News & Views

Ranvilles Junior School's HMS Ranvilles club developed postcards from a deployed parent into an inspiring book given to all children in the school, from both Service and civilian families. The postcards documented the experiences of the school bear, Nelson, who accompanied a parent on a Royal Navy deployment. The book was written by the children themselves who experienced writing workshops, carried out research in local naval museums and put together advice about how to cope with feelings and emotions when a parent is deployed.

Gayle Wallace, SENCo at Ranvilles Junior School commented:

We were delighted to be awarded the grant from the MOD Education  Support Fund as it facilitated an opportunity to work in greater depth with our Service children to support their emotional needs whilst also growing awareness  of service life throughout the school. The idea of producing a book was something that we were extremely keen on doing as it was something tangible for the children to keep to remind them of their experiences within school. Furthermore, we wanted the messages within the book to help them at home when they were feeling sad about their parent's deployment. We felt that the book could help support parents with conversations they may have surrounding deployments and feelings/emotions. It was great that we could use the book as a starting point for discussions around their life and experiences as a Service child. We found that children enjoyed sharing common experiences thus developing a deeper connection and support network within the school. Overall, the book project was a very positive experience.

30% of the pupils at Ranvilles Junior School in Fareham are from forces families. These pupils are supported by 'HMS Ranvilles', a club funded by the Service Pupil Premium which works with the children to mitigate any impacts of family mobility or parental deployment and celebrate the pride that children feel about their parents. 

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