FINAL – FEB 2016

Focus on…Military Families

“The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.”

The Armed Forces Community Covenant (the Armed

Forces Act 2011 enshrined the principles of the covenant in law)

A military family is one that has at least one parent/carer serving (or has served) in any of the following Armed Forces(both Regular and Reserve):
  • Army
  • Royal Air Force
  • Royal Navy

By the year 2020 Wiltshire will have seen an additional 4,300 service personnel (plus their families) move to Wiltshire as part of the Army 2020 re-basing programme – making Wiltshire a county with one of the largest military populations in England. All those supporting children and their families need to be well informed of the needs and challenges that may be different for military families and be mindful of them when considering how best to support them.

What may be some of the different concerns for a military family?

It must be stressed that these concerns are by no means always the case for all military families. They are an indication of some things that some military families may experience – about which people working with them need to be aware of, display understanding and offer appropriate support.

For the family: / For the child or young person:
•May not identify themselves as a military family
•Frequent moves across counties/countries
•Serving personnel may live away from home (or return only at weekends, for example)
•Serving personnel could deploy at short notice for many months at a time.
•May feel isolated when moving to a new area
•May not always live in barracks or in service family accommodation
•May be supporting someone through physical rehabilitation (and emotional consequences)
•More likely to be conscious of the risk of bereavement or injury or have friends who have
•May be reluctant to access support services for fear of this becoming known to commanding officers and affecting their serving officers opportunities or standing within the regiment. / •Frequent changes of schools
•Higher rate of attending Independent/ Boarding Schools
•May live away from parents
•More likely to have experienced anxiety about parents/carers actively serving away from home.
•More likely to be conscious of the risk of bereavement or injury or have friends who have
•May feel isolated when moving to a new area

What are the strengths often to be found in a military family?

There is no doubt that many military families experience high levels of stress that go hand in hand with a parent or carer having a serving military career. However, many military families develop many strong qualities as a direct result of that. There are many positive characteristics that military families may have or may develop, such as:

  • Children and families often develop healthy levels of emotional resilience – often as a result of getting through periods of adversity and stress and learning coping mechanisms
  • A great sense of community – with active participation and emotional support for one another
  • The formation of strong friendship bonds with families in similar circumstances
  • Children become adept at forming friendships quickly; confident in meeting and connecting with new people
  • Opportunities to travel; exposure to and developing tolerance of different cultures and traditions
  • Children and young people develop high levels of independence and self-sufficiency
  • Relatively good job security with a steady income and a framework of career benefits and support with housing
  • Access to specialist welfare services and service charities

What should I do?

  • Be mindful of the likely stresses they may be experiencing due to having a serving family member
  • Recognise they may have certain values and cultural norms that come from being within a military environment; be non-judgemental
  • Stress confidentiality (unless there is a significant safeguarding concern) – some children and young people may be anxious that talking about what is worrying them may get back to the commanding officers (and subsequently have a negative impact for their parent or carer). Some may prefer accessing civilian services for this reason and/or may prefer not to identify themselves as being from a military family.
  • Help them find out about what is on offer within their community; help them engage so they feel part of it and are able to access local support.
  • Encourage access to specialist confidential welfare support services within the Ministry of Defence and bespoke 3rd sector agencies.

If you are concerned about a childor young person from a military family there are various avenues to consider and explore:

  • For non-urgent situations, consider seeking advice and support from your local Multi-Agency Forum (MAF) – ensure the child/family details are anonymised or gain explicit consent from the family to share information.
  • Consider completing an Early Help CAF – to assess the child’s needs and develop a smart action plan – for further details visit
  • Anyone can refer direct to the Army Welfare Service, Royal Naval Royal Marines Welfare and SSAFA which offers local advice, support consultation and/or signposting.
  • If you are concerned a child or young person is at risk of significant harm discuss this promptly with the Designated Safeguarding Lead within your organisation (with reference to statutory child protection and safeguarding guidance). For serving personnel you must also report this to the appropriate specialist welfare support Service (you will need to provide the regiment and unit details if possible). A referral to Children Social Care’s via their Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) may be necessary – your Designated Safeguarding Lead will discuss this with you.

If you think a child is in immediate danger

Contact the police on 999

Remember: it’s best practice to keep a dated record of your concerns, the advice sought and given, actions taken and what the outcome was for the child or young person. Should concerns escalate this will be invaluable information on the child’s journey.

Approved by The Wiltshire Army Welfare Service, the Wiltshire Safeguarding Children Board and the Wiltshire Children and Young People’s Trust.