A Military Child’s Journey at All Saints
A warm welcome
As a school which serves a high proportion of service families we understand the anxieties mobility can have on all involved. Our aim is to ensure that new pupils are warmly welcomed and settle quickly.
As soon as the school has notice that a child is coming we will send through a ‘Welcome Pack’. Within the welcome pack is a letter (containing QR codes for a virtual tour of the school), a letter from the School Council and a letter from our Military Support Assistant. This provides the children with reassurance that they will be supported from the moment they step through the door.
On arrival at Waddington All Saints Academy every child will be allocated a ‘Buddy’ who will help them to find their feet in their new environment, ensuring that they know where to go and what to do. Our Military Support Assistant will visit each child in their first few days of being in school, to ensure that they are settling well and know where to go if they have any questions.
Academic Support
Our aim is to ensure that all children reach their full potential during the time that the spend with us. Therefore, we direct part of our Service Pupil Premium allocation to employ Learning Support Assistants and purchase resources that will support progress. This enables us to support children who may have gaps in their learning, due to frequent school moves or who may need additional support or challenge. Class teachers assess children once they arrive and identify the support required to enable them to make good progress.
If you wish to find out more about the provision put in place for your child, please do not hesitate in contacting your child’s class teacher.
Emotional Support
At All Saints Academy we can have a number of parents deployed at any one time. We recognise our role in helping to reduce any negative impact upon learning during this time, offering an appropriate level of support to pupils that need it. Past experience has shown us that when children experience any form of loss, school is often the one part of a child’s life where they can carry on as normal. Its normality can be the very thing, that gives the child the structure and reassurance that enables them to cope.
Once a family are aware that a parent is going to be deployed we ask that they complete a ‘Deployment Form’ and hand it in the school office, this allows a parent to identify the level of need they believe that their child has. Once this form has been received in school it will be passed on to the Class Teacher and the Military Support Assistant (Mrs Simmons).
Please click here to view the ‘Deployment Form’
Mrs Simmons- our Military Support Assistant:
- Will carry out a ‘Risk Assessment’ with the child, at the start of the deployment. She will also reassure the child that they can come and speak to her at playtime if they need to.
- Where further need is identified Mrs Simmons will liaise with the class teacher/ team leader about the appropriate level of support required.
- If the deployment is for an extended period of time, Mrs Simmons will drop in and check that they are ok at the half way point. As appropriate, feedback will be communicated with parents.
- Where appropriate, Mrs Simmons will also provide emotional support for families for any unique challenges that military life can bring
The Class Teacher:
- Will keep a watching brief over the child, ensuring that they are supported appropriately.
- Liaise with parents regularly during the period of deployment, to reassure them that the child is doing well in school or discuss the support in place.
- Liaise with the Military Support Assistants about support required.
Support might include:
1:1 / Small group work- This will be put into place when a high level of need is identified. We have trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) who are able to plan and deliver bespoke pieces of worked linked to supporting pupils in managing their emotions.
Deployment groups- This gives children the opportunity to work with others who have a parent deployed, so that they can share experiences and support each other. Activities might include: writing emails or letters, making videos to deployed parents, making scrap books/ diaries to share with parents upon their return or learning about the places which parents are deployed to. We also have a skyping booth where children can arrange a time to talk to a parent who is deployed and share some of the activities they have been taking part in.
At Waddington All Saints Academy, we are dedicated to ensuring the needs of all children are met, including the well-being of our Service children, through the implementation of the ‘Thriving Lives Toolkit’. This toolkit has been influenced by rigorous research and offers a comprehensive framework of seven principles for reflection on our practices. Developed in collaboration with esteemed partners across the UK, the toolkit encompasses a highly detailed evidence-based resource outlining how schools can support their Service children. Waddington All Saints Academy is actively fostering a positive and supportive environment for the overall well-being of our students by furthering our current provision with children of Service families through the Thriving Lives Toolkit. If you wish to see more information about The SCiP Alliance, here is a link to their website:
https://www.scipalliance.org/thriving-lives-toolkit
Leaving us
We believe supporting a child who is leaving is as important as supporting a child who has just joined. We ensure that all relevant records are transferred to the new school and teachers will often make contact with the new school/teacher, to talk about your child and how they learn best. If a child is particularly anxious about moving to a new school additional support can be put into place with a Military Support Assistant, they might discuss concerns and even research or skype the new school, so the child knows what to expect and feels prepared.
Feedback from children and parents on the support we provide for Service Families:.
Service Pupil Premium
The Service Pupil Premium (SPP) is provided by the Department for Education (DfE) to enable schools to offer additional, mainly pastoral support during challenging times.
Service Pupil Premium End of Year Evaluation 22/23
Service Pupil Premium Strategy 23/24
Service Pupil Premium Overview 23/24
Further information
Below you will find the link to the Service Children’s Education dedicated website for mobility. Here you will be able to find useful information including a link to the SCE mobility toolkit and to the Moving Schools Pack. In addition, you can watch videos of SCE children sharing their personal experiences of preparing to leave or arrive at their school, and find out what helps them to settle into their new surroundings.
www.gov.uk/childrens-education-advisory-service
Do I need to register my child with CEAS?
CEAS is the Children’s Education Advisory Service and their mission statement is:
‘To support operational effectiveness in the armed forces by enabling Service (and eligible MOD civilian) families to secure appropriate educational provision for their children in the UK and overseas.’
If your child has special or additional needs then, in line with JSP 820, you must register with the Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS) and notify them of any proposed overseas assignment.