Reflections on special educational needs support for Armed Forces children: learning from the Garrison ASSIST Project

Abstract

Children of armed forces personnel (“Service children”) can experience a range of factors as a result of their parents’ service. When factors such as geographic mobility and family separation intersect with the experiences of special educational needs and disability, this can result in a range of unique and pressing challenges for children, their families, and the schools that support them. This is a conceptual paper drawing on the evaluation of the Garrison ASSIST Project (GAP), a collaborative project devised by schools serving a British Army garrison town in the north of England. GAP aimed to promote the sharing of resources and best practice in supporting Service children. Schools undoubtedly face a range of systemic challenges and pressures in supporting children with SEND, and factors arising from Service life (including family separation and frequent family relocation) can exacerbate such challenges. This paper focuses on data from a series of interviews and focus groups with parents, children and school staff (n=46). From this, three key themes were identified that can underpin successful practice: the importance of building strong relationships with families that are underpinned by trust, strong and open communication (with parents, other schools, the Armed Forces and the wider professional community), and high-quality teaching. By conceiving of such initiatives as a community of practice, schools can seek to ameliorate some of the environmental and systemic challenges they experience in order to offer more consistent, inclusive and responsive support for children from armed forces families with SEND. Such efforts can also promote a greater sense of professional agency among school staff and facilitate more holistic support for families within the school community