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New digital deployment pack resource launching soon

Gary Seath 3 weeks ago

Funding Media Young People Support

New child-friendly digital deployment pack resource launching soon

You may have read about Forces Children Scotland receiving generous funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and the BFBS Big Salute earlier this year.

The funding has enabled us to work directly with children and young people from armed forces communities to co-develop a Digital Deployment Pack Resource.

Parental deployment can prove challenging for some children and young people from this community, who will experience it through their respective individual lens.

The absence of a serving parent brings a range of emotions and difficulties, from anxiety and loneliness to managing daily responsibilities at home.

The impact on young people can be profound, and who better to understand these challenges than those who have lived through them?

Work started earlier this year to co-create a child-friendly deployment cycle resource to explain what deployment is in a child-friendly way,

We have worked in partnership with Civic UK to start the exciting process of bringing our young people’s experience of deployment to life, using the visual of a rollercoaster to help explain the different stages of the cycle.

As things progress towards launching the resource next month, we have caught up with the project team to find out how things are going.

 

Isla is from a Naval family in Helensburgh, who said:

“It feels great knowing that we will make a change in other people’s lives and that what we have been working towards is happening and we are a part of it! ⁠I hope that we can help young people, especially in armed forces families, not stress as much about their parent being deployed, and find interesting and useful ways to relieve some of that stress.

I would like other people to learn and understand that we aren’t weak just because we get upset or stressed when our parent gets deployed, we are strong people and I hope this deployment pack, makes it enjoyable and relaxing to use as they go through this difficult time!

I’m extremely excited to launch the deployment pack as this will help other and teachers understand some of the challenges we go through as a forces family! I would say (to young people going through a parental deployment) that it would be a great idea (to check out the resource) as it will help distract your mind and help relieve anxiety and nerves when your parents are deployed!”

Nina Collins, Children and Young People’s Participation Manager and Judith Blair, Learning and Development Worker at Forces Children Scotland reflect on how things are progressing towards the launch of the resource.

 

So, how are things shaping up since the development session held this summer?

“We are really excited about the upcoming launch of the digital deployment pack at the end of November. Over the last few months, we have been sharing final designs with our young people and are currently editing and adapting them, to ensure we represent their views and ideas accurately.”

What are you currently focusing on behind the scenes & what’s the next steps?

“We have been very busy behind the scenes finalising the designs made by the young people at our workshop in Perth. From their drawings and discussions, we have been creating an online rollercoaster to show the emotional cycle of deployment. We have been working with Civic to make this happen and are very excited to share the finished result.”

Will the digital deployment pack prove useful for parents, and those supporting this community or making important decisions on their behalf?

“This deployment pack will help parents and those supporting this community understand the different emotions that a young person may feel throughout the emotional cycle of deployment.

Our ‘Deployment Rollercoaster’ allows children, young people and adults to see that all emotions are valid and it ok to feel different emotions throughout the deployment cycle. Resources will also be accessible for children, young people and parents to help support their child’s mental health and wellbeing.”

What would you say to encourage young people to check out our digital deployment pack when it launches soon? What do we have to offer?

“If you want to know more about deployment, how it can impact your mental health and wellbeing, and engage with advice from other young people the digital deployment pack is for you.

Suppose you are unsure of why you may be feeling happy, angry or anxious during deployment. In that case, our rollercoaster will be able to signpost you to useful mental health and wellbeing resources. It will help define deployment and offer some insight and understanding around the emotional cycle of deployment a little easier.”

The young people involved have put so much into this project. As we approach the launch, what would you say to them?

“We want to say a massive thank you and well done to our wonderful young people who have sacrificed evenings and weekends to help us create the digital deployment pack resource. We are always blown away by the ideas and creativity of our young people and can’t wait to showcase this through their Deployment Rollercoaster!”

 

 

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