Welfare provision for initial training
establishments
Overview
There is no formal structure nor chart detailing
welfare support available in initial training establishments.
The provision of welfare support is an inextricable part of supervision,
and attempts to map out the Services' welfare structures would
be unwieldy. But a review of the principles underpinning welfare
provision, and its application in each of the Services may be
helpful to the Committee.
The guiding principles and goals of the Armed
Forces welfare policy are detailed within the Armed Forces Overarching
Personnel Strategy (AFOPS). AFOPS was formulated in order to promote
operational Effectiveness through the provision of a statement
of vision, strategic guidance, and direction for Armed Forces
personnel policies. It comprises Departmental personnel strategies
and aims that are intended to progress tri-Service initiatives
and provide guidance on single Service personnel issues.
Welfare provision can be divided into the following
elements:
(a) First line support. The responsibility
of the Commanding Officer and carried out by unit resources: officers;
non-commissioned officers; unit welfare officers; personnel/career
management Officers; Padres/Chaplains and medical staffs.
(b) Second line support. Welfare support
to Service personnel and their dependants can be considered as
falling into two parts: the pro-active delivery of what in some
areas is recognised as community support, and the reactive aspects
of welfare relating to individuals and families that experience
unexpected trauma or need. These include:
(i) Public and non-publicly funded community
support provided to groups of families and individuals throughout
the military community, essentially handling any proactive activity
for the benefit of the community. It includes all amenities, group
facilities, community centres and clubs, retail, leisure, recreational
and sporting activities. It encompasses creche facilities and
other day care amenities, the provision and co-ordination of youth
centres, youth projects and after school activities.
(ii) Reactive personal support encompassing
advice and counselling on a wide variety of personal and family
circumstances. The range of circumstances is extensive and covers
issues such as relationship difficulties, childcare issues (ranging
from practical support to child protection concerns), bereavement,
education, addictions, physical violence, financial difficulties,
and military separation.
(c) Third line support. Providing
the statutory services that are normally available in England
and Wales, in garrison areas overseas.
The provision of welfare support by the three
Services to their personnel and dependants reflects the differing
Service operational environments and employment patterns, the
differing distribution and circumstances of dependants, and the
Service perception of risk. Welfare support is separately delivered
by a mixture of Service and civilian personnel, with different
levels of qualification and professional standing, against a variety
of procedures and quality standards—albeit all are intended
to meet the objectives laid down within AFOPS.
Within Phase 1 and Phase 2 training establishments,
the implementation of the Unit Supervisory Care Directive ensures
that Commanding Officers are directly responsible for ensuring
a pragmatic supervisory care regime is in place for recruits and
trainees, including those on holdover awaiting training within
the establishment.
NAVY
Although welfare provision in HMS Raleigh
is within the chain of command, it is in the main separate
from the Phase 1 training chain of command. The first layer of
welfare provision is the Divisional System. Each class of 30 trainees
has a Petty Officer (PO) Instructor. Each group of two classes
(60) comes under the divisional care of a Phase 1 Divisional Officer
(DO), supported by a divisional chief duty officer. Trainees are
able to by-pass their instructor and go directly to the DO, should
they wish to do so. In addition to this at least one of the team
of Chaplains is available to trainees on a 24-hour basis, who
also have access to medical staff.
HMS Raleigh also operates a carers' forum.
It meets at least twice a term and includes members from chaplaincy,
medical and dental staff, personnel selection officers, and Phase
1 & 2 trainers. It is there to discuss trends rather than
individuals. Case conferences (which focus on the needs of the
individual) are set up as and when required and are considered
to be an offshoot from the Carers' Forum. These will be called
by a DO, Chaplain or Doctor and will normally involve one member
of each department who has been dealing with the trainee in question.
An overview of the duty of care regime at the
Maritime Warfare School (Phase 2) is attached. This demonstrates
the personnel available during working and non-working hours to
support trainees, and the various elements of routine weekly business
(including the Carer's Forum) associated with care and welfare
matters.
The RN is moving towards a fully civilian run
welfare service, managed and manned predominantly by fully qualified
social workers. The Naval Personal & Family Service (NPFS)
is currently 130 strong across the country, handling approximately
4,000 welfare cases each year. The staffs are mainly situated
around the three base ports of Portsmouth, Plymouth and Faslane.
NPFS, along with SSAFA Forces Help, also provide support in Gibraltar
and Naples. Moving away from the use of Service personnel as caseworkers
has been accepted as a consequence of branch restructuring, but
has been welcomed as a means of developing a professional and
independent welfare service. Albeit still responsible to the Service
chain-of-command, NPFS, as a fully civilian organisation, will
be able to maintain effective separation commensurate with the
requirement for confidentiality, while retaining the ability to
support operational capability when required.
Royal Marines
The Royal Marines are supported by the Royal
Marines Welfare Service, headed by a qualified Social Worker and
manned by Service personnel (plus three civilian Social Workers)
who are trained as fieldworkers at the Royal Navy School of Specialist
Welfare, HMS Nelson. This support is provided from eight
office locations each consisting of one or two fieldworkers, dealing
with approximately 3,500 cases each year, is independent of the
NPFS and managed within CinCFleet's TLB.
Within the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines
(CTCRM) welfare presentations are given to all command courses
highlighting the three-stage model of Recognition, Assessment
and Referral to non-commissioned officers (NCOs).
A recruit with a welfare issue will see his
Troop Officer Commanding (OC) (a Captain responsible for up to
50 recruits). The OC will then involve the Welfare Warrant Officer
(WO)/social worker/chaplaincy who will take on the case, keeping
the Commanding Officer (CO), etc informed as required. However,
a recruit is able to go straight to welfare or Chaplaincy if they
prefer to do so.
ARMY
The attached schematic ("Pastoral Care")
illustrates the welfare provision available to trainees within
initial training establishments. It shows four aspects of pastoral
care. The Troop, Squadron and Regimental assets are within the
chain of command, although if they wish recruits and trainees
can of course have direct access to, for example, the Padre and
WRVS personnel where confidentiality is assured.
Outside the chain of command, the Army has recently
instituted a new organisation for the delivery of welfare support.
The Army Welfare Service (AWS) directly employs over 400 people
(including 80 fieldworkers and 85 Community Support Workers),
900 pre-school workers supported from non-public funds, and an
additional 800 volunteers. They are deployed across 45 locations,
with 20 teams around the UK and five teams in Germany, handling
more than 8,000 welfare cases each year. The AWS fieldworkers,
predominantly serving SNCOs trained at the Royal Navy School of
Specialist Welfare at HMS Nelson, are supported by qualified
Social Workers at the Divisional level. They have replaced the
welfare support previously provided by SSAFA Forces Help.
An address list for the Army Welfare Service
(AWS) is available to recruits. A copy is attached, together with
the AWS confidentiality code and other literature about the AWS.[9]
RAF
The RAF Community Support concept (which applies
to all RAF initial training establishments) includes personal
and emotional support as one of its three pillars (the other two
pillars are information support and structural support—see
RAF publication "The RAF Community Support Concept"
AP 3392 Vol 2 Leaflet 2402 attached).[10]
The chain of command retains primacy in the provision of support,
and it is the responsibility of every officer and NCO to ensure
that their subordinates are supported appropriately, seeking assistance
from professionally qualified staff. Station Chaplains are actively
involved, principally in the context of pastoral care.
Outside the chain of command the RAF has contracted
the services of 60 staff, which includes fully trained Social
Workers and personal and family support workers, from SSAFA Forces
Help, for the reactive aspects of welfare support throughout the
UK. They deal with approximately 6,000 cases each year. The RAF
also subscribes to a confidential helpline.
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