Checklist for this page

High Levels of Parental Satisfaction recorded in 2007 SCE survey
14-19 and the new diplomas
Childcare Voucher Scheme
Education - The Experience of Service Children
Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA)
Schools Admissions
House of Commons Defence Committee - Educating Service Children
Which LEA should a student apply to?
Boarding School – First Steps and Considerations

High Levels of Parental Satisfaction recorded in 2007 SCE survey

The 2007 survey has confirmed that SCE has once again exceeded its key target of 85% for parental satisfaction. Overall an average of 92% of parents with children in SCE schools and Foundation Stage 1 settings were satisfied or very satisfied with the education received by their children. This is an increase of 2% on last year’s figure.  Read more >>

14-19 and the new diplomas

Diplomas are the new courses designed to run alongside GCSEs and A Levels. They will include generic learning including English, maths and IT as well as learning more specific to the type of diploma chosen. They are intended to open up career paths and choices rather than narrow them; they are employment-related learning, not job-related training. Read more >>

Childcare Voucher Scheme

On 10th December 2007 the MOD launched its childcare voucher scheme for Forces personnel. Read more >>

Education - The Experience of Service Children

We all take our children’s education seriously, but what sets the experience of a Service child aside from that of his or her civilian friends? Read more >>

Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA)

Due to our high rates of mobility, boarding school is often the only viable choice for Service children. Families find it an agonising decision – often a decision that they swore never to even consider when their children were younger. Service personnel who claim CEA have to sign a mobility certificate agreeing that they are prepared to move wherever the MOD requests them to. In claiming CEA, a Service person must fully accept that accompanied service is the overriding principle for maintaining their entitlement to the allowance. Read more >>

The termly rates for CEA 2008-2009 are as follows:

Junior / Prep CEA (Day) £2474
Junior / Prep CEA (Board) £4199
Senior CEA (Day) £3252
Senior CEA (Board) £5412

Schools Admissions

Our children’s education needs are well looked after by SCE in most overseas locations; in the UK the responsibility for finding school places rests with the parents. This can often seem like a daunting task, especially when undertaken at a distance. Below are the questions AFF receives most often, followed by some suggestions about how to go about finding and getting school places for your children. Read more >>

House of Commons Defence Committee - Educating Service Children

The House of Commons Defence Committee called on Government to urgently address the problems in communication between agencies that make transition for children in UK forces schools much more difficult. In their report on the Education of Service Children, published 6 September 2006, the MPs say that they take it as “self-evident” that the children of Service personnel should receive at least the same quality of schooling and educational opportunity as any child in the UK. Education is of course of paramount importance for parents in the Services and the Committee heard that concerns about education could impact on retention of forces personnel and operational effectiveness. Frequent moves are a feature of service life, and children’s personal well-being as well as educational attainment can suffer as a result. Download a pdf copy of the report.

Which LEA should a student apply to?

(Guidelines Originally published by the Department for Education and Employment)

Information for UK and Overseas Based Personnel. Read more >>

Boarding School – First Steps and Considerations

1. Contact CEAS (01980 618244). They hold the Accredited Schools Database (ASD), a list of schools for which Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA, formerly Boarding School Allowance) is admissable. If you want to receive the allowance, the school you choose must be on this list.
2. CEAS will also provide you with a mobility certificate. Accompanied service is the overriding principle for CEA; it cannot be claimed if you later decide to serve married unaccompanied.
3. When choosing a school, bear in mind its location. How far is it from family? How far is it from train stations/airports? While children at boarding school are entitled to three return trips per school year (School Children’s Visits), travel between school and airport is only refunded at the rate of the rebated rail fare for that journey (i.e. a travel warrant), so parents who prefer their children to make the journey by taxi will not be refunded the full fare. When half term visits are taken into account as well, this can become expensive.
4. Affordability – even with CEA, extra costs must be taken into account. These can include travel (see point 3), uniform, extra-curricular activities, school trips… Parents must also contribute 10% of a school’s termly fees as a condition of receiving CEA.
5. Will your child/children complete a stage of education while at boarding school? If not, or you choose to withdraw them before a stage of education is completed, you may become liable to repaying the CEA already received. If you know that you or your spouse will be leaving the Army before a stage of education is completed, you need to consider whether you can continue to pay the fees yourself, as entitlement to CEA ceases the term after a Service parent has left the Army.

A stage of education is defined as follows:

Primary, junior or preparatory school (8-11/13);
Secondary or senior school (11/13-16);
A-level or academic equivalent (16-18/19).