr Grace Clifton, The Open University, SCSNAcademic and Research Advisor.
(Previously published in Envoy in March 2011).
February saw Joy and Kev O’Neill take an SCSNpresentation on the road to Suffolk and theConference Centre at King Edward VI School, Bury StEdmunds proved to be an excellent venue.
This was to be the first of 2 days of trainingrequested by Suffolk County Council and drewdelegates from across the county. It was interestingthat the group actually contained a very highpercentage of people with a close serviceconnection, be that as a spouse, or as a formerservice child themselves. It was also interesting thatso many delegates were from an Early Yearsbackground which allowed us to explore the issuesfrom a less traditional perspective.
With particular focus on Transitions and Mobility,together with Operational Deployments and theirimpacts on Service children and their families, theday went very well. The audience were veryreceptive and keen to get as much as possible fromthe event. They were open to new ideas and verywilling to share their own experiences with theirfellow delegates. At times it was hard to get a wordin!
The sessions were built around a series of 4 taskworkshops where discussions were lively and it waswonderful to see such a range of people and viewsrepresented, from Deputy Headteachers and otherschool staff, Nursery School staff, LA support staffand a representative from the Army FamiliesFederation.
We found it fascinating to hear about the specificissues facing Army and RAF families in the East ofEngland and the work currently going on in thecounty such as the pilot project that is being run tosupport the children of deployed Service parents bythe Community Interest Company ‘Our LittleHeroes’.
We are looking forward to returning to Suffolk inSeptember for our second day of training. Detailswill be published nearer the date on the SCSNwebsite and the Suffolk County Council CPDwebpages.
For more information on the September training orto book a place please email us [email protected]
SCSN TrainingIn Suffolk
Death is a fact of life, but for the families of thoseserving in the Armed Forces, especially duringperiods of conflict, there is a greater awareness ofdeath as a distinct possibility. For some families,this possibility is, sadly and tragically, turned into areality, and they then have to cope with all aspectsof the radically altered circumstances into whichthey have been plunged. During the past decade,many military and civilian organisations have beencreated, or have extended their services, tocontribute to meeting the needs of bereavedmilitary families. One such service, Forces Support(http://www.forcessupport.org.uk/), a charityproviding practical support to families bereaved as aresult of a military death, commissioned us toundertake a literature review of the needs of thosebereaved through military death, and a scopingstudy of how UK military and civilian supportorganisations were responding to these. This articlesummarises our findings.
A search of the literature identified a paucity ofresearch on the topic of the bereavement needs andexperiences of those in armed forces. The bulk ofthe literature came primarily from either the USA orIsrael, with British contributions being in theminority. However, this is beginning to be redressedby several new reports, commissioned byorganisations such as the Royal British Legion andthe Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund,that draw upon the experience of UK bereavedmilitary families.
The literature and the experience of supportorganisations suggest that many of the bereavementneeds of military families are similar to those of thecivilian bereaved population. However,bereavement as a result of a military death is likelyto take on a different shape as a result of keyfeatures specific to the military context. It is thesethat appear to have an impact on the experience ofthe death and its aftermath, and add significantcomplexity to the experience of families, and have
implications for support organisations. Thesefeatures include:
� The impact of deployment on the family pri-or to the death.
� The nature of the death.� Who has died and who has been left behind.� Media coverage of the events.� Military culture and personal identity, and� Additional losses and changes.
Not all of these features apply in the case of allbereaved military families, and their impact isfurther mediated by the specific circumstances thatsurround each individual family.
Whilst other countries, including the US, haveidentified inadequate support to the bereavedfamily members as a key issue, there have beensignificant improvements in the way the UK ArmedForces have coordinated and managed theirresponse to the notification of a death, and torepatriation. The UK response to families bereavedthrough military death has also been substantiallyenhanced over recent years with an increasingnumber of military and civilian organisationsoffering support. Types of support include:
� Advocacy work - mediating families’ experi-ence with the MOD or the coronial system,lobbying and influencing policy.
� Emotional support – including friendship,
support, and counselling.
� Infrastructure support – one organisation
supporting the work of another.
� Training and guiding the staff of other or-ganisations (in military culture, for bereave-ment services, and in bereavement, formilitary organisations), and
� Practical support including:○ Helping people make decisions and
choices.○ Offering ‘special’ activities that are
not part of the usual run of day-to-day life, or
○ Undertaking practical activities thatrelate to the smooth running oreveryday life.
This latter is a minority activity amongstorganisational providers.
Organisations face a number of challenges inproviding support including: agreeing the criteria forwho is eligible for their service provision,understanding the military culture, the complexityof the needs of military families, the experience ofstaff; and access and timing of the support.Fortunately, there are very few deaths each year ofmembers of the UK Armed Forces although eachone is a tragedy for the family and friends.However, there is a lack of information thatidentifies the number and status of those who arebereaved, in terms of the relationship to thedeceased. This makes it difficult for organisations toplan their provision as the potential ‘demand’ isuncertain. A full copy of the report is available onthe Forces Support websitehttp://www.forcessupport.org.uk
Dr Liz RollsHonorary Research Fellow, University ofGloucestershire, Honorary Research Fellow,Lancaster University, Independent Researcher:Pegasus Projects.And Dr Gillian Chowns, Co-director, Palliative CareWorks, Visiting Fellow, University of Southampton.
Can you remember your child’s first day at school?For most of us, it is a time of celebration and some-thing that we prepare our child for for severalmonths. Now consider Sally (names changed) andher son, John. Sally’s husband was posted up to
Scotland a few months after John started primaryschool in England. Due to the different age and en-try requirements in Scotland, John effectively had togo back a year and return to a nursery class.Although John had started to learn to read in hisprimary school in England, his new nursery schoolwould not support this and Sally had to help John tocontinue with his reading at home as best as shecould. The different age and entry requirements inScotland are just one of three main differences be-tween the Scottish and English education systems.Although these differences may cause difficulties forsome, there are many positive points about theScottish education system which could benefitservice children.
Age and entry requirements
In Scotland, children start primary school betweenthe ages of four and a half and five and a half.Unlike England, where entry is open to childrenwhose fifth birthday falls within the academic year(calculated from 1 September), in Scotland, entry iscalculated from March. In other words, if your childis ‘young’ for their year in England, it is highly likelythat they would not be offered a place at school inScotland. If your child has not already startedschool, they may well profit from this additionaltime in a more informal and flexible setting.However, for children already in formal education inEngland, being required to go back to nursery, likeJohn, might be a very difficult experience. Giventhat the entry requirements for all children atschools in Scotland are standard, this issue may alsopresent itself to service parents with a childreturning to schools in England.
Curriculum differences
Unlike schools in England, schools in Scotland do notfollow a set national curriculum. The Scottishcurriculum, called Curriculum for Excellence, is re-nowned for the way that it celebrates breadthacross a range of subjects. It aims to develop fourkey areas within each child – the successful learner,the confident individual, the responsible citizen andthe effective contributor. As children in Scotland donot sit national examinations until they reach theend of their time in senior school, children’sprogress through the Curriculum for Excellence is as-sessed on an individual basis so that they can movethrough the various levels at their own pace.
Education in ScotlandBenefits and Pitfalls…
For a service parent moving to Scotland, thecurriculum differences might be viewed as a hugebenefit as Scotland’s education system is highlythought of throughout the world (OECD, 2007). Inorder to make sure that your child is able to profitfrom this different approach to education, makesure that you take as much information as you canto your child’s new school about the sort of thingsthat your child has already studied. In this way,your child’s new school will be able to quickly assesswhat they have done and where they can help yourchild to build on that learning.
Special NeedsThe Scottish education system recognises that alllearners will, at some point in their time at school,require additional support in order to help them toachieve to their full potential. As a result, eachchild’s need for additional support is assessedregularly and parents are entitled to ask for anassessment if they feel that their child’s needs arenot being met in the classroom. Children movingbetween any local authority within the UnitedKingdom are likely to experience some degree ofdifficulty getting their needs re-assessed andrecognised by a new education authority – and thisis the case whether your child’s new school is inScotland or in England. If your child has specialeducational needs, it is advisable to get in touchwith your child’s new school as early as possible todiscuss your child’s support needs and gather to-gether as much documentation as you can regardingthe particular issues that your child has. Be awarethat there is likely to be a period of re-assessmentwhen your child starts at their new school.Although this might be annoying for you and yourchild, it does, at least, mean that your child’s needswill be correctly met.
The Royal Caledonian Schools Trust (also known asThe Caley) is helping to bring practitioners inScotland together in order to improve theexperiences of education of service children. At arecent conference organised by The Caley(Dunblane, November, 2010) representatives oflocal authorities, service agencies and educationprofessionals met to discuss issues specific toScotland. As a result, various education issues havebeen identified and work is being done to help toaddress them.
Further advice and information can be found on thefollowing websites:
Learning and Teaching Scotland (agency set up tosupport education in Scotland which providesfurther information about curriculum andapproaches to teaching and learning in Scotland)
www.ltsscotland.org.uk
HMI Education Scotland (library of inspectionreports for all schools in Scotland which will allowyou find out more about your child’s new school)
www.hmie.gov.uk
The Royal Caledonian Schools Trust www.rcst.org.uk
Dr Grace Clifton, The Open University, SCSNAcademic and Research Advisor.
(This article was previously published in ArmyFamilies’ Journal in March 2011 and EnvoyMagazine in July 2011).
A new book, "Service Children: A Guide forEducation and Welfare Professionals" has beenlaunched with the specific aim of helping fellowprofessionals understand the issues that Servicefamilies and their children face. It discusses Mobilityand Transition, Parental Deployment on MilitaryOperations, Continuity of Education and a numberof other significant issues that they are likely toencounter when working with Service children.Supported by research and case studies, it describesexamples of best practice, offers practical adviceand outlines strategies that have been shown to beeffective when working in this field. The book isavailable for £13.95 (plus p&p) from the SCSNwebsite.
Working in effective partnership is likely to grow inimportance as we confront the challenge ofdelivering more responsive and customer-focusedservices in a context of severely constrained publicresources. These case studies have been developedin order to showcase helpful North East examples ofworking partnerships and, in particular, to draw outlessons about the importance of nurturing the rightcultures, attitudes and behaviours.
In a nutshell
This case study describes how partners inNorthumberland have come together to improvethe wellbeing of families with young children livingat the Albemarle Barracks – an isolated militarycamp. A multi-agency steering group, led byPrudhoe Children’s entre, oversees theproject.Working with the military welfare serviceand other partners, families with young children atthe base have been able to access a range ofrelevant services and a thriving Mini Mess.
The Mini Mess provides a large brightly decoratedroom stocked with children's play equipment. Playsessions, health visitor sessions and learningactivities (for parents as well as children) take placehere. This is a rare example of a Children’s Centreoutreach post being established on a military base.Many Sure Start partnerships have developedcreative ways of serving their target audiences, butthis is an interesting example of collaborationbetween the military authorities, the local Sure
Start and a number of other public and charitableservices. Organisations with very different cultureshave worked together towards the shared goal ofbetter outcomes for families and children. Theemphasis has been on achieving self-sufficiency,with active parental involvement, so that the workcan be sustained over the longer term.The issues identified
The Barracks are home to 60-70 children aged under5, and the facilities on the base are also available toother service families living in Newcastle. Prior tothe project there was no dedicated space forfamilies with young children available on the campand services were patchy and disconnected.
Family life with young children in the military can beproblematic, because:
• The lifestyle is transient, often disrupted and sometimes stressful.
• The lack of support from wider family networks.
• Jobs and services are hard to access.
• Providing responsive, joined-up and cost- effective support services can be difficult.
• Families at Albemarle Barracks are geographically and socially isolated.
• Other families living outside the camp may also be very isolated.
• There are many young mothers needing lots of support.
Families at Albemarle Barracks are geographicallyand socially isolated. Other families living outsidethe camp may also be very isolated. There are manyyoung mothers needing lots of support.
The approach
Some families from the base were accessing theChildren’s Centre at Prudhoe. Links were thenestablished between Sure Start, the UnitWelfareTeam at the camp and the Primary CareTrust. These organisations recognised the need torespond more effectively to meet the aspirations ofthe families living at Albemarle.
The local authority,Ministry of Defence, healthservice, local schools and charitable organisationscame together to agree common goal, andundertook to work together to achieve it. Theyformed a partnership and established a steeringgroup to oversee their work.
Albemarle Barracks,NorthumberlandMeeting the needs ofmilitary families withyoung children
The partners have pooled resources – includingknowledge, funds, skills and staff. Parents havebeen encouraged to influence decisions about allaspects of service development and delivery. Thefacilities are provided free of charge. A Service LevelAgreement has been signed detailing arrangementsfor shared use of the building. Service delivery costsare currently being met by Prudhoe Children’sCentre and the Primary Care Trust.
The partnership
The project comprises a central core of partners,with wider partners joining in the steering group.The project is managed by Prudhoe Children’sCentre and overseen on a day-to-day basis by theUnit Welfare Team.
The core partners are:
• Prudhoe Children’s Centre – led by the Centre Coordinator and Locality Manager.
• Unit Welfare Officer and Team at the Barracks.
• Primary CareTrust – represented by the Health Visitor Manager responsible for Health Visitors and Community Nursery Nurses.
• Families living at the Barracks.
Other supporting partners are:
• ArmyWelfare Service.
• Greenstart – a local environmental project
• Ponteland Extended Services and Parent
Support Partner.
• Educational Psychology Service.
• Library Services.
• Family Learning Services.
• Northumberland Toy Library.
• Children’s Centres in Newcastle.
Achievements
Prior to the Mini Mess there was limited provisionfor families with young children. Issues of concernto families that were not previously recognised arenow being addressed. Mini Mess is a thriving facilitywhich is highly valued and heavily used by thefamilies living at the camp. Independent evaluationshave shown that parents find the new servicesinvaluable. Parents report that their children aremore confident, socialise better with other children,have enjoyed the new experiences and are betterprepared for nursery school. The achievements haveexceeded the initial expectations. The support andactive participation of local families has been
gratifying, and the resourcefulness of the militaryhas been a positive contributory factor. The projecthas helped provide a focus, and to make the campinto a socially cohesive community.
A range of new services have been provided:
� Weekly play and stay session.
� Monthly toy library.
� Adapt CommunityTransport (part funded byPrudhoe Children’s Centre) providingoutings and a ‘wheels to work’ project,including scooter loans and driving lessonsto access work opportunities.
� Programme of Greenstart activities through‘Growing for Play’ funding.
� Family SupportTeam undertaking one toone work with families.
� Courses for parents, e.g. Baby Save a Life.
� Childcare/crèche.
� Involvement in army decompression days.
� Referral to specialist services, e.g. DomesticViolence Support Group.
� Family learning courses.
� Parenting courses.Next stepsThe partners are committed to the on-going reviewand evaluation of services in order to ensure thatthey continue to make a positive difference. Thearmy is very supportive of the project, but fundingremains an issue. In particular, the Sure Start budgetis being cut. It is the intention to be creative and topursue other ways of ensuring the project’ssustainability. The partners are sure that they havedeveloped a robust model of good practice and theyare keen to share their experience to support thedevelopment of Children’s Centre services on othermilitary bases. Building on the lessons learnedthrough the Mini Mess project, the partners willsupport the Unit Welfare Team in establishing asteering group to oversee the developmentof services for older children and young people.Contact for the projectJackie McCormick, Sure Start Children’s CentreLocality Manager –West NorthumberlandNorthumberland County Council.07785 [email protected]
Camo Day is a new fundraising initiative aimed at allUK schools, in support of SSAFA Forces Help - theUK's oldest Armed Forces charity. SSAFA providepractical help and assistance to anyone who iscurrently serving or has ever served, even if it wasonly for a single day, supporting more than 50,000people each year in the Armed Forces community,including children and young people.
Camo Day is a nationwide non-uniform day to be
held on 29th June, which is the day before ArmedForces Day 2012. All UK schools have been asked tojoin in with Camo Day to show their support to ourArmed Forces and their families.
Julia Clark, Head of Regional Fundraising at SSAFAsaid “We know that children and young people carevery much about our Armed Forces and we wantedto give a public platform to them to demonstrate
that support. Camo Day is an ideal opportunity forchildren to ditch their school uniform for a militaryuniform, cam up their faces or simply wear red, navyor airforce blue clothing or accessories, in aid of afabulous Armed Forces charity”.
Last year, several schools held Camo Days byorganising Armed Forces Day themed events duringthe school day, or mini assault courses in theplayground, challenging the bravest teachers to takethem on, and this year, SSAFA’s fundraising targetfor Camo Day is 100k, and any pupil taking part willbe given a special Camo Day wristband as a thankyou.
Julia added “Service children can have a verydifferent experience at school to civilian children,and Camo Day is an opportunity to highlight howtheir lives can be challenging as well as the chanceto raise valuable funds to make sure that SSAFA cancontinue to care for the children and young peoplewe support via our holidays, and Support Groups.We would be grateful to any education professional,parent or anyone else who was able to encourageschools to join in Camo Day or any Head Teacherswho agree to join – more information is availablehere http://www.ssafa.org.uk/fundraising/national-events/camo-day/ including a downloadableresource pack and details of how to register”
Julia welcomes any comments or enquiriesregarding Camo Day and can be contacted [email protected] 07748 999944.
SSAFA Forces HelpLaunch Camo Day
29 June 2012
Join In!
SCSNService Children Support Network
RecruitmentJob Title: Service Children Support Coordinator
Salary: Bucks Pay Range 3 - £20,092 to £21,736 (pro rata and depending onexperience/qualifications)
Location Area: Schools clustered around RAF Halton and RAF High Wycombe
Location Details: Based at Halton Community Combined School Buckinghamshire
Description: To start April 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter. We require 2 committed andenthusiastic individuals to manage mobility and deployment issues for childrenfrom Service families arriving and departing schools in Buckinghamshire. Relevantexperience/qualifications necessary (Level 3 qualification in Education/childcare orequivalent and a robust understanding of the issues faced by Service children andfamilies).
These posts will be for 30 hrs per week, term time only, and for a fixed term of oneyear. (These posts are fully funded for 1 year by the MOD £3M support fund forstate schools with service children)
The successful candidate will work under the direction of the Head teacher HaltonSchool and SCSN, and will be deployed to schools serving RAF Halton and RAF HighWycombe.
Responsibilities will include managing and co-ordinating induction programmesacross the primary phases and supporting Service pupils and families duringparental deployment.
This is an exciting opportunity to develop an innovative role in a proactive county –flexibility, teamwork and excellent communication skills will be essential.
Secondments to this Range 3 role will be considered subject to the agreement ofthe current employer.
Application details: Please contact the school for more details and an application form: e-mail:[email protected] or tel: 01296 622264
Closing date: 15th March 2012 / Interview date: 22nd March 2012
Buckinghamshire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of childrenand expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Our recruitment and selection process
therefore highlights the importance of ensuring children’s welfare and safety
contactsFor more information please contact
SCSN
By telephone on: 01296 625779
By e-mail at:
Or visit our website:
www.servicechildrensupportnetwork.com
The Summer Issue will be publishedin June 2012.
An Appeal from the Editor. Thesenewsletters will only be asinformative and interesting as thearticles it contains so pleaseconsider submitting something forpublication. It doesn’t have to be amasterpiece of prose, just be ofinterest to your fellow members! Itmight describe a particular event youhave organised or attended, it mightdescribe work that you have carriedout or an issue that you wish to bringto wider attention. We are alsopleased to receive examples of workfrom the Service children in yourarea, a drawing or piece of poetryrelated to their lives perhaps. Pleasesubmit articles in word format(together with any pictures you wantto use) to The Chair.
Editorial Note:
The views expressed by thecontributors to this newsletter are notnecessarily those of the Editor,SCSN, the MOD or any otherorganisation. All precautions aretaken to ensure accuracy.
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