This research addresses a gap in evidence, understanding, and resources for early years settings supporting children from armed forces families aged 0–5 years. It was undertaken because there is little existing research on the needs and experiences of service children in the early years, and practitioners currently lack practical guidance to identify and respond to those needs.

The research set out to identify both the strengths and challenges faced by young service children and their families but the lack of published appreciative studies on the benefits of military life to children and their families, and the lived realities of the study participants, brought into sharper focus the challenges they face.