Introducing Jillian Bradfield

We are delighted to introduce Jillian Bradfield, our new Wellbeing Worker for the Lighthouse Project at Queen Victoria School.

The Lighthouse Project Project, funded by The Veterans Foundation, delivers mental health services for pupils from armed forces families, who receive board and education at the school, located in Dunblane.

We caught up with Jillian to find out more about her inspirations for applying, her plans and message to pupils, as well as some interesting topics for future team discussions – such as what can make a KitKat either a biscuit or sweet?

Welcome to the team Jillian! So, tell us more about what inspired you to apply for role of Wellbeing Worker for the Lighthouse Project.

“After working for the NHS for several years, I was ready for a new opportunity and saw this post advertised. I was particularly drawn to the focus on children and young people’s lived experiences and co-production, as this is such a key part of developing meaningful support for children and young people.”

How does it feel to join a charity with such a proud history?

“Did you know that Forces Children Scotland is over 50 years older than Canada? It’s amazing to join a charity that has been supporting children and young people for such a long time. I’m also impressed by how the charity has adapted its services over the years to suit the needs of Forces children, such as making sure that their voices are heard and creating projects to deliver mental health support.”

How have things proved in terms of getting settled into the role?

“I have been getting to know the Forces Children Scotland team members one-on-one, as well as reading and learning lots! I recently visited Queen Victoria School to meet some key staff members, and I look forward to spending the next couple of weeks before the December break building relationships with staff and students within the school.”

Tell us more about your experiences working with children and young people?

“I have always known that I wanted to work in mental health with children and young people. I’ve been working with children and young people for roughly 12 years, in various roles including a swimming instructor/lifeguard, a nanny, a summer camp counsellor, and volunteering with Girlguiding Scotland. These roles helped me to develop many essential skills that I use daily as a mental health practitioner, and I enjoyed getting to be creative and playful in these roles.

Since moving to Scotland, I have worked in CAMHS for several years. I have supported children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions, those experiencing more severe mental health challenges, and more general mental wellbeing. I also did a short amount of private work specifically supporting the assessment of neurodevelopmental conditions in children and young people.

I am excited for this new opportunity of working with the pupils at Queen Victoria school. Activities that include exercise and nature, such as hiking, and creativity are important to my wellbeing. Therefore, I try to think about what additional tools we can use to support the holistic wellbeing of a person. For example, my Masters research was on the effect of pets on our mental health during Covid-19. Knowing the benefits of animals on mental health, I would be keen to implement some animal therapy sessions at Queen Victoria School.”

What’s your message to pupils, now that we’re getting the Lighthouse Project up and running again?

“My hope is to create a safe and non-judgemental space where pupils at Queen Victoria School can feel comfortable coming to speak to me about anything- nothing is too big or too small, and we will figure out any problems together. Working for Forces Children Scotland provides a unique opportunity to be an “outsider” at the school, and I hope that pupils feel able to speak to me about things that they may not speak to other members of school staff about. On the other hand, I am excited to get to know the Queen Victoria pupils and staff and to become part of their school community.

During my interview, I held a focus group with some Queen Victoria pupils who gave me some wonderful ideas about what they’d like to see as part of the Lighthouse Project, which I am looking forward to developing further. As always, working alongside the pupils, such as during one-to-one sessions to tailor them to pupils’ specific needs, and listening to the voices of the pupils more generally, will be a large part of the Lighthouse Project.”

Having learned you’re from Canada originally, can you tell us what brought you to Scotland and what are some of the fun cultural differences you have noticed?

“I moved to Scotland 5 years ago (6 months before the Covid-19 pandemic!), to pursue my Masters in Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. There are some larger cultural differences e.g. UK football culture, but mostly it’s the small things that you don’t think about. For example, when I first moved here, I couldn’t find eggs anywhere in the shops because in Canada we refrigerate our eggs in the dairy section.

I was quite confused to find them next to the bread and jam! Getting used to some of the lingo can take a little while too. Confusingly, if referring to “hockey” in Scotland, it always means field hockey, but in Canada, hockey always means ice hockey. I also still have moments when I hear an unfamiliar word or phrase, but I’m always happy to learn! Most recently I learned the term “apple dooking” at Halloween (we would say “bobbing for apples” in Canada).”

We understand you will bring some interesting topics to future team discussions – such as what can make a KitKat either a biscuit or sweet? Tell us more?

“Similar to the infamous “Is a Jaffa Cake a biscuit or a cake?” question, whilst working in Glasgow, a young person told me that they considered a KitKat to be a biscuit, instead of a chocolate bar, as it would be classified in Canada. To my surprise, this was then confirmed by several of my colleagues, even though a biscuit in my mind is a shortbread or a custard cream for example. So, our future team meetings might include philosophical debates such as “Is a KitKat a biscuit?” or “Should a cheese board count as a dessert?” (I say no!).”

Are you a pupil from Queen Victoria School, or a parent of a child who does, and would like to speak to Jillian?

Please click the button below, and Jillian will get back to you as soon as possible.