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Sharing Best Practice toSupport Service ChildrenAutumn 2011
Service Children Support Network
In this issue….
SCSN Conference 2011The Forces Children’s Trust‘TEN for TEN’The SCSN Art Competition ResultsSCSN Training Events
SCSN
Welcome to the autumn edition of the SCSNnewsletter. I hope you’ve had a lovely summerholiday and are refreshed and ready to start theautumn term! SCSN has been busy over the summerand I would like to take this opportunity to bring youup to date with developments.
In June, the SCSN Art Competition 2011 ‘Throughthe Eyes of a Service Child’, was judged byrepresentatives from The RAF Families Federation,Combat Stress and the Child Bereavement Charity.Their job was not easy because the standard of workwas so high! Some entries made us smile, othersmade us cry, but all were very interesting in theirown way. By the closing date we had receivedalmost 500 entries from all around the UK andoverseas from Germany and Cyprus.
The winners are showcased later in this newsletterand I hope you enjoy seeing them. We havedesigned an SCSN Calendar for 2012 which featuresall the winning entries and is being sold in support of‘Ten for Ten’, a major enterprise to mark the factthat British Forces have now been involved inoperations in Afghanistan for ten years. I hope youwill also be pleased to learn that because we wereso impressed with the competition entries wereceived, and believe that they should be exposedto a much wider audience, we are setting up aseries of travelling exhibitions to take the worksaround the country. As venues and dates areconfirmed the details will be posted on the SCSNWebsite so please keep an eye out for when theexhibition will be held in your area and come along.
Also in June, Jane Melbourne, HMI, visited SCSNmembers at RAF Halton to present the findings fromthe recent Ofsted survey that looked at ServiceChildren in education. Jane was able to go into muchmore detail than is contained in the final reportitself and give us some very useful backgroundinformation. She also described some excellentexamples of the good practice in supporting Servicechildren that she and her team had found duringthe survey. Jane has kindly agreed to make herpowerpoint presentation from the event available toSCSN and it can be viewed on the Resources Page onthe SCSN web.
The SCSN team continues to work behind the scenesand is actively arranging a variety of national andregional seminars and training events that will takeplace over the next 12 months. As a result of theirhard work I can now announce that the first SCSNNational Conference will take place inBuckinghamshire on 7th November. It’s centraltheme will be ‘Service Children and the impacts ofOperational Deployments’.
This full-day event will consist of a number ofpresentations from subject matter expertsthroughout the morning followed by a series ofworkshops in the afternoon. We hope thatattendees will find it to be a very useful andinformative event and SCSN is even laying on lunchtoo! You can find out more details later in this issueand also on the SCSN Web (I do keep saying thatdon’t I…). Please note that the number of placesavailable will be limited to a maximum of 120 toensure that we can run the workshops effectively.Tickets are available at an ‘Early Bird’ discountedrate for those who sign up before 1st September so Iurge you not to delay if you hope to attend. At thetime of writing this the event has only beenannounced for a short time and over 80% of theseats have been booked already. Anyway, withoutfurther ado… enjoy the rest of this of this editionand keep up to date with SCSN news by following uson our homepage and on twitter.
Joy O’Neill - Founder and Chair, SCSN
The SCSN Calendar 2012 is now on sale in aidof Ten for Ten’ for only £8.00 plus p+p.
You can order a copy [email protected]
SCSN Update
Kirsty’s children are keenreaders of their mum’s workand always give her usefulfeedback!
Shrivenham is an amazing place to live. After sevenmoves in ten years, we have been lucky to havelived here for almost three years. The DefenceAcademy of the United Kingdom based inShrivenham runs many courses, and some haveplaces for international students. The patches basednearby are wonderful places for children with safeplaces to play and neighbours from all over theworld. As a mother of three small boys I have plentyof opportunity to enjoy all the parks, cycle routes,baby groups, schools and nurseries.
When I wrote my first book, “Soldier Oli”, we wereliving in Germany and my husband had justcompleted a seven month tour in Iraq. At the timethere were very few resources for young children tohelp them understand and cope with issuessurrounding their parents’ deployment. I decided towrite “Soldier Oli” to help young childrenunderstand that although their parents may be awayfor a long time that they will come back.
I have received some lovely feedback from Forcesfamilies, nurseries and schools telling me how usefulthey have found my book. I have also had feedbackfrom civilian families telling me how the story hasbrought a tear to their eye but has helped themunderstand what forces families have to go through.
I had not intended to write a second book; I am ateacher not an author. However living inShrivenham reminded me of another issue thatregularly affects forces children; coping with movinghome. In our street we have seen families come andgo from Spain, the Yemen, Australia, the USA, Dubaiand also from Great Britain. Many British Forces
families experience moving house every couple ofyears and this can be unsettling for children. Mysecond book, “Soldier Oli Marches Out” is a rhymingstory about a soldier and his family moving home.
Although I am prouder of my “Soldier Oli” book, I amreally pleased with my second book. My childrenprefer “Soldier Oli Marches Out” as they meet morecharacters and there is a fun storyline as well as thehidden message that moving home can be exciting,and reassuring children that not everything changeswith a house move.
Both books are available to buy on Amazon or morecheaply on www.soldieroli.com. Discounts areavailable for multiple purchases. Fifty pence fromthe sale of every book goes to help support theSoldiers Charity, the Army Benevolent Fund.
Soldier Oli - by Kirsty Marvell
SCSN Profile
Name:
Dr Grace Clifton - SCSN Research Advisor
Occupation:
Module Chair EK310/311, Centre for Childhood,Development and Learning, Faculty of Educationand Language Studies, The Open University
Background?
Grace's interest in the educational experiences of Service Children is both person-al and professional. As a Naval child and an Army wife and Secondary School-teacher she witnessed at first hand many of the issues that these childrenexperience. In 2007 she was awarded a PhD which looked at the experience ofeducation of Army children, focusing on the experiences of 6 children attending 2secondary schools in England.
Current Job?
Since then, Grace has continued to be involved in Service Children's issues,carrying out consultancy for the Army Families' Federation and writing for theArmy Child Archive, The Army Families Federation journal and The RAF FamiliesFederation journal. She works at the Open University where she is a Lecturer inChildhood and Youth Studies and is currently carrying out post doctoral researchon Army Childhoods and third culture kid experiences.
Role within SCSN?
Grace is SCSN’s voluntary Academic and Research Advisor and is currentlyarranging SCSN’s first research conference for the autumn of 2012. She has alsoset up our Research Support Group in order to assist fellow academics andprofessionals who are conducting research into Service childrens' issues andexperiences in the UK. Grace hopes that the research group will promote thesharing of ideas and provide a supportive environment for members to pursuetheir own research projects.
Additionally, Grace is compiling a database of recent andon-going research into Service children’s experiences inthe UK and overseas.
Supporting Bereaved Children in the Classroom - by SeeSaw
© UK Crown Copyright
10 years ago, after a lot of careful thought, planningand fundraising, SeeSaw, the charity that offers griefsupport for children in Oxfordshire, was born. Weoffer a range of services to bereaved children andtheir families, training and information aboutbereavement to professionals, and a specialistservice to schools.
Why schools? Well, as children spend up to halftheir waking day in school, teachers are in a primeposition to influence a child’s journey throughbereavement. Many of the children we haveworked with have told us what a difference it madeto have someone in school who understood what itmight be like for them to be in a classroom trying tofocus on their work when, as one child put it “howcan I concentrate when my head is full of daddy?”.We know that, following a bereavement, childrenoften struggle with a range of emotions and physicalsymptoms that have a significant impact on howthey are able to manage their lives. They often feelangry, distressed, anxious, confused and exhausted.In all this emotional turmoil they may fall behindwith their work and find themselves unintentionallygetting into trouble. We know that each child’s griefwill be unique and we also know that the way eachchild learns to manage their loss in school will, to alarge extent, depend on what sort of support theyget from people around them.
I know that school staff successfully supportvulnerable children every day of their working life,but a grieving child can sometimes provoke
heightened anxieties about saying or doing the“wrong thing” and making the situation worse. Somy job at SeeSaw is to offer support, advice andtraining to school staff so that they will know whatreactions to look out for, what to say and whatstrategies to use that will help a child whose worldhas been turned upside down following the death ofsomeone they love. Having this information enablesteachers to feel much more confident that whatthey are doing (and saying!) will help a grieving childfeel understood, supported and ultimately moreable to face the future with hope.
For further information about supporting bereavedpupils in schools please feel free to download ourSchools Information Pack from our websitewww.seesaw.org.uk or, if you are a school inOxfordshire you can give me a call on 01865 744768to arrange a visit. Other counties may have theirown services – you can find out by looking onwww.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk fordetails of what is available in your area.
Christine DruceSchools and Families Support WorkerSeeSaw
We had a fantastic response to this year’s SCSNArt Competition with nearly 500 entries submitted.The standard of the work was very high and thejudges, Ann, Vikki and Pam from the RAF FamiliesFederation, Combat Stress and the ChildBereavement Charity, had a very hard job toselect the 12 winners.. They found some of thethe pictures to be very moving, others raised asmile, many showed how proud the child was oftheir Serving parent and all were thoughtprovoking in their own way.
I want to thank the judges for giving up theirvaluable time and also want to acknowledge thesupport of Wilma Kingsbury, the CommunityDevelopment Officer at RAF Halton, for allowingus to use the RAF Halton Community Centre forthe judging and for providing us with plenty oftea and coffee! Anyhow, without further ado…
The results are:
Under 5's Category
1st Jennifer May Allen age 5 from JohnHampden Infants Bucks - wins a family ticket toWoburn Safari park and a 'My Daddy's goingaway' book signed by the author.
2nd Paige Barnett age 4 from Mullion SchoolCornwall - wins tickets to Flambards Theme Park.
3rd Katherine Florey age 5 from Aston ClintonSchool Bucks - wins Cotswold Wildlife parktickets
Ages 6 - 9 Category
1st Pippa Mentzel age 7 from Kimpton SchoolHants - wins New Forest Otter and Owl parktickets and a 'forces' toy (donated by the RAF FF).
2nd Dolly Turagavou age 8 from WilliamWordsworth school Germany - wins a selection
of books (donated by Wendover Book Shop) anda lunch box (donated by the RAF FF).
3rd Jasmine Moulber age 6 from Kidzone RAFCranwell Lincs - wins a Treasure Trail goody bag.
Ages 10 - 13 Category
1st Matt Winsper age 12 from Gordon's SchoolSurrey - wins family tickets to the RoyalInternational Air Tattoo.
2nd Shanie Svenson age 12 from King RichardCyprus - wins a Pink Military style T-Shirt(donated by the RAF FF) and a selection ofchocolates (donated by Mr Simms sweet shop).
3rd Andrea Provan age 12 from King RichardCyprus - wins a Curse of the Were Rabbit DVD(donated by the RAF FF) and a selection ofchocolates (donated by Mr Simms sweet shop).
Ages 14 - 18 Category
1st Sian Murray age 16 from Thirsk School NYorks - wins a watercolour art kit worth £50(donated by Mary Jacobs Lincoln Art Club).
2nd Emma Eastgate age 16 from John ColetBucks - wins a voucher (donated by M & SAylesbury), a selection of chocolates (donated byMr Simms sweet shop), a luxury RAF Baseballcap (donated by the RAF FF).
3rd Ami Popkin age 14 from Thirsk School NYorks - wins a HMV voucher.
All the entries are going on the road later thisyear as part of a SCSN Service Children ArtCompetition Travelling Exhibition.
The venues confirmed venues so far are the RAFMuseums in both London and Cosford, TheChester Military Museum, the BuckinghamshireCounty Offices, Aylesbury, the HIVE at RAFCranwell and the Fleet Air Arm museum,Somerset. The full details of all the venues anddates will be posted on the SCSN website.
The 2011 ArtCompetition Winners
‘Through the Eyesof a Service Child’
Matt Winsper
Paige Barnett
Katherine Florey
Pippa Mentzel
Dolly Turagavou
Jasmine Moulber
Jennifer May Allen
Shanie Svenson
Andrea Provan
Emma Eastgate
Sian Murray
Ami Popkin
National Writing Competition for SchoolsThe theme: “Missing You”
Ten for Ten’s national writing competition to mark the 10 years in Afghanistan.Open to all schools across the UK who are holding a Red, White and Blue Day on
Monday 10th October, 2011.
There are five age categories, taken from the pupil’s age at 1st September 2011:
5 - 6 years old, 7 - 10 years old, 11 - 13 years old, 14 - 15 years old, 16 - 18 years old
There will be Regional winners with certificates awarded in each age range for the 10Regions on the Ten for Ten website (www.tenforten.co.uk). The 5 national winners will
each receive four premiere tickets for the British Military Tournamenton Sunday 4th December, 2011.
All entries may be in the form of one of the following: a Letter, Diary, Poem or Story, onthe theme of “Missing You”.
No more than one side of A4 of writing.
Pupils are welcome to illustrate their work and also to include an entirely optional secondA4 page with just a picture.
Schools are asked to hold their own internal competitions and send just ONE winner foreach age category to: [email protected] . If you need a postal address instead,
please do ask us.
New Deadline (Extended by popular demand!)
14th October 2011Good luck from all the team at Ten for Ten!
SCSNService Children Support Network
CONFERENCE 2011Service Children and the
Impacts of OperationalDeployments
Monday 7th November 9.00am – 4.30pm The Clare Foundation, Saunderton, Buckinghamshire HP14 4BF
The SCSN Conference 2011 aims to educate health, welfare and educational professionals whowill be working with Service Children and their families throughout the Deployment Cycle.
This full-day event will consist of presentations from a number of guest speakers throughout themorning and a series of afternoon workshops covering:
· The Deployment Cycle.
· The impact of deployments on children.
· Trauma and the implications of parental trauma for children.
· Family Dynamics.
· Bereavement.
· The practical and strategic implications of deployment for schools.
· Sources of support during deployment.
The event will be of particular interest to:
· Schools and education professionals.
· Health professionals.
· Welfare professionals.
· Unit Welfare Officers and Community Development Officers.
· Local Authority representatives.
· Charities.
· Students researching Service Children and their families.
Early Bird Conference Fee: £60 (booked by 1st September 2011)Conference Fee after 1st September): £65 (book by 27th October 2011)
Fee includes learning materials, refreshments and a light lunch.
To book a place please email [email protected]
Bookings will be confirmed by email or post.
Terms and conditions
Payment required with booking - Fees are not refundable.
Service Children and theImpacts of Operational
Deployments
July saw the launch of the SCSN Research SupportGroup. The group has been set up to bring togetherpeople conducting academic and practitionerresearch about Service children in order to promotethe sharing of ideas and good practice. It also aimsto provide a single database of current and recentresearch. Led by SCSN's Research Adviser, Dr GraceClifton from The Open University, who is currentlyconducting research into the childhood experiencesof army children, the Research Group has alreadybrought together academics from severaluniversities in the UK, as well a researcher inCanada. If you are aware of any research beingcarried out, please encourage colleagues to join us.A membership proforma can be downloaded fromthe Research Page of the SCSN website.
These newsletters will only be as informative andinteresting as the articles it contains so pleaseconsider submitting something for publication. Itdoesn’t have to be a masterpiece of prose, just be ofinterest to your fellow members! It might describe aparticular event you have organised or attended, itmight describe work that you have carried out or anissue that you wish to bring to wider attention. Weare also pleased to receive examples of work fromthe Service children in your area, a drawing or pieceof poetry related to their lives perhaps. Pleasesubmit articles in word format (together with anypictures you want to use) to The Chair.
We are delighted to announce that following arigourous application process SCSN has beenaccepted as a member of the National Council ofVoluntary Organisations (NCVO).
The NCVO is the largest umbrella body for thevoluntary and community sector in England. We givevoice and support to civil society.
NCVO believes passionately in the voluntary andcommunity sector. This is a sector with the power totransform the lives of people and communities forthe better.
NCVO started in 1919 as the National Council ofSocial Services thanks to a £1,000 legacy fromEdward Vivian Birchall who died at the Somme inFrance in 1916 on his 32nd birthday.
Many now well-established voluntaryorganisations, including Age Concern, Charities AidFoundation and Citizens Advice Bureaux started outas projects within NCVO.
SCSN Research SupportGroup Launched!
SCSN joins the NationalCouncil of VoluntaryOrganisations
An Appeal from the Editor
Growing up in a military family can promote resilientpersonalities, exceptional social skills, camaraderiewith other military families, pride in parent’s militaryservice and the opportunity to live around theworld. However, life as a military child can alsopresent unique challenges such as frequentrelocation, parental absence during deployment,disruptions to home life and reintegration when theparent returns. These stressors may result in aproportion of military children experiencingemotional and behavioural difficulties. For a numberof military children, these difficulties may be furthercomplicated by the psychological and physicalwellbeing of their military parent upon return. In theUK around 4% – 7% of military personnel have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) followingdeployment. Although the majority of militarychildren are healthy and resilient, little is knownabout effects of PTSD on the health and wellbeing ofmilitary children.
The KIDS study
The King’s Centre for Military Health Research(KCMHR) at the King’s College London is currentlyrunning a study investigating the impact of father’sPTSD on children’s emotional and behaviouralwellbeing. The military fathers being invited to takepart are being recruited from a large study of UKNaval Service, Army, and Royal Air Force previouslycarried out by KCMHR between 2003-2009. Militaryfathers who took part in this large study and whohave been identified as having children aged 3-16years are being asked to complete a telephoneinterview and online questionnaire, which asksabout health and wellbeing, their children’s healthand wellbeing, marital health, family involvementand alcohol use. The interview assesses PTSDsymptoms. If fathers give consent, we then contactthe mother of their children and invite them to
participate. Mother’s complete a similar onlinequestionnaire to the father and have the option ofgiving consent for their 11-16 year old children toparticipate in the study, as well as their teachersand/or caregivers. The children’s onlinequestionnaire asks about their own health andwellbeing and the positive and negative things abouthaving a father in the military. It is the goal of thestudy to get multiple informants on the children inorder to get a complete picture of their health andwellbeing.
Since July 2009, the study has collected informationfrom approximately 320 fathers, 150 mothers, 70children and 70 teachers/caregivers. The aim is tofor 600 fathers to take part. Data collection for thisstudy will continue until approximately Summer2012 and results are likely to be available early2013. It is hoped that the findings will inform policymakers and clinicians as to the potential need forsystematic mental health screening for combatveterans and their families. It is also hoped that theresults will guide the development of preventativeinterventions to lessen the impact of father’s PTSDon children. Finally, it is also of value to participantsthemselves as it gives them the opportunity tohighlight important issues that may not have beenexamined in previous research. More details aboutthe study, including letters of support from charities,can be viewed at: www.kidstudy.co.uk.
Note: The KIDS study is funded by the United StatesDepartment of Defence. The study protocol hasbeen reviewed by two ethics committees in the UK:the King’s College Hospital Research EthicsCommittee, and the Ministry of Defence ResearchEthics Committee (MoDREC). It is fully supported bySSAFA, the Army Families Federation and the RoyalBritish Legion. The principal investigators of thestudy are Dr Amy Iversen and Dr Nicola Fear.
Sarah RoweSenior Research CoordinatorKing’s Centre for Military Health Research
The KIDS StudyBy Sarah Rowe
For more information please contact:Denny Wise, Founder/CEO, FCT,‘Quaver Rest’, 65 Shawley Way,Epsom Downs, Surrey KT18 5PDTelephone 01737 361077e-mail:[email protected]
Our Mission…As a charity we are devoted to workingtogether to help children in need whose fatheror mother has died, or has been seriouslyinjured, whilst serving as a member of theBritish Armed Forces.
Our History…Following many heart-breaking stories thatemerged from the losses in Afghanistan andIraq, the Forces Children’s Trust was foundedin 2004 by Denny Wise in an effort to fill a gapin the charitable field of family care. Dennywas concerned that the subsequent needs ofthe affected children, were not being fullyaddressed. Over the years, the charity hasgrown considerably in size, allowing it toimprove the lives of many children.
Values and Aims…The Forces Children’s Trust works inpartnership with Families, Charity and ServiceAssociations, and acts with compassion andsensitivity at all times. The Forces Children’sTrust provides help and support to childrenand their families, and amongst its manyareas of assistance, regularly organiseseducational and social events, bereavementcounselling days and holidays where childrencan meet and interact with others similarlyplaced.
The FCT recognises that each child isspecial and unique, and should an individualrequire help not provided directly by the Trust,such as professional psychological help, thenthe FCT can assist financially whereappropriate.
How can I be sure that the children benefitdirectly from my donation?The dedication of those involved ensures thatadministration costs are kept to a minimum,allowing all donations to be allocatedexclusively to the needs of the children.
The FCT very rarely awards monetary sumsto the children or families, but instead providessupport through educational and social eventsor through necessary material assistancewhere a particular need has to be met. Thisensures that the children alone benefit fromyour generosity and that smiles eventuallyreturn to their young faces.
SCSN is very pleased to announce that following thesubmission of a detailed business plan to the BigLottery Fund we have secured a grant that willenable us to move forward with our trainingobjectives in the year ahead.
We know that budgets are tight these days andhave often felt that many schools, organizations andindividuals who work with Service Children, andwould benefit from attending specialist trainingcourses, have been unable to do so because of thehigh cost of such events. It’s not just the cost of theevents themselves, but the travel and subsistenceelements too have often prevented some peoplefrom seeking out training opportunities because ofthe need to travel long distances to attend them.SCSN has always aimed to provide training seminarsat different locations around the country to removethe need for people to travel long distances, and tosubsidize attendance at our events to ensure thatthose who genuinely need the training can access itwithout being disbarred because of cost!
The grant from the Big Lottery will really help us tomeet those aims and a number of events havealready been organized using Big Lottery Funds tosubsidize the cost of hiring training venues,providing administrative support and trainingmaterials and the expenses of training staff. We arenow authorized to announce that the SCSNConference in November has been mounted withtheir support which is why we are able to offertraining places at such a low cost. We are taking aService Children Workshop on the road to Cornwallin October to address the needs of those working inthe far South West and we are now able to confirmthat attendance at the September meeting of SCSNat Bicester in September will be free.
So without further ado, I draw your attention to thefollowing forthcoming events and remind you all tocheck the website regularly for the latest news.
Bicester, Oxfordshire - 28th September 2011
The next SCSN event which was due to take place atRAF Brize Norton will now take place at Bicester,Oxforshire, from 1-3 pm on 28th September 11.
This SCSN Training Event will be delivered by anumber of guest speakers including: WO2 PeteDavis, Unit Welfare Officer, RCDS Shrivenham;Wilma Kingsbury, Community Development Officer,RAF Halton; and the Buckinghamshire ParentingSupport Team.
They will be discussing:
� ‘The role of the Unit Welfare Officer andCommunity Development Officer insupporting Service Children.’
� ‘Hard to Reach Families.’
Attendance at this event is FREE but places must bebooked by contacting SCSN by 21st September 2011
Falmouth, Cornwall - 20th October 2011
This SCSN Regional Event will be an IntroductoryWorkshop for professionals who are working withService Children and their families across Cornwalland Devon. It will take place from 9-12 am at theNational Maritime Museum, Falmouth.
This half-day session will cover:
� The culture of Service families.
� The benefits and challenges of Service lifefor Service Children.
� An overview of Operational Deployment.
� An overview of Transition and Mobility.
� Sources of Support.
Event Fee - £30 per person(Book no later than 10 October 2011)
Fee includes learning materials and refreshments.
To book a place please contact SCSN [email protected]
Forthcoming EventsHot News!
SCSN TrainingUpdate
contactsFor more information please contact
SCSN
By telephone on: 01296 625779
By e-mail at:
Or visit our website:
www.servicechildrensupportnetwork.com
The Winter Issue will be published inDecember 2011.
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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© SCSN 2011 - All rights reservedFront cover image © UK Crown Copyright
