Breaking ground on a new deployment resource for younger children

Our participation team is excited to be co-producing a unique resource supporting the wellbeing of younger children while their parent or loved one is deployed. 

With support from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, we’re bringing together children in nine primary schools across Scotland to develop this resource. Sessions have already begun, inviting children to explore their feelings with words and clay: ‘what is deployment? how we feel? and what is hard?’ 

The reflections we’ve seen and heard so far underscore the need for specialised support to help children feel understood, connected, and cared for: 

‘I don’t feel myself, 

There is something missing, 

It’s hard to say goodbye and cope when they are away.’ 

The Deployment Rollercoaster is an existing digital support offer made by and for young people to help navigate a parent’s deployment, with activities and encouragement available for every stage in the journey. 

This project has made a real difference for children, families and educators alike, and the new resource will meet this need for primary school ages. 

Steve, aged 7, said it best: ‘Activities for me and my teachers about deployment would make me feel safe.’ 

The project is in its early stages, with preliminary sessions focused on building relationships and trust within each forum group. Upholding our participation principles is essential to all of our co-production work, and we have taken time to discuss with children what their involvement means. 

One way we support pupil’s informed consent for the project is by presenting a Consent Tree, adapted from Lucy Robinson’s Research Ethics Tree.  

Throughout this school year, we’ll continue to gather contributions from Forces children and fine-tune resources that will help them feel better throughout each stage of their parent’s deployment.   

This project has been made possible by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust as part of their wider effort to help Forces families handle the challenge of separation with the Apart, not Alone programme.