Guidance

Service Pupil Premium: further information

Updated 29 August 2024

Applies to England

• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

SPP payment

The £340 a school receives for each service child will not be allocated to the individual child, but will be used to support all service children at the school - even if they were not on the school roll on census day.

Transfer of Service Pupil Premium (SPP)

If a child moves after the autumn census date (first Thursday in October), SPP is not transferable. The funding will remain with the losing school, and the receiving school will not be able to claim SPP for the child until after the next autumn census date.

Children of divorced parents

If the child is still living permanently with the service parent following a divorce, the school should continue to record the child as a service child on the school roll to claim SPP.

If the child is no longer living with the service parent following a divorce, the school will still receive SPP if the child was recorded as a service child in any school census from 2016 up until the time of the divorce. The child will be counted under the ‘ever 6 measure’ for up to 6 years, or until the end of Year 11, whichever comes first.

When a child has not been recorded as a service child in any school census from 2016 up until the time of the divorce, and the child no longer lives with the service parent, the school cannot claim SPP for that child, even if the parent is still serving.

Step children

Step children of serving personnel are eligible to receive SPP as per the Department for Education (DfE) school census.

A child must live with their service parent to be eligible for SPP - there is no requirement for the service parent to be a biological parent. A child whose main carer is a service person is also eligible.

Where a service person has parental responsibility within the terms of the Children Act 1989 for a child(ren), and satisfies all of the conditions of the PStat 2 category, schools will be able to claim SPP for the child.

Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) and reservists

Schools cannot claim SPP for children of the Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) or reservists as they are not regular service personnel. There are 2 exceptions to this:

1. If an MPGS or reservist parent previously served as a member of the regular services, and their children were recorded as service children on a school census since 2016 (while serving) eligibility would automatically continue. The school will continue to receive SPP under DfE’s ‘ever 6 measure’ for up to 6 years or until the end of Year 11, whichever comes first.

2. If the parent is a member of the Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) on full commitment (FC), schools can record those children as service children on the school roll. FTRS FC personnel are classed as regular service personnel and are fully deployable.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Children with parents in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) do not qualify for SPP. The RFA is a civilian-manned organisation.

Exchange personnel

SPP does not extend to the children of those who are on a non-reciprocal exchange. A child would only be eligible if the parent was serving in an exchange appointment within a UK military unit under a formal Status of Forces agreement. This excludes any individual attending training in the UK or part of embassy staff.

Claiming SPP and PP for the same child

Schools can claim for both SPP and PP for the same child. Guidance from the DfE is:

If they meet the criteria for both then they are entitled to both. A proportion of service pupils have been receiving both for some time.

Devolved UK nations

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own administrations and therefore have different funding policies.

Scotland

Scotland does not offer direct funding to schools for service children. Instead, Getting It Right For Every Child (known as GIRFEC) is the Scottish Government’s approach, which aims to ensure all people supporting a child work together seamlessly to provide the right help at the right time.

Wales

Service children in Welsh Government schools are supported by the Supporting Service Children in Education in Wales Fund.

Northern Ireland

PP in Northern Ireland is sourced separately and is applied for in October each year.

Identification requirements

The decision to declare a child’s service family status to a school is the decision of the individual parent, who will be asked to show identification. This is usually in the form of the military identification (ID) card held by all serving members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army and Royal Air Force and by members of the reserve forces.

Veteran cards do not show the end of service date. A valid ID card will have to have been shown while the person was still in service to declare their child as a service child.

Details of the ID card

• Size: ID cards are approximately 85 x 53 mm (credit-card size).
• Personal details: the holder’s rank, date of birth and height appear on the left side of the card, with the initial and surname of the card holder below; the holder’s service number centre-top; their photograph right-of-centre; expiry date bottom-right, and a crown superimposed over the bottom-left of the photograph.
• Signature: there is no requirement for a military ID card to be signed.
• Holographic feature: the holographic feature at the top-left is the MOD badge, made up of the fouled anchor of the Royal Navy, the crossed swords of the army and the eagle of the RAF, contained within a circle of laurel leaves and surmounted by the Royal crown.