Research Community

Alison Cotton is a final year PhD student at Oxford Brookes University.  Her research is around the educational attainment and Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) of children from UK Armed Forces families. Alison has used the National Pupil Database (NPD) for England to compare the GCSE outcomes and SEND rates and types between Service children and non-Service children. Alison was also a research assistant on the Supporting All to Thrive (SATT) project which investigated the educational opportunities, experiences and outcomes of children with additional needs from UK Armed Forces families. Alison has extensive experience of working with learners who have SEND. She is a qualified Specialist Teacher who holds Associate Membership of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA) and an Assessment Practising Certificate (APC).  Being from a military family herself, Alison hopes to use her knowledge and research to improve outcomes for Armed Forces families.

Anna Bell contributes specialist expertise to the College for Military Veterans and Emergency Services (CMVES) as a Lecturer in Adult Nursing with a strong background in this field of research, widening participation and Armed Forces community advocacy. Drawing on her lived experience as a former RAF Senior Non-Commissioned Officer and military spouse. She brings nuanced insight into military family life, resilience, and transition, helping shape evidence-informed recommendations for policy and practice.

Bruce served nearly 27 years as a soldier and officer in the British Army, before becoming a leadership lecturer in Further Education for 2 years. Bruce is currently a Level 7 Senior Leader Development Coach and completing a Professional Doctorate in Education with the University of Portsmouth. He is a Chartered Companion of CMI, Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, Fellow of IoSCM, FIEDP, and Chartered MCIPD. His research interests are in how the military and Veterans can contribute to education post-service. Bruce has a provisional agreement for this research to help evidence towards the Office for Veterans' Affairs employment policies and the Education and Training Foundations future strategies.

Catherine is a Senior Research Data Scientist at RAND Europe whose work primarily focuses on applying statistical modelling to data on the Armed Forces community, such as forecasting the size and demographics of the Armed Forces community out to 2040, estimating the cost and prevalence of poor transitions from the Armed Forces and understanding the interactions of Armed Forces children with the social care system. Catherine’s research has focused on understanding and supporting the Armed Forces Community across a wide range of issues since 2022, with projects for the Ministry of Defence, Royal British Legion, RAF Benevolent Fund, Greenwich Hospital, the OVA and FiMT.

The Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community is an independent centre funded by Forces in Mind Trust and run by a consortium of RAND Europe and King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) at King’s College London. The centre provides an accessible and authoritative evidence base exploring the transition from military to civilian life, to inform policy and practice affecting ex-Service personnel and their families in the UK. It also functions as a community hub for the UK Armed Forces research community, connecting researchers, policy makers, and service providers, to support the forging of joined up working and collaboration, and build pathways to impact. This is achieved through various outputs, including but not limited to, a accessible online research repository, informative themed research and policy summaries and primary research exploring key themes impacting the UK ex-Service community. 

CEDAR is an Applied Psychological Practice Centre of Excellence, and one of the UK's largest providers of training in evidence-based psychological practice and therapies, working in the NHS and private practice. One of the research groups (APTIA) focuses on adapting low-intensity written and mobile phone app-based CBT interventions to improve access and effectiveness for diverse groups, such as Armed Forces Veterans, Muslims, Informal Caraers and people with various physical health conditions. 

The College for Military Veterans and Emergency Services (CMVES) conducts impactful research focused on improving educational access and wellbeing across the Armed Forces community. Its work includes a regional Military Spouse Project, which explores the lived experiences of military spouses and partners, identifying barriers to education, employment, and social mobility. 

Danielle Dryden is a Research Assistant at the Combat Stress Centre for Applied Military Health Research. Her current work focuses on women veterans, military sexual trauma, and the translation of evidence-based research into practice and policy. She is also involved in exploring the use of wearable technology as a tool for monitoring physical activity and mental health in veterans. Her broader research interests include trauma and the experiences of military children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), specifically autism.

Debra Barton is the Early Years Specialist Lead for the Ministry of Defence (MOD), based in Upavon in Wiltshire. As an Early Childhood professional with over 25 years’ experience, Debra aims to bridge the knowledge gap between the needs of young Service children, and early childhood education and childcare (ECEC). Debra provides leadership and subject matter expertise on all ECEC matters, relating to Service children aged from birth to 5 years old, wherever they are in the world. 

Debra is also a self-funded, part-time Ph.D student at the University of Worcester, and is researching the impact of Military deployment on the parenting of young Service Children, focusing on the Royal Navy/Marines in England.

Chris is a social worker lecturer and Army Veteran, whose research interests span her social work and Veteran identity. She is a member of the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research and has completed a PhD study, which explores the life stories of women Veterans who served between the 1940s to 2000s. Her military-focused research interests are military women, Veterans, LGBT+ and social work research linked to developing simulation pedagogies for pre and post-qualifying social workers.

Dean Whybrow’s research area is organizational health and well-being. He is a subject matter expert in well-being and occupational mental health care. This includes developing resources to cope with job demands such as high workload, ethical dilemmas, or exposure to potentially traumatic events. He is focused on the interplay between job demands and job resources, and strategies for promoting employee resilience. On the flip side are employee burnout, disengagement, and workforce attrition. These factors are especially relevant to healthcare workforces where staff recruitment, education, and retention can impact service delivery. His emphasis is promoting recovery and well-being, understanding the decision to leave a job, the experience of career change and identifying opportunities to promote employee engagement and retention. 

Dr Emma Senior is an Assistant Professor in Nursing and Specialist Community Public Health Nursing, alongside being a Veteran spouse. As a member of the Northern Hub for Veterans & Military Families' Research, Dr Emma Senior completed her PhD exploring the experiences of military spouses who have lived alongside their UK serving partner with a mental health issue. Her military focused research interests seek to explore the qualitative experiences of military spouses/relationships, mental health, and well-being to inform mechanisms for support and CPD opportunities within health and social care.