Service children face unique challenges due to the mobility of military families, including regular moves and parental deployment. Parents identify the disruption caused by geographic mobility as the biggest challenge. Schools with high populations of service children see large numbers of pupils joining and leaving each year. It is important to understand each child's personal experiences with moves, deployment, family structure, and other significant life events to help them adjust.

1. Anne Wilson
Acting Principal Educational Psychologist
Service Children’s Education

2.  Service children face challenges that often go
beyond the experience of the majority of
families and children living in the UK. The
combination of deployment of a family
member and regular moves of home and
school can cause anxiety and stress for
service families whether living in the UK or
overseas…

3.  “…parents invariably identified the disruption,
caused by their geographical mobility, as the
biggest challenge faced by them and their
children.”

4. Leaving Joining
SJS SJS
Beginning Y11 41 Pupils (7) 8 pupils join
(4 + 4 NS)
5 pupils leave
Beginning Y10 38 Pupils (6) 10 pupils join
(3 + 7 NS)
36 pupils leave
Beginning Y9 64 Pupils (16) 21 pupils join
(4 + 17 NS)
36 pupils leave
Beginning Y8 82 Pupils (55) 27 pupils join
(10 + 7 NS)
20 pupils leave
Beginning Y7 75 Pupils (62 from feeder
primary schools)

5. 1 2 3 4 5 5+
YEAR 7 7 14 13 10 7 5
YEAR 8 8 12 16 8 3 3
YEAR 9 6 9 15 7 5 4
YEAR 10 7 15 12 3 4 6
YEAR 11 8 12 9 13 5 4
% 14% 25% 26% 16% 10% 9%

6. 1 2 3 4 5
YEAR 7 54 2
YEAR 8 45 10
YEAR 9 23 21 3 1
YEAR 10 7 31 7 3
YEAR 11 2 28 15 6

7. 6m 6m-1 ½ 1 ½-2 ½ 2 ½-3 ½ 3 ½-4 ½ MORE
Y7 15 16 19 3 1 2
Y8 6 17 11 9 6 6
Y9 10 5 11 7 3 7
Y10 11 24 6 1 1 7
Y11 6 18 17 5 2 4

8.  Essential to gather a personal emotional
profile:
 Moves
 Parental deployment
 Family structure
 Significant events

9.  Benefits:
 Life experiences – culture, opportunities
 Better at making friends
 Good in new situations
 Being able to fit in

10.  Difficulties:
 Changes in school style, culture
 Disruption to routines
 Missed friends/Not knowing anyone
 Lost confidence
 Change in behaviour

11.  School organisations and rules
 Activities and sports
 Environment
 Local culture
 Seaside

12.  Sometimes have little or no experience of UK
 Often focus on:
 Personal safety
 Drugs

13.  www.sceschools.com
 Select pupil and family services
 Select transition and mobility
 2 DVDs Mitigating mobility
Service Families on the move
 Mobility toolkit
 Select research
◦ Information for staff who work with service children

14. www.sceschools.com
Select P&FS
Select deployment
Parent booklet
DVD
Other resources – have to register for these