The RAF Families Federation (RAFFF) has launched a new questionnaire to capture the impact of education funding changes on RAF personnel and their families.
Our submission to the Treasury last year helped convince the MOD that this was a significant issue to our people, and a commitment was made to recalculate the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to help mitigate these costs.
Despite last year’s recalculation of the CEA, RAF families are still facing financial pressure. For others, the changes have created uncertainty and difficult decisions about their children’s education.
Your voice matters
Andrea Devlin, RAF Families Federation Director, highlights:
“The decision to add VAT to school fees has created a complex situation. While the increased CEA rates help some, we are hearing that others are paying more for their children’s school places. We need to capture the full picture – the good, the bad, and the challenging – to accurately represent your experiences to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and UK Government.”
The findings from this questionnaire will be used to provide evidence-based feedback to key decision makers, ensuring the real-life impact on service families is understood at the highest levels.
Have your say
We want to understand how the introduction of VAT on independent school fees has impacted RAF families. Whether you are happy with the outcome, facing hardship, or feeling uncertain about the future, we need to hear from you. Your story is our most powerful tool for helping create change and ensuring the needs of RAF families are not overlooked.
We urge all RAF personnel and their families who use or are considering independent schooling to spend two minutes completing this questionnaire.
All responses are completely anonymous and confidential. The data will be used by the RAF Families Federation solely for the purpose of analysis and advocacy.
RAF Families Federation advocacy
In September 2024 we submitted a report to HM Treasury on behalf of RAF personnel and their families on the impact that rising school fees would have on their lives. Following this submission, the MOD announced that CEA rates would be “…recalculated, in recognition of the likely increase in school fees that will occur in January 2025.”
Further information: 2024 Budget implications for VAT on school fees Forces families >
The RAFFF is dedicated to supporting RAF families and encourages anyone facing challenges or seeking assistance to ‘Contact us’.
