Guidance

Service pupil premium (SPP): information for schools

How much Service pupil premium (SPP) funding schools get, and details of which children attract the funding.

From:
Ministry of Defence and Department for Education
Published
22 January 2014
Last updated
3 September 2020 — See all updates

This guidance was withdrawn on

This guidance has been replaced by Service pupil premium (SPP).

SPP is extra funding for schools to support children and young people with parents in the armed forces.

Pupils attract the SPP if they meet one of the following criteria:

  • one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces (including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full time reserve)
  • 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
  • they have been registered as a ‘service child’ on the January school census at any point since 2016.

Note: Ever 6 ‘service child’ measure: SPP was extended, such that any pupil in reception to year 11, who has been flagged as a service child since the January 2016 census, will continue to receive the premium (Ever 6 service child). You can read the ESFA’s pupil premium grant guidance for more information.

Children have to be flagged as service children ahead of the January school census deadline. Service parents need to make the school aware of their status by talking to the head teacher or school admin staff.

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 £310 per service child who meets the eligibility criteria.

Allocations

We confirm final SPP allocations at the end of the calendar year at the same time as pupil premium allocations.

Details of each school’s SPP eligibility are available each June through a data download from the Key to Success website. This shows who is eligible and the total funding available.

More information for teachers and school staff on supporting service children and understanding their needs is available from the Service children in state schools (SCISS) handbook.

Updates to this page

Published 22 January 2014
Last updated 3 September 2020 + show all updates

  1. Updated page content.

  2. Added a note regarding the Ever 6 service child.

  3. Updated the service pupil premium (SPP): information for schools page.

  4. Added details of the amount of funding that eligible children will attract in the 2015 to 2016 financial year.

  5. First published.

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