Building resilience and boosting confidence under the Service Pupil Support Programme

In March 2023, Harwell Community Primary School, along with six other primary schools within a cluster, received a £44,188 grant under the Service Pupil Support Programme. The grant was awarded to fund the employment of an experienced and nurturing staff member to work with Service children across all seven schools in Didcot, Oxfordshire, and the surrounding villages.

The MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund (AF3): Service Pupil Support Programme provides funding for projects that support Service children throughout their educational journey.

Enhancing pupil resilience and wellbeing

The aim of this particular project was to create small cohorts of Service children to build resilience, boost confidence, improve self-esteem and address their overall wellbeing.

A dedicated staff member visited each school regularly to provide emotional and social support. The support was tailored to each child’s needs using established therapeutic methods, particularly for those transitioning between different educational settings.

The project created opportunities for Service children to connect with one another, share experiences, and build new friendships. It also offered activities focused on wellbeing, such as painting and sports.

Rebecca Tolley, Service Project Lead and SenCo said: “During the project we have found that the Service children find it helpful to have someone to talk to that understands. When starting a new school, it is helpful to have friendly faces and support pathways in place to make new friendships.”

A key learning from the project was shared with the wider school communities to enhance their understanding of the unique challenges faced by Service children.

Rebecca continues: “A film about the project was created and presented in each school assembly on ‘what it is like to be a Service child.’ This was well received by the wider pupil community with one member of staff explaining that they have never thought about the challenges before that a Service child would face.”

Impact and legacy

Activities were developed to build a network of strong community connections, including a picnic event for children and their families, as well as targeted interventions such as play therapy, music therapy, drama club, forest school and workshops.

Additionally, the project included a trip to RAF Benson, where 15 targeted children gained a better understanding of their parents’ roles within the military.

The case study provided below highlights the impact of frequent relocations on a child’s social and emotional wellbeing and highlights the importance of support and community building activities to address the unique needs of Service children.

A Service pupil joined the project presenting as non-engaged and withdrawn among their peers. As the forest school sessions went on, the pupil became more vocal and involved. We began to secure a trusting relationship, and I soon became his key person. Each week when I would collect the group of children, they would sit at the front and talk about their week. This soon extended to them opening up and discussing their experiences. They found it difficult to process the emotions around their time living in Northern Ireland when the family was deployed. They would often talk this through with me. On one occasion they began to cry when explaining that they missed their best friend which they left behind at the last school.

I met with their mother who was concerned about their child. They were then targeted to receive art therapy. We also began to visit the pupil within their school setting to have lunch with them on a weekly basis and play card games. This was an optional invite, and every time they would arrive promptly and stay the entire time showing how much they valued having that key person to talk to.

The pupils SDQ score was high for emotional distress which was in-line with what their mother was observing. I spent time meeting with their class teacher, as a Special Needs Coordinator, I felt well positioned to open dialogue with their class teacher on possible next steps and routes to support for the pupil. As the year continued, the pupil showed a significant improvement in their emotional wellbeing, we finished the project on a high with a visit to RAF Benson for the Camo Day. Given the pupils fascination with anything military, the moment they boarded the Chinnock was very special. During the day they fully embraced the environment and interacted successfully and happily with peers.