Hythehill Primary pupils benefit from military wellbeing course

PUPILS from Hythehill Primary School in Lossiemouth have become some of the first to use a course aimed at supporting children whose parents serve in the armed forces.

The military child wellbeing course, launched by charity Little Troopers, aims to help pupils deal with the unique challenges of having a family member in the forces.

Topics covered during the seven-week course include how to cope with being separated from family, moving homes frequently and living abroad. Personal themes of belonging, identity and mindfulness are also discussed.

Hythehill Primary is one of five schools in the United Kingdom trialling the course. Eight children have taken part so far with a further group starting this month.

The Lossie school has 362 pupils, with 175 of them coming from military families.

Hythehill head teacher Susanne Campbell said: "As one of the main primary schools serving RAF Lossiemouth and the community, I believe it is important to support all children and their families within the school community.

"Through using the resources from Little Troopers, the school has been in a position to offer further specialist support for groups of identified children who have found change – transitioning, friendship building and deployment – particularly challenging or unsettling.

"The staff who have led the group workshops have been extremely skilled at promoting the values and ethos of the school, the local community and in enabling the children to have a voice when shaping their thoughts and feelings."

Ollie Cardwell, who has taken part in the course, added: "I enjoyed the fun activities which helped me understand it is okay when dad goes away, and other children go through the same experiences."

Louise Fetigan, founder of the Little Troopers charity, added: "We often hear about the importance of wellbeing in relation to serving personnel and veterans, but we rarely discuss the impact of military life on children.

"Of course, many children thrive in the military community and enjoy meeting new friends, travelling around the world and embracing the opportunities military life can bring, but with the highs can come lows.

"These same children can be faced with other challenges their classmates are often not familiar with and find it difficult to relate to.

"The aim of the military child wellbeing course is to acknowledge service children do sometimes need additional support, and to provide a safe space in which to open up these conversations and give children the tools to manage these challenges in positive ways."

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