What is the Service Pupil Premium?

The Department for Education (DfE) 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 worth:

  • £350 per eligible pupil in the 2025 to 2026 financial year
  • £360 per eligible pupil in the 2026 to 2027 financial year

The purpose of the Service Pupil Premium

Eligible schools receive the SPP so that they can offer mainly pastoral support during challenging times and to help mitigate the negative impact on service children of family mobility or parental deployment.

Examples of how SPP has been used can be found in the Best Practice guide (pdf) produced by the MOD.

How Service Pupil Premium differs from the Pupil Premium

The SPP is there for schools to provide mainly pastoral support for service children, whereas the Pupil Premium was introduced to raise attainment and accelerate progress within disadvantaged groups.

Schools should not combine SPP with the main Pupil Premium funding and the spending of each premium should be accounted for separately.

More information for teachers and school staff is available on GOV.UK or contact Defence Children’s Services by email: [email protected].

Service Pupil Premium FAQs

Is my child eligible for SPP?

Children and young people are eligible for SPP if they attend a state-funded school in England and meet one or more 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 service)
  • they have been registered as a ‘Service child’ on a school census at any point in the last 6 years (use the DfE’s ever 6 service child measure)
  • 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
  • one of their parents is in the Armed Forces of another nation and is stationed in England

How do I get SPP for my child?

Let your school know that your child is a Service child before October each year (especially important if you have moved schools). The school submits the numbers to the DfE in an October census return.

SPP is paid to eligible schools and it is for schools to decide how it is best spent. The school will not receive the funding immediately – it is paid to eligible schools the following April.

What can schools spend the money on?

The school decides what to spend the money on. Schools should not combine SPP with the main Pupil Premium (PP) funding and the spending of each premium should be accounted for separately.

Examples of how SPP might be used:

  • A  teaching assistant or staff time for pastoral support
  • Clubs, e.g. offering opportunities for children and young people to communicate with their deployed parent(s)/carer(s) or to develop scrapbooks highlighting their achievements and daily school life
  • o Resources to support with school transitions including settling in / moving on
  • Settling in materials for Service children
  • Nurture/therapy groups
  • Reading materials/subscriptions for Service children
  • Time/resources to collaborate with other schools on support

How do we know how the SPP is being spent?

We encourage schools to have information available on their website about how they use SPP funding. If you can’t find the information, it might be worth asking the question.

I don’t think our school is doing anything for my child/ children with the money, what can I do?

Remember that the school decides how this money is spent and it won’t necessarily be spent directly on your individual child(ren). Try to have a constructive dialogue with the school.

Share guidance material that you have access to with them. If that doesn’t work then your best course of action is to write to the Board of Governors with your concerns.

Are our children eligible after we have left the RAF?

As long as a child has been flagged as a Service child since 2016 (and prior to the Service person leaving the RAF) they will remain eligible for SPP for a maximum of 6 years or Year 11 (whichever comes first) under the ‘Ever 6 Service child’ measure.

Is my child disadvantaged because they do not attract SPP in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland?

No. Education is a devolved responsibility and therefore the Devolved Nations have developed their own systems for supporting Service children – it does not mean that your child will not receive the support that they need. You can find links to more information in our downloadable comparison tables.

Further information and resources