1. My time as an SCSN Intern
By
Paula Florey
I will begin with a little background information about myself. I am the wife of an
Officer in the Royal Air Force and the mother of two beautiful daughters. I have
been a stay at home Mum for the past eight years, concentrating entirely on my
family. Prior to this, I taught Secondary School and transitioned from that into
Educational and Employment Counselling. I have a Bachelor of Arts (English)
and a Bachelor of Education (Secondary). As we are a military family, moving
about is inevitable, so I decided to put my career on hold to offer the children
some stability, particularly as my spouse’s job takes him away from home,
sometimes for extended periods on Operational Deployments. Now that both
girls are in school, I found myself thinking about returning to employment
outside the home. But, constantly moving house and a long break from work was
going to make it quite difficult for me to find gainful, sustainable employment! Or
so I thought…
I saw a poster in the RAF Halton Trinity Community Centre for a website called
“Recruit for Spouses”. I thought, ok, worth a look, good a place to start as any, I
need all the help I can get and if nothing else, I will have a picture of the local job
market!Recruit for Spouses offered support and completely understood the
barriers to employment that spouses of military personal face. The web site has
lots of useful information and is very user friendly. It actually did what it says on
the tin, Thank You Recruit for Spouses! I registered, posted my CV and
immediately went to check out the Job Vacancies. I spotted the SCSN Internship
position, read the job description and instantly thought this is perfect for me! I
saw it as a learning opportunity on a personal level for obvious reasons and as a
professional opportunity to assist my employment readiness. I applied, Recruit
for Spouses confirmed receipt of my application…now all I had to do was wait.
I was then contacted by Joy O’Neill (SCSN)and informed I had been selected as a
potential candidate for the SCSN Internship. Joy sent me through some literature
and information to read and then I was to decide if I was still interested. After
reading Joy’s research paper on Service Children and the previous intern’s
experiences, I was hooked and wanted this internship even more. I then
accompanied Joy to a meeting about The Armed Forces Covenant at RAF Halton,
bit of a Baptism of Fire, but in a good way! It clarified for me the relationship
between the Armed Forces, Nation and State and how it directly impacts my
family and I.
Next I went to a local school with Helen Bretell, (Service Children Support
Coordinator), to observe. It was then that the positive impact of the important
work SCSN and the Support Coordinators provide Service Children became
obvious. I saw the “Passport” in action as Helen helped a brother and sister
prepare for yet another move and another new school. Change can be scary and
difficult but a bit of intervention can ease anxieties and turn it into a positive
experience, which is exactly what Helen did. As well, the Passport provides

2. information about the child to the new school and makes staff aware of concerns
or worries that child may be experiencing. Later during my internship, in
another local school with Helen, one particular boy was very focused on
Afghanistan, war and weapons. Understandable as his Dad is serving in
Afghanistan at the moment. Through play and chatting, Helen was able to
address his questions with her calm approach and as a result he was very
positive before returning to class. Helen is a dedicated professional and I have
learnt a great deal from her and was fortunate enough to shadow her at the other
local schools where she provides vital support to Service Children.
I was now more eager than before to be selected for the SCSN Internship. I was
so excited when Joy offered me an interview but terrified at the same time,
interviews can be scary! I summoned my courage and channeled my nervous
energy into my interview with Joy and Su Scrimshaw (Head Teacher, Halton
Combined School). They were lovely, not scary at all but very thorough and I was
immediately aware that they knew exactly what they were looking for in an
intern. Lucky for me, I must of met their criterion and got the Internship. And let
me say since then, it has been a steep learning curve…
I started the internship with a BANG, the Armed Forces Covenant Community
Engagement Event and Armed Forces Day Ticket Launch at the Waterside
Theatre. It was more work and less play than I thought, Joy tirelessly networked
and I got a glimpse of the hard work going on behind the scenes at SCSN. Next
was a couple of meetings with Joy, an induction into SCSN and an in depth
discussion on Postings and Deployments and their direct impact on Service
Children and their Families.
Then it was back into the schools, this time with Service Children’s Support
Coordinator, Emma Cheedy. I observed her interactions with a number of
children and in every encounter the child left with a huge smile. Emma’s ability
to tune in and relate to each individual child was just so incredible. I think her
energy and honesty is contagious and her professionalism in more difficult
circumstances is a guideline for all to follow. I observed her openness and ease
with a child who needed and wanted to talk about a parent on Operational
Deployment in an area of Conflict. A head teacher in one of the schools I visited
with Emma discussed what a positive influence her role was making in a
particular child’s behavior and academic performance. I thought, that is what
this job is all about, how brilliant is that! I was grateful for the time spent with
her and learnt a great deal from Emma.
My Internship with SCSN has also generously provided and paid for me to have
some training for which I am grateful. First up was a full on day training with
Child Bereavement UK, Supporting Forces’ Children and Families in Loss and
Bereavement, presented by Dr. Ann Rowland (Clinical Psychologist). It proved to
be an emotional day but this training is absolutely vitalfor anyone dealing with
Service Children and their Families, as this is their reality. Next training day was
“A Systematic Approach to Working with Families”. It was incredibly practical
and taught useful guides for gathering and recording information. The course
also offered approaches for engaging people in conversation and developing

3. dialogue. As well, there were techniques for asking leading questions that allow
a person to reveal their “untold Story” rather than a clinical interview approach
which often only receives a yes or no answer.
Buckinghamshire County Council was quite generous with their time and I spent
a day with Amanda Buchanan from Bucks Family Intervention Services. I visited
a Children’s Centre in the morning and then spent an afternoon at The Family
Nurse Partnership. It was informative because Armed Forces Families just like
Civilian Families face the same challenges and need support and guidance about
the services available to them in their local communities. Military Families are
just like all other families, except that we move a lot and sometimes our spouses
are in areas of conflict doing dangerous jobs! I also had the privilege to meet with
Dr. Robert Beadel, Senior Educational Psychologist for Buckinghamshire County
Council and discuss the aspects of his work, development of the Passport and his
continued research involving Service Children. My conversation with Rob was
both insightful and informative. Overall, I found Buckinghamshire County
Council to be supportive, progressive and pro-active when it comes to the unique
needs of Service Children and their Families.
Finally, I caught up with Wilma Kingsbury, Community Development Officer for
RAF Halton. She is a familiar face at the Hive, organizing activities, always with a
smile! We had a lovely cup of tea and she gave me an overall view of what her
work entails, far more than I realized! She certainly has her finger on the pulse of
what is happening in the local community and then armed with that knowledge,
she identifies what is lacking and provides it to the Military Families at RAF
Halton.
My time at SCSN has been educational, positive and inspirational. The energy and
tenacity that Joy puts into SCSN is admirable, don’t know where she finds the
time or energy? Coupled with Su Scrimshaw, I think that pair can do just about
anything they put their minds too, bit of a Dynamic Duo! Then there is Helen and
Emma, Super Heroes for Service Children, out there in the schools and doing a
fab job of it!I have discovered there is a great need for additional support for
Service Children within schools. I have acquired top tips and resources to use
with my children, particularly useful at the moment as my husband is deployed
to Afghanistan. Service Families have a sort of “lets just get on with it” attitude
but as a Service wife and mother, I would welcome more support within schools
for my children. It would be beneficial for my children to have someone else to
talk to. During my internship, I saw first hand the positive effects of having a
Service Children’s Support Coordinator in the school. Concentration, attitude,
behavior and emotional wellbeing were drastically improved as a result. I have
gained so much knowledge from my SCSN Internship and am very grateful for
the opportunity to have worked with such a fantastic organization.