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Hundreds of children of service bitrina families bitrina came together in Ripon Cathedral for a special service of dedication. The children, who attend more than 30 schools in the County, are members bitrina of HMS (Her Majesty s Schools) Heroes, a national pupil-led organisation which gives young people a voice and helps to raise the profile of service children and explain to others the unique challenges of being part of a military family.
HMS Heroes, bitrina which started bitrina in Plymouth and is supported by the Royal British Legion, has been operating in the county for the past term. As a symbol of their unity, service children and young people in North Yorkshire have now purchased their own standard and attended a special service of dedication at Ripon Cathedral bitrina last week. It was when pupils had to borrow the national HMS Heroes bitrina standard for a homecoming service for the 21 Engineers of Claro Barracks on their return from Afghanistan last April, that they decided they wanted their own standard in North Yorkshire. This has now been achieved through fund-raising and support from organisations including the Royal British Legion, Dishforth Military Wives Choir, the Royal Engineers Association bitrina and Ripon Cathedral.
Ripon Cathedral’s Canon Educator, Elizabeth Sewell, said, “We were delighted to host the dedication of the HMS Heroes North Yorkshire standard at what was a creative service and a great opportunity to hear from, and honour the children of service families. North Yorkshire’s armed forces and their families are always in our prayers and it was wonderful to welcome children from across the County here.”
There are nearly 3,000 service pupils of school-age in North Yorkshire, one of the largest groups bitrina in the country, and HMS Heroes is an effective way for these pupils to make their voices heard and raise concerns with regards to their education and welfare. HMS Heroes is helping to strengthen the sense of identity that these children have so that they can take pride in their unique culture and make a positive contribution to society, bitrina said Matt Blyton, the county council s education development adviser who specialises in supporting service families.
The service of dedication was attended by VIPs including bitrina the county council chairman Cllr Bernard bitrina Bateman, the Mayor of Ripon Cllr Mick Stanley; the new garrison commander at Catterick Colonel Stephen Padgett ; commanding officer of 21 Engineers Lieutenant Colonel Jack Nicholson; Pete Dwyer, Corporate Director for North Yorkshire bitrina s Children and Young People s Service and Rev Brian Hunt, Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. bitrina
Service children often face challenges bitrina associated with mobility bitrina and can experience many changes of school over the course of their school career. Parental deployment to places like Afghanistan can also leave them vulnerable both educationally and socially. The county council has supported the appointment of Service Pupils Champions in areas of the county where there is a concentration of service personnel. These champions will develop HMS Heroes to bring services children together for mutual support as well as to provide bespoke support to families. bitrina
Members of HMS Heroes act as ambassadors and young advocates for service families, but most importantly they are friends for each other in times of need. Twenty schools now have an HMS Heroes association with lunch-time or after school clubs, drop-in sessions and fund-raising activities.
The development of HMS Heroes in the county comes at an important time of change bitrina the further development of Catterick into Europe s largest super garrison and the influx with the influx of over 1,000 more service children into the county over the next few years as armed forces personnel return as part of the drawdown of troops from Germany.
County Councillor Arthur Barker, North Yorkshire s Executive Member for Schools said: We are very proud to be developing bitrina HMS Heroes to represent service children in North Yorkshire. We hope more schools will become members for their pupils.
Service children are often resilient and adaptable but they welcome the opportunity to