C o m m u n i t y


Service Families Task Force


Lieutenant Colonel Steve Richardson A


ſter 3 years in MOD, this is my last update on issues tackled through the Families Working


Group, part of the Service Families Task Force. I look back and wonder what, if anything, those involved in the Group have achieved, we seem to have the same issues now as 3 years ago!


In alphabetical order – because we decided not to waste time arguing about relative priority – they are: childcare, communication, education, health and housing.


First off, the Families Working Group is nothing without the Families Federations; they are the key stakeholders and set the agenda. That in itself tells a story. This group is the most direct and deliberate way in which your Families Federation influences the MOD. In my time I have seen this role grow stronger and I believe it is very healthy.


The MOD must not fight or block the Families Federations. It needs them as an active contributor to develop understanding of the needs of families, communicating with them and helping to support them. My view is that we are in this together and the MOD needs strong Families Federations – otherwise things start going wrong or don’t get fixed.


Seeing the Federations take a formal role in giving evidence to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body, being core members of the Command Paper Reference Group and delivering their opinions direct to the most senior people gives me real confidence that I can walk away knowing that the interests of families will continue to be represented and pursued. My advice is: use your Federation.


The Key Issues But you would be right to ask: what actually has changed? What has improved? Why are the same subjects still being discussed?


The real answer is that these themes are those that will always be at the heart of life in the Service community – or until we all


www.raf-families-federation.org.uk


stop moving around. And though there will be a slow shift to more options for family stability I have two things to say: don’t hold your breath; and don’t think that there will not be significant numbers for whom family mobility will still be a requirement.


In the meantime we break down each area into a series of steps we can take to improve the life of families.


Yes, childcare is still on the list, because there is more to do. That doesn’t mean we have achieved nothing. We have the childcare voucher scheme, we have new workstrands with the Department for Children, Schools and Families on local authority provision and the Children’s Centres programme in England, we have new policy for commanders on how they best support local need. All of this helps – but the issue will stay on the Families Action Plan until your Families Federation agrees it should come off. There is more to do.


Families Working Group – the 3 Families Federations, HIVE, the 3 Service welfare staffs, Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS), MOD staff covering Reserves and Service Personnel Policy (SP Pol)


Similarly for education – reviewing how well the new support in the Admissions Code works and changing it if necessary, getting statistical feedback on relative academic achievement of Service children and using it to inform better practice or new funding arrangements, new direction on continuity of Special Educational Needs support. There is more to do. But don’t let people convince you that Service children are underachievers. Service parents work really hard to get the best for their children – and it shows. Just look at those results we already know about – in Service schools overseas – and you will see Service children getting results at the top end of the scale.


When they have the right support, they more than hold their own. And Service parents are much more successful than others in getting their children into the schools they want – but it would be better if this wasn’t so often through appeal.


I could say the same about health, with new targeted support for Service families on NHS dental treatment, protection of waiting list time and so on – but with more still to do.


But I want to finish by talking about the subject closest to my heart – communication. My greatest sadness on leaving the MOD is this. Too often we draft replies for Ministers to send out that say something like “your constituent may have had a problem, but if only they had known about…” and goes on to explain that the information, or a supporting organisation, or a way out of the problem, already existed.


The draft reply is accurate and informative. But for the family, it is too late. They have already had the problem, the frustration, the confusion. The Families Working Group – your Federation and the rest of us – have tried to identify a better way for everyone to make sure this happens less often. Simplistically, the answer is more; more leaflets, posters, letters, websites, cards, key fobs – you name it. But we think this “information arms race” may be counterproductive.


Of course we need to make sure that information is available – but that isn’t the same as communicating effectively. For that, and for the most vulnerable, a simpler solution rather than a further barrage of information must be right. And my answer?


Keep it simple. This isn’t new. Get people in touch with the organisation or information they need as simply as possible. Your professional portals are the HIVE Information Service and your Families Federation. Use them!


And then, of course, there is housing... Autumn 2008 31


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