Education and childcare: Homes for Ukraine
What rights children under the scheme have to education, and the role of councils in providing it. Information on childcare options.
Applies to England
All children living in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and the Ukraine Family Scheme are eligible to enrol as a student.
Evidence of eligibility
Colleges (non-state-funded) may ask to see evidence of eligibility, which could be the Home Office documents that give families from Ukraine the legal right to reside in the UK. These documents give automatic rights to access education.
Education funding
Local authorities will continue to receive separate funding in 2022-23 for the Ukraine education tariff under the rates and terms previously set out (a per child tariff of £3,000 for early years, £6,580 for primary and £8,755 for secondary and payments calculated on a pro-rata basis).
There is more information in government funding for councils.
Council support for school places
Councils should support parents in choosing schools, which includes providing information on where schools have vacancies and how to apply.
If there are school places available in the local area, even if not in the immediate vicinity of the family’s home, the council should work with families arriving from Ukraine to enable the children to attend school as soon as possible.
Councils are expected to provide places and school admission authorities should use the space in their schools as fully as possible and admit students above their published admission numbers.
All young people in England are required to continue in education or training until their 18th birthday, and most continue until the end of the academic year in which they turn 18. Councils have a statutory duty to support 16 and 17-year-olds to move into education and training.
Policy on priority admissions
Children from Ukraine have no specific additional priority for admission. This policy is the same as the one for families who came to the UK under the Afghan and Hong Kong BN(O) resettlement schemes.
However, children from Ukraine should be prioritised for admission under a local council in-year, fair-access protocol, and placed quickly, in the circumstances set out in the School Admissions Code. For example, where the child has been refused admission to schools within a reasonable distance of their home.
These children should also be admitted in-year as exceptions to the infant class size limit, where there is no alternative school place within a reasonable distance of their home.
Childcare
Parents and children are also eligible for the same childcare options available to people in the UK, but what is available will vary depending on which part of the UK they live in (England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland).
For example, In England guests can get help with the cost of childcare depending on their circumstances, including:
- 15 free hours of childcare per week for all children aged 3 and 4
- An extra 15 hours of free childcare if they work and their child is aged 3 and 4
- free childcare if their child is 2 years old and they are on a very low income or receive certain benefits.
They may also be able to get money off the cost off childcare if they work or are on Universal Credit.
Guests can find out what Childcare and education options are available to them.