Service personnel with children in state schools in England only have until 17th January 2019 to notify schools of their children’s eligibility for the Service Pupil Premium…
The Department for Education introduced the Service Pupil Premium (SPP) in April 2011 in recognition of the specific challenges children from service families face and as part of the commitment to delivering the Armed Forces Covenant.
State schools, academies and free schools in England, which have children of service families in school years Reception to Year 11, can receive the SPP funding. It is designed to assist the school in providing the additional support that these children may need and is currently worth £300 per service child who meets the eligibility criteria:
- one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces
- they have been registered as a ‘service child’ in the school census at any point since 2011
- one of their parents died whilst serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme
- pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full time reserve service are classed as service children
So, with deadline fast approaching, make sure you notify school of your children’s eligibility for the Service Pupil Premium.
