AFF works closely with the Service Children’s Progression (SCiP) Alliance, a UK-wide partnership that brings organisations together to help improve the outcomes of a service child’s education experiences.
SCiP Alliance’s Director Phil Dent explains how they have committed to putting the voices of armed forces children and young people at the centre of all they do: “Being at the heart means being central to activity throughout the Alliance, but also central to our values. We listen because it’s the right thing to do, because we care about young people, and because we will do a better job helping service children thrive as a result. Listening to young people’s voices cannot be a tick-box exercise, it must have a meaningful impact on their lives.
“Allies throughout the community are doing pioneering work and sharing with others. Researchers are undertaking projects with children as co-researchers, and universities and charity partners are using creative media, art and poetry to bring service children’s experiences to wider audiences in powerful ways.”
Young adult service children have key positions on the SCiP Alliance’s board and management groups. Service youth representative Lizzie Rodulson chaired its national conference, held in Birmingham, and gave a talk to attendees about the importance of listening to service youth and valuing their experiences.
Lizzie Rodulson
We caught up with Lizzie to find out more…
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT SERVICE CHILDREN ARE HEARD AND THAT THEIR EXPERIENCES ARE VALUED?
Service children have often grown up with frequent moves, parental deployments, and ever-changing friendship groups as part of their everyday routine, thinking this is nothing out of the ordinary. However, it is only as they begin to progress through education that these changes become problematic and can start to introduce hurdles in the classroom. The only way that these hurdles are going to be overcome is by listening to the voices of service children, acknowledging and understanding their experiences.
WHY DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE SCIP ALLIANCE AND WHAT IMPACT DO YOU FEEL YOU MAKE BY REPRESENTING THE VOICE OF SERVICE YOUTH?
I wanted to increase the profile of service children across the UK and show that, despite the many challenges, they are versatile, adaptable, capable and resilient.
YOU ACTED AS CHAIR FOR THE SCIP ALLIANCE CONFERENCE, WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU FEEL THAT GIVES SERVICE CHILDREN AND THOSE WORKING WITH THEM?
I hope to show that coming from a military background should be seen as a positive experience rather than one that purely comes with challenges, and that – just like any other young person – a military child can do absolutely anything that they put their mind to, with their experiences of military life making them stronger.
WHAT POSITIVES HAVE YOU DRAWN FROM GROWING UP IN A SERVICE FAMILY?
I will always be grateful that I grew up as a service child. It allowed me to travel widely, live in Germany and Denmark and make new friends from around the globe. I was able to visit my dad in the Falkland Islands and, when he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, I was able to form a worldview of why he had to go there. These positives informed my transition to adult life.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO CURRENT STUDENTS?
Be yourself and embrace your experiences! It was only when I discovered the SCiP Alliance I realised the opportunities I had being a service child gave me a mindset and skills positively different to my peers – be proud of those differences!
Super student support
Barton Peveril Sixth Form College (main photo) in Hampshire has made a firm commitment to support service students throughout all stages of their time there.
To ensure no child is missed, students are asked on the application form and at enrolment to state whether they are from a service family. Kathryn Townend, a Student Progress Adviser, is responsible for supporting service family students. She interviews each one and outlines the support available to them while they’re at the college.
“Once enrolled, service students become part of the college’s Access+ programme, where they will have one-to-one tutorials to address any potential challenges,” explains Kathryn. “They receive regular emails about the support and opportunities available, such as the Service Family Students’ Society, a weekly lunchtime social group. “They’re also supported with their post-college pathway and encouraged to highlight their service status when applying to universities.”
Last year Barton Peveril contributed to a national research project Diversity meets complexity: supporting Armed Forces young people to thrive in post-16 education. It gave service students the opportunity to share their experiences of growing up in a military family and helped increase the understanding of the impact it has had on their ongoing education as they become adults.
Kathryn states that through the support offered to service students by the college, they have seen an increase in students going on to access higher education, proof that the support scheme works and demonstrates that “service family students will never be left behind at Barton Peveril”.
TORNADO
A youth-led campaign from Forces Children Scotland (FCS) seeks to increase public understanding of the challenges service young people can face when a parent decides to leave the armed forces.
Many young people told FCS that they seldom feel heard and that many of their experiences are simply not on the radar of civilian audiences.
The charity secured funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. They partnered with Effervescent to bring together young people from armed forces and veteran families to plan and co-develop the campaign over the past year.
Sophia
Tornado features three videos which focus on feeling powerless in the face of change, lost and alone in a new place, and feeling worried about what lies ahead. A tornado theme has been weaved through these stories to reinforce the lifechanging impact felt by many within the group.
The partnership brought the group together for a residential last year so they could share their experiences, creativity, and ideas and find the creative spark that would shape the films.
Sophia, aged 15, whose family made the transition to veteran status last year, says: “It’s so good knowing that my experiences could potentially help other young people who will go through what I have. Being involved in this project has also helped me to develop confidence and many important skills like communication, organisation and teamwork.”
Go to forceschildrenscotland.org.uk for more.