Gary Seath 2 weeks ago
A total of one-hundred and twenty-five (60%) of pupils presently attending Kinloss Primary School are from armed forces communities.
Most have parents serving at Kinloss Barracks, home to 39 Engineer Regiment which provides Force Support engineering capabilities to both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the British Army.
Pupils have told members of Forces Children Scotland’s Youth Participation Team that there are many positive and challenging aspects of life in armed forces families that aren’t on the radar of peers, educators, and policymakers.
To help raise greater awareness and understanding, forty-five senior pupils, from armed forces and non-armed forces families, participated in activities to enhance awareness and understanding of forces life.
Pupils participated in a quiz covering the positives and challenges associated with forces life, statistics about serving personnel, and Month of the Military Child.
Pupils had the opportunity to get creative by designing bunting to include personal messages to help forces children to feel more welcome and better understood.
Some wrote messages of kindness and understanding to pupils from armed forces communities, which were complemented by designs featuring military and Month of the Military Child themes.
Pupils concluded the session with a wishing tree activity, where pupils wrote a small wish for their school concerning forces life and making each other feel accepted and welcomed to compliment their fantastic work completed during the day.
Kate Homer, Military Support Worker in Kinloss Primary, said:
“The Forces Children Scotland workshop was so powerful and engaging, the children both military and non-military were so proud to be part of this session and felt like they were heard.
“They showed gratitude, emotion, and honesty when sharing their past experiences and discussing life as a military child at Kinloss Primary School.
“They particularly enjoyed creating the bunting which they have proudly displayed in the school hall ready for a Military Child of the Month assembly.”
Abigail Rankin, Forces Children Scotland’s Youth Participation Worker in the North of Scotland, said:
“We were delighted to celebrate the large number of Forces families in the Moray area and also to help raise awareness about some of the challenges and unique experiences that they face having a serving or veteran parent.
“We felt it was so important to mark the Month of the Military Child and share that with both military and non-military children alike in this way.”
We have lots of videos, information and resources to enhance awareness and understanding of forces life.
Learn more
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