On this page you will find information about:
- Guidance currently serving and ex-service families with children and young people.
- Community networks and charity support.
- Information for those who are caring for children and young people with SEND.
Support for currently serving families
The MOD’s Defence Children Services (DCS)
The DCS works to ensure that the children and young people of service personnel receive their full entitlement to services and suffer no disadvantage because of their parent’s service status.
The DCS is made up of teams who provide different services for the children and young people of service families:
Education Advisory Team (UK) (EAT(UK))
The team at EAT (UK) are made up of qualified teachers and experienced case advisors. They can provide you with advice, guidance and support to help service families and eligible MOD civilian families in the UK make informed decisions.
EAT (UK) can provide advice on a range of topics including:
- parental rights and responsibilities
- children/ young person’s rights and responsibilities
- Special Educational Needs and/or Disability
- school admissions and appeal.
EAT (UK) can help you to find information about your rights and responsibilities in relation to your child/ young person’s education.
Get in touch
Contact the Education Advisory Team (UK) to find out more via:
Email: [email protected]
Overseas Educational Support Team (OEST)
The OEST provides information, advice and guidance to service personnel and eligible MOD civilians regarding the education of service children and young people in overseas locations.
They also coordinate the educational supportability assessment process for children and young people whose parents have selected Elective Home Education.
Get in touch
Contact the Overseas Educational Support Team (OEST) to find out more via:
Email: [email protected]
Service children and young people with SEND
Children and young people with SEND in the UK
If you are the parent or guardian of a child with a Special Educational Need and/or Disabilities (SEND) in the UK, you can contact EAT(UK) for relevant support, advice and guidance.
Get in touch
Contact the Education Advisory Team (UK) to find out more via:
Email: [email protected]
Read about the EAT (UK) team on the GOV.UK website.
Children and young people with SEND in overseas locations
The Overseas Educational Support Team (OEST) organises the educational supportability assessment process for overseas postings for children and young people who have SEND and are in overseas locations.
Get in touch
Contact the Overseas Educational Support Team (OEST) to find out more via:
Email: [email protected]
Learn more about the OEST on the on the GOV.UK website.
Guidance and advice for people who care for children with additional needs
There are additional information guides available that cover a range of topics relevant to families who care for a child with additional needs. The guidance covers topics including education, housing, healthcare, and support from other organisations.
Service Pupil Premium (SPP)
Service Pupil Premium is funding a school can receive to help them provide additional support to service children. The funding is available for children between reception age and year 11.
Read more about the eligibility criteria and how to apply for SPP on the GOV.UK website.
To make sure a school can make a claim for SPP you will need to tell them that you are a service family before October so that this can be noted on the school census.
Support from community networks and charities
Army Parents' Network
The Army Parents’ Network is a community through which Serving Army Parents and the Chain of Command can access information, advice, and support from peers.
Additionally, the Network has a range of documents containing guidance on moving schools, employment, and flexible working which you can access.
Get in touch
Visit the Army Parents' Network website, or
Email: [email protected]
RAF Families Federation
The Federation provides support and guidance to RAF families around the world. Through their website, you can access guidance on education for children and young adults in the UK and overseas.
Get in touch
Visit the RAF Families Federation website to chat online, or
Telephone: 01780 781 650
Lines are open 10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday
Naval Families Federation
The Naval Families Federation helps Royal Navy and Royal Marine families through guidance and advice which is accessible via their website. The charity works with servings sailors, marines, and their families to understand the unique demands and challenges of naval life and be there for those who are in need of support.
Get in touch
Visit the Naval Families Federation website to chat online, or
Telephone: 02392 654 374
Email: [email protected]
Supporting Service Children in Education (SSCE) Cymru - Wales
SSCE Cymru is a Welsh Local Government Association which works to raise awareness and improve the support for service children and young people.
Armed Forces friendly schools
Schools which have been awarded a bronze, silver, or gold level certificate by the SSCE are listed on their website. The online list can be used to find force-friendly schools in your area.
Browse the SSCE online lists of forces-friendly schools.
Guides and resources
The SSCE Cymru has produced a range of resources and guides to support your military family. These guides include:
Little Troopers – England and Wales – for the children of those who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, regular or reserve
Little Troopers supports children who have one or both parents serving in the British Armed Forces, Regular or Reserve.
The charity has created resources to support your service family which can be accessed via the Little Troopers website. These are:
- Resources for school, primary and secondary.
- Little Trooper Letters – for children who are moving in the next four to six weeks.
- Little Troopers Treasures – resources to help military children stay connected and make memories.
- Little Trooper Certificates.
- Recommended reads.
- Information sheets for parents.
- Family time podcast.
Find more activity sheets and resources for parents on the Little Troopers website.
Reading Force – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and overseas
The charity Reading Force brings military families together using books. The charity hosts a number of engaging programmes and resources for forces families, which you can find out more about on their website.
Support for service children, veteran, regular and reserve families
The Royal British Legion (RBL)
We understand that children in service families face big challenges. In response to this, the Royal British Legion has produced best practice guides to support service children during their education.
The guides:
- Share examples of good practice from across England and Wales
- Recommend ways in which local authorities, schools and families can improve Service children's experience in education
- Explore the adverse effects on a Service pupil’s well-being
- Provide information on the extra funding available to Service children through the Service Pupil Premium, Education Support Fund and more.
- Supporting Service children in England – English language (PDF)
- Supporting Service children in Wales – English language (PDF)
- Supporting Service children in Wales – Welsh language (PDF)
Additionally, the RBL Women's Section has a grant scheme to support the children of service personnel.
Learn more about RBL Women's Section grants , here on the RBL website.
Forces Children Scotland – UK and overseas
Forces Children Scotland supports the children and young people of currently serving and veteran families.
The charity provides a variety of support for children and young people in the community. Visit the Forces Children Scotland website to find out more about:
- Mental health and wellbeing support.
- Opportunities to develop new skills, build confidence and more.
Advisory Service
The charity’s Advisory Service is here to inform and support children, young people, parents, educators, professionals and policymakers.
Advisors can discuss a range of topics, including:
- mental health and wellbeing
- education
- children's rights
- adapting to a new place
- moving to a new school
- deployment
- transitioning from military to civilian life, and more.
Get in touch
Visit the Forces Children Scotland website to chat online, or
Telephone: 01313 227 350
Email: [email protected]
Armed Forces Education Trust – England, Scotland, and Wales
The Armed Forces Education Trust awards grants to service children whose education has been compromised or put at risk as a result of their parents’ past or current service in HM Armed Forces.
Grants are awarded to individuals and education providers. Grants are means-tested and circumstantial.
Naval Children’s Charity – UK and Commonwealth
The Naval Children’s Charity supports the children and young people of those who are or have served in the Naval Service including:
- Royal Navy
- Royal Marines
- QARNNS
- WRNS
- Reserves, and
- Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
The charity offers support in a variety of ways including:
- Financial assistance to purchase everyday items through the Emergency Essentials Grant Scheme.
- Assistance with the needs of children who are living with a disability or illness including wheelchairs, beds, specialist equipment and home adaptations.
- Education support for children including those with learning difficulties, and financial support for education outside of the state system, and higher education.
- The Life Chances programme which provides opportunities for children and young people to take part in valuable experience and learn whilst doing so.
Get in touch
Contact the Naval Children’s Charity to speak to their team who can discuss your needs and send you a form to complete and return, or you can complete the online form below.
Telephone: 02392 639 534
Email: [email protected]
Available from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday
Support for service children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
If your child is living with SEND they may need additional support with their education and other factors which contribute to it, such as travel.
The resources below provide guidance to those who are caring for children with SEND in the UK and overseas with the Armed Forces.
- Find more information on support for people who care for children with additional needs on the Royal British Legion Knowledge Base website.
- Read the SEND code of practice for children from 0 to 25 which applies in England on GOV.UK.
- Find out more about supporting children with special educational needs in Northern Ireland on the nidirect website.
- Learn about additional support for learning in Scotland on the gov.scot website.
- Find guidance on special educational needs in Wales on the gov.wales website.
- Read SEND guidance on the Army Families Federation (AFF) website.
- Find SEND help and advice on the RAF Families Federation website.
Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
DSA is a payment which is awarded to support those who are living with a mental health condition, long-term illness or other disability pay for study-related costs. DSA does not need to be paid back and it can be received in addition to student finance. The allowance is needs tested meaning that what you could receive will not be affected by your household income.
Examples of what DSA can be used to pay for include:
- Specialist equipment to support studying.
- Non-medical helpers such as a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter or specialist note taker.
- Extra travel to attend your course or placement because of your disability.
- Other disability-related study support, for example having to print additional copies of documents for proof-reading.
Find out more about Disabled Students Allowance, eligibility and how to apply in:
Armed Forces Bereavement Scholarship Scheme (AFBSS) - for the bereaved children of service personnel
The AFBSS was set up by the UK government to support the children of service personnel whose death was attributable to service. The scheme will enable them to progress into the post-16 and higher education.
This is not a means-tested scheme, meaning that your financial situation will not affect or be affected by an award.
Find out more about AFBSS eligibility, amounts awarded and overseas applications on GOV.UK.
Eligibility
To be eligible for AFBSS, the serving parents’ death must have been:
- after 00:01 hours on 1st January 1990, and
- attributable to their service whilst they were serving in the Armed Forces.
At the time of death the applicant must have been a child of the deceased service person, this is defined as:
- the applicant is the biological child of the deceased service persons and was born within 42 weeks of the parent’s death, or
- the applicate was a legitimate or illegitimate child or step-child, a child statutorily adopted or a child of the family (a legal term mean-ing any other child who is being brought up in the household of the deceased at their expense).
The child or surviving parent must be receiving benefits under an MOD-attributable benefits scheme.
If applying for further education the applicant must be due to start or have started the course either:
- while still in compulsory education, or
- within three years from finishing school education.
If applying for Higher education
If the applicant began the Further or Higher education course more than three years after they can provide information to support their application and justify why their education was delayed.
How to apply
To apply for AFBSS, complete the application form below and return by:
Email: [email protected]
Post: Veterans UK ,Thornton-Cleveleys, FY5 3WP
Begin your application on GOV.UK.
A new application for this grant must be made for each year of study. The grant will be stopped if a new claim is not made for each year of study.
Applications for Further education must be received by the scheme administrator by 31st January in the academic year for which the scholarship is to apply.
Applications for Higher education should be made after 1 April in the calendar year in which the course will start and before 31st January in the academic year for the application being made. The applicant must register with the Student Loans Company for student finance.
