Supporting Service Children

Support for Service children

Dwr Y Felin Comprehensive School is committed to supporting all pupils including our Service children.

Definition of a Service child

Welsh Governments definition of a Service child:

A Service child is a child whose parent(s) or carer(s) with parental responsibility who:

Currently serves in the HM Regular or Reserve Armed Forces – Royal Navy or Royal Marines, British Army, or Royal Air Force
Previously served in the Armed Forces and left within the past six years
Died while serving in the Armed Forces, and the child receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme.

SSCE Cymru also encourages schools to consider identifying children and young people who are connected to the Armed Forces.

Experiences of a Service child

Service children have a diverse range of strengths and experiences due to the unique circumstances they experience. Being part of a Service family can be extremely rewarding experience, but aspects of the Armed Forces lifestyle can have challenges that impact on a child’s education. Examples include;

Frequent home and school moves
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACESs)
Trouble managing emotions
Gaps in curriculum knowledge / different curriculums e.g. England and Wales
Settling in and joining activities
School staff having limited knowledge of needs and challenges e.g. ALN
Making and maintaining effective social networks e.g. friends, family
Changing family dynamics
Experiencing different cultures
Learning new languages e.g. Welsh.

School ethos

At Dwr Y Felin we provide support and advice to ensure that Service children are provided with every opportunity to achieve the best possible outcomes and fulfil their potential. We aim for Service children to receive their full entitlement to statutory services and support and suffer no disadvantage due to their parent’s service commitments; this is the underpinning principle of the Armed Forces Covenant. We aim to provide support that is proactive and preventative as well as being responsive to emerging needs.

How we support Service children

It is important that we listen to Service children themselves to learn about their experiences and find out what support they need and what opportunities that would like.

At Dwr Y Felin we meet regular with our service children to allow them to share their experience and support one another. We would also like them to be able to come together to manage projects that will not only support them and their families but that will also help to educate the wider school community. This can be in the form of:

In school activities
Extra-curricular activities
Events e.g. Remembrance, Month of the military child, Armed Forces Day.
Engagement with Armed Forces community

Service Children School Champion

For any queries regarding Service children or the support please contact:

Name: Mrs Leah Dyer

Job title: Alternative Curriculum Co-Ordinator

Phone number: 01639 635161

Email: DyerL24@hwbcymru.net

Armed Forces Friendly Schools Cymru status

Through our work with SSCE Cymru we have achieved our Bronze Award Armed Forces Friendly Schools (AFFS) Cymru status.

The objectives of the AFFS are to embed good practice for supporting Service children, create a positive environment for Service children to share their experiences and encourage schools to become more engaged with their Armed Forces community.

SSCE Cymru

The SSCE Cymru mission is to provide the best possible educational support to Service children in Wales. The programme works with schools and local authorities across Wales to embed provision to best support children whose parent/s currently or have previously served in the Armed Forces. You can find more information about SSCE Cymru on their website. Supporting Service Children in Education in Wales