Welcome

Co-created, research-based resources

Our resources were co-created with stakeholders including our Steering Committee and our volunteers, and other organisations and individuals.

They have been evaluated by parents, educators, family and social workers, Defence School Mentors (DSM) and Education Development Liaison Officers (EDLO).

You can browse the covers for our 12 free, research-based children’s books. Each book has free, downloadable educational activities (puzzles, puppets, board games, card games, matching and memory games, numeracy activities, sequencing/storytelling activities and sight words).

Our interactive research-based storybooks are also free to use.

Why did we need resources?

Children from military families generally experience frequent and long separation from one of their parents due to training and deployment. Families often miss out on time together and special events. They also relocate frequently. This can cause family stress, impacting children’s development, especially during the critical early years.

Service-related health and mental health issues

The parent and family/social worker resources assist parents and family workers in supporting children’s understanding of some of the family changes that occur when a parent returns has a service-related physical injury or mental health condition. This impacts many veteran families.

The research behind the project and further research

Previous research revealed a lack of age and culturally appropriate resources for young children from Australian military families.

Addressing the research finding that there was an extreme lack of age and culturally-appropriate resources for young children from military families, we have co-created four suites of research-based free, online resources for children, parents, educators and family/social workers.

More about the suite of resources

Philosophy, funding and licencing of the resources

The resources are strengths-based and resilience-based and aim to improve children’s emotional intelligence and empathy. We want children from military and veteran families to not only survive military family life but thrive.

The resources are free because we received funding from 3 generous organisations.

All resources, including the narratives of the eBooks, are published under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). There are no royalties paid to the authors of the resources.

This licence means children from military families and other children who experience a parent working away (e.g. in mining, transport, tourism, emergency services etc.) or a parent with work-related health or mental health issues can benefit from the resources. They can be used internationally or adapted by other organisations for use in their own country or community.

How can you get involved?

Why is the ECDP logo a wombat?

We think wombats and children from military families have a lot in common. They are:

  • tough, yet vulnerable (and some wombats are even endangered)
  • able to adapt to different terrain
  • largely forgotten, even though they are amazing.

Thanks to Trish Donald for our lovely logo.

Acknowledgement of country

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we work and acknowledge that the land is Aboriginal land belonging to the Anaiwan nation in Armidale. We acknowledge that other Aboriginal nations also had a relationship with the land, including the Dungutti, the Kamilaroi and the Gumbaynggirr nations. We pay respects to elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded by the traditional owners of the land on which UNE sits.

Other pages

Find out more:

 

     Please click on the icon to like us https://fb.me/ecdefenceprograms

      Please click on the icon to see our Tweets @ DefenceEC

      Please follow us on Instagram @ecdefenceprograms