“I’m not sure they know I’m a service child”: Understanding, supporting and promoting service children’s experiences in English state schools.

Service children – those who have a parent or carer who serves, or has served, in the British Armed Forces – are a group of children in society whose voices are often absent from research, policy and practice. In schools, this means that service children’s unique educational experiences, associated needs and distinctive identity, all shaped by the demands of the armed forces, are not fully understood or supported. My doctoral research acknowledged this and took an innovative and creative approach by researching with service children to explore how military life shapes their sense of self and educational experiences. Alongside generating new knowledge and understanding in this area, my research identified implications for practice which seek to inform and ultimately improve service children’s experiences in schools. The first aim of the fellowship is to extend the impact of my doctoral research on the professional practice of individuals who work with service children in schools. Findings from my doctoral research identified a significant range, in terms of existence and quality, of school support for service children. This indicates that staff may lack appropriate knowledge and understanding of this group and therefore not be able to support their needs effectively. Accordingly, I will create a bespoke e-learning resource focused on raising awareness of service children, their unique life experiences, distinctive identity and associated needs. The resource will then be piloted and refined through feedback workshops and advisory group meetings with trainee and early career teachers (the target audience), to ensure its utility and relevance to the new Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework. This e-learning resource will be complemented by the co-creation of a digital resource to support voice work in schools. The resource will provide a ‘how-to’; highlighting creative and child-centred ways to effectively listen to children’s voices within the school setting. This will assist staff working in schools to engage in effective voice work to ensure that school practice and support are informed by the needs and experiences of service children themselves. By working collaboratively with the SCiP Alliance, the resource will form part of their forthcoming digital offerings and be shared with many schools across the UK. The second aim of the fellowship is to extend the existing academic impact of my doctoral research and in doing so, support my career development as a researcher. To build my international network and achieve global reach with my findings, I will engage with a world-leading institute focused on research with the military community, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR). I will present at their annual conference and undertake a short institutional visit to Queen’s University. Given the CIMVHR’s expertise in translating academic research into professional practice, the visit will also support the development of my digital resources. I will also publish two journal articles based on significant findings and outputs of my doctoral research. Accessible and engaging complementary articles, blogs and podcasts will be developed to coincide with publication of the two journal articles. This will increase the two articles' reach and readership alongside enhancing the impact of my key doctoral contributions. Collectively, this will further build my academic profile and support my career development.