Pupils Highlight Service Family Strains
A group of Plymouth pupils are raising awarenes of the emotional strains associated with growing up in a service family.
Now more than 7 million pounds is being spent to support thousands of children in school
17-year old Laurie Foxcroft is a sixth former at Eggbuckland College in Plymouth - she's one of a group of children called 'Fixers' - helping teachers understand some of the pressures.
The Fixers want to show teachers that it is not just the deployment phase itself which can affect service children, but also the pre-deployment, rest and recuperation and post- deployment stages - known as the 'deployment cycle'
www.fixers.org.uk is a movement of thousands of 16 to 25 year olds across the UK who are supported to take action and change things for the better, addressing any issue they feel strongly about.
Laurie and her friends who are all members of Plymouth-based 'service children support group' HMS Heroes are making a short film with Fixers, which will be shown to teaching staff, to raise awareness of how the constant change in routie at home can bring its own stresses
Laurie's dad has been a submariner in the Royal Navy for more than 20 years, giving her first hand knowledge of the subject
Working with friends, Shelby Main, Katriona Goodsell and James Wren, also 17 and all from Plymouth-based naval families, they believe that many teachers could improve their understanding of the issue
Well some schools have already recieved funding to give pupils more support through the help of HMS Heroes
Carbeile Junior School in Torpoint, Cornwall is one of the schools bringing children together at lunchtime to talk about what they're going through
Matthew's 8 years old and tells Heart it's been great
LISTEN HERE: 8-year old Matthew