Mining and Defence have a lot in common.

Both can be technical exercises, both require high levels of skills and enormous logistics.

Like mining, the action for soldiers, sailors and air force members is very rarely close to home.

In the second of this series we look at the services offered to ADF families to help educate children. What can the mining industry learn?

Defence recognises that some children may experience disruption to their education each time they move for a posting.

There are a range of services and resources that can assist with the transition between schools and education systems, and provide support for the unique needs of Defence students.

This includes the Education Assistance Scheme which provides support for such items as tutoring, boarding school costs, tertiary student accommodation, special needs education support and student reunion travel for those who are eligible.

Defence has specialist mentors in primary and secondary schools across Australia to smooth the transition of Defence children into the new school and community and to provide them with support as needed.

Education Liaison Officers, or EDLOs, are specialists who can advise families about local education systems, schools, education issues and support available for Defence students.

To assist children with moving between schools, there are resources to help them capture and scrapbook their experiences, achievements, friends and memories from each school and take them on to the next. The School Posting Passport provides a quick snapshot of all the schools the student has been part of, while the Digital Portfolio Builder is a more detailed electronic record of their information.

Defence recognises that ADF families often turn to schools for help when mobility affects education through frequent moves, long periods of separation, isolation from extended family support networks, and operational deployments.

The program provides funding to eligible schools in order to engage a Defence School Mentor. Mentors work to minimise the impact of mobility on education and build the capability of the school in supporting Defence students and their families.

Mentors are based within primary and secondary schools across Australia for the purpose of providing support to the children of Defence families through on-site, direct and flexible assistance to students, parents, teachers and other support services.

Defence provides the Education Assistance Scheme, which provides support to help the children of ADF members who may experience disruption to their education as a result of a member’s posting.