Military, movement, and (mis)understanding: service families navigating ‘inclusive’ education systems

This research explores Service Families’ experiences of navigating inclusive education systems and investigates the range of factors which shape these experiences. It also investigates the particular experiences of Service Families who have a child or children with a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND) and demonstrates how the itinerant nature of the Military lifestyle impacts Service Families with children. Using a mixed methods approach, this research builds on the limited empirical evidence within the UK on Service Families. Further, it has explored how education systems intersect with the moral obligations of the Armed Forces Covenant, how the Covenant is (mis)understood by Service Parents and Key Stakeholders, and whether the rights of Service Families and Children, to quality inclusive education have been assured. Overall, this research examined what measures should be in place to ensure Service Families and their children are being supported adequately. The findings show that Service Families cycle in and out of periods of (in)stability, which has a direct impact on the education of their children. This is additionally exacerbated when a child has a SEND. Whilst the majority of Key Stakeholders who work with Service Families and children are highly experienced, Service Parents reported a general lack of understanding from Local Authorities. Perceptions of Service Families are further bound up in assumptions of resilience which often affects the levels of support which they receive. Overall, the expectations of Service Families with children are clear, in that they expect the moral obligations underpinned in the Armed Forces Covenant to be upheld. This thesis highlights and demonstrates the unique challenges experienced by Service Families and their children when navigating inclusive education systems and provides recommendations and best practice examples for policy makers, Local Authorities, and schools. Additionally, this research has highlighted and recommended the requirement for further in-depth investigation of Service Children with a SEND.