Service Children Support Network - RAF Benevolent Fund

No sooner had I found out what my placement was did I receive an email from Joy inviting me to
the Everyone Matters Additional Needs and Disability Conference, held by SSAFA at the MOD in
London. I was excited at the prospect of being in the MOD and intrigued by what this conference
would entail. The audience included a high percentage of persons with some kind of military
connection, particularly military families who shared their own experiences and asked questions
freely and challenged responses. The conference was eye opening and moving. I was shocked to
hear the difficulties that some parents face, simply trying to move schools or the battles that are
being fought by parents trying to receive the same medical prescriptions for their child from
county to county. If I was unaware of the issues that some parents in the military face and their
children with my military connections, how would teachers be aware of these situations with no
military knowledge.
On my second day I attended a committee meeting with, Joy, Kev and Dr Grace Clifton. I was given
the rather challenging role of taking down the Minutes, but eager to deliver I scrawled unreadable
notes throughout and frantically tried to decipher the scribbles as I typed these that evening. I was
amazed at the work that SCSN has been doing and to learn of its achievements in such a short
space of time, such as the two recently appointed SCSN Service Children Support Coordinators
(whose profiles are included in this newsletter) who have been providing support in local schools.
I couldn’t help but be impressed that Joy had managed to secure additional funds from the MOD
to recruit a third Service Children Support Coordinator. I also learnt of the “Through the Eyes of a
Service Child” Photography Competition, which followed on from the success of the Art
competition last year (the results of which are included in this newsletter). This was a moving
insight into the lives of Service Children.
In order to see and experience first-hand the role and support of the Service Children Support
Coordinators I went to Weston Turville school. Here, I was able to sit in on Helen’s weekly meeting
with a handful of pupils there. As it is early days Helen was simply talking with the pupils to build a
rapport with them while they decorated their folders. It was clear from the outset that many of
these children possess that element of “just getting on with it” passed on to them by their
parents. Nevertheless, they clearly value the time to speak with someone and share their thoughts
and feelings. Of the pupils that I met, many chose to draw a picture of their daddy on their folder
or an aspect of his military life. From the short time I have spent at Halton and RAF Benson, and
having met with parents of service children, it is apparent that the
fact that Emma, Helen, Caroline and Sue are all parents to service
children themselves is invaluable. I have also been fortunate
enough to attend a Trauma and Bereavement Workshop led by
David Trickey, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist. The idea of a
“workshop” filled me with dread and I hoped it wouldn’t be a
“traumatic” day – would I be expected to discuss my
experiences with a complete stranger As it would happen –
Yes! But it was not the traumatic experience I had feared.
Yes, we shared our experiences and discussed our thoughts
with one another, but I learnt so much more about
bereavement and trauma from having shared and
evaluated these experiences in light of the information
presented. We learnt so much about how the mind
worked; how it processed normal memories in contrast
with traumatic memories and the effects that this can
have upon children and young people.