Drakies Primary children create audio storybook to welcome Service children to the Highlands

October 23, 2026

Children of military personnel relocating to the Highlands need support for their wellbeing and social development.

What was the situation?

Children from Armed Forces families often move schools due to Service postings. During a series of engagement sessions, children and young people at Drakies Primary School, Inverness, highlighted that while there was plenty of information available for adults relocating to Highland, there were very few resources aimed directly at children.

They felt younger children moving to the area would benefit from a resource that welcomed them to Highland and helped them understand their new surroundings.

What made this Covenant disadvantage?

Children from Armed Forces families are more likely to move school than their civilian peers because of the nature of Service life. Moving to a new area can be challenging, particularly for younger children who may be unfamiliar with their new school, community and support networks.

Without accessible, age-appropriate information, children from Armed Forces families may find it more difficult to settle into their school than civilian children who do not have to relocate, affecting their learning and welfare.

What was done to help?

The children and young people, along with the Military Liaison Group (Education), a tri-service partnership managed by The Highland Council, co-produced a digital audio storybook for Early Years/Early Primary children to welcome them to the Highlands.

This sits alongside the welcome resources for the Upper Primary and Secondary resources already produced.

You can access them here. This poster explains more about this project:

What was the outcome?

These children have used their lived experience to create a meaningful resource that supports other children moving to Highland. It has been shared widely with professional audiences and promoted locally and nationally.

Additionally, the children and young people have delivered presentations to various audiences to launch and showcase their resource and it has been widely praised. It has led to numerous downloads and reads – locally, nationally and globally.

As a result, other Service children now have better tools to provide them with emotional wellbeing and social support when relocating to this area.

Wider information

You can read more widely about:

• Armed Forces Families Highland
• Covenant disadvantage and special provision (the two types of case study in this database)
• Covenant support for the Armed Forces community: Education
• How local authorities can support the Armed Forces community and implement the Covenant
• How schools can support the Armed Forces community and implement the Covenant

Disclaimer: This case study is part of the Covenant case study database. MOD has developed the database to illustrate examples of good practice for organisations in scope of the Covenant. It serves as a guide for effective Covenant delivery, offering practical insights into achieving fairness for the Armed Forces community. Delivery of the Covenant may vary across the UK. This means there is no guarantee the solution outlined in this case study is available in your area.