Armed Forces Children In Wales Share Their Experiences Through Short Films And Digital Stories

Two powerful films and a bank of digital stories have been launched today at the Pierhead, Cardiff Bay, to raise awareness of what life is like for armed forces children in school in Wales. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The films have been made by pupils, parents and staff at Llantwit Major High School and Prendergast Community Primary School with support from the Ministry of Defence, the Army Families Federation, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and Storyworks UK. The initiative has been coordinated by the Welsh Local Government Association’s Supporting Service Children in Education Cymru project (SSCE Cymru). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The high profile launch event was sponsored by Kirsty Williams AM, Cabinet Secretary for Education who was joined by local authority leaders and high ranking members of the Armed Forces in Wales. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cabinet Secretary for Education Kirsty Williams AM said: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

‘Children of service personnel sometimes move around a lot which can impact on the stability of their education. It is important, therefore, that we provide information and support to make sure their learning is not adversely affected. We hope these online films and digital stories will help schools and local authorities understand the circumstances that service children sometimes find themselves as well as providing a snap shot into the lives of service children in Wales today.’ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Brendan Toomey, WLGA spokesperson for Community Safety, Policing and Fire said: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

‘These powerful films give a snap shot of what life can be like for the children of serving personnel. Schools and councils play a key role in supporting Armed Forces children who face unique and sometimes challenging experiences. These videos and resources can be used as a training and teaching aid for educational professionals and for other Service children in Wales and beyond to hear the experiences of other young people with serving parents.’ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Storyworks UK also ran workshops with pupils that would allow them to share their own stories about what it’s like to have a parent in the Armed Forces, these workshops were then turned into a bank of two minute digital stories capturing the children’s experiences. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

All the films will be available on the project website www.sscecymru.co.uk. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​