Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) 

Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) is offered by the MOD to assist with funding a place in a boarding school in order to help to provide continuity of education for a child, and to enable the spouse of a Service person to accompany them on assignments.

In claiming CEA, a Service person must fully accept that accompanied service is the overriding principle for maintaining entitlement. An exception to this requirement is when a Service person is classified as Involuntarily Separated (INVOLSEP). This classification must be confirmed by the claimant’s Commanding Officer or by means of casework to Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) before claiming while serving unaccompanied.

CEA is available for children aged eight years and over. If your child has Special Education Needs or Disability (SEND), this should not prevent their admission to a boarding school, and an allowance for SEN support may be available in some circumstances.

Children for whom CEA is being claimed must be placed in their correct chronological year group. If a school suggests that a child be placed, on entry to the school, in the year behind (or in front of) their correct year group, advice and authority for this must be sought from the Children’s Education and Advisory Service before the placement is accepted, as this may affect your eligibility to claim CEA. Advice and authority must also be sought from CEAS if a child is asked to repeat a year in a school they are already attending.

You are expected to contribute a minimum of 10% towards the fees. The fees are only part of the costs of attending a boarding school and so it is important to be clear about any extras the school charges for.

Further information about eligibility is in Joint Service Publication 752, part 2 (Chapter 9). To check your eligibility and to apply, contact your Unit Personnel Office.

Continuity of Education Allowance (Guardians)
The aim of Continuity of Education Allowance (Guardians) (CEA (Guardians)) is to financially assist Service parents who elect to place their child in the care of a guardian so that the child may continue to attend a particular day school. The allowance is intended to contribute to the additional costs of the child’s maintaining contact with their family when they are living away from the family home. The allowance is not intended to cover any costs for accommodation, education or welfare.

An eligible guardian is any person in whose care a child is placed to enable them to remain at a particular day school that the child could not attend if resident with their claimant parent. In this context, guardianship is deemed to exist if the claimant arranges private accommodation for the child, e.g., with a relative, friend, in rented accommodation, or in a YMCA or similar privately-run hostel. The safety and security of each child is the responsibility of the parents in such an arrangement. For full details of the allowance and of eligibility, see JSP 752 (Chapter 14 Section 5).

CEA (Guardians) is paid at the rate of £10.00 per day (correct August 2018).

General Considerations 
1. When considering sending your child/children to boarding school it is essential that you fully consider following factors: Boarding education is expensive and you need to be aware of the full costs involved before committing yourself. 

2. The headline fees can link to other additional charges which vary school by school. The CEA rate covers up to 90% of the headline fee up to a published ceiling. Costs above that ceiling and additional school charges are the responsibility of the parent. 

3. High independent school fees do not automatically result in good or outstanding schools.

4. Maintained, or State Boarding Schools, offer lower fees because they charge only for boarding provision with the tuition element being State funded. 

5. Every child is an individual and a school suitable for one child may not be suitable for another; one child’s needs may best be met by a large, highly academic school, while another child needs a small family atmosphere in which to thrive. 

6. Choosing a boarding school is not easy and you will need to gather together as much information as possible. Do visit as many schools and speak with as many teachers and boarding staff as possible. Try to talk to pupils and other parents and remember not to commit yourself before you have confirmed that you will be eligible for CEA through engaging fully with the application process. 

7. Check school inspection reports which are public documents available either from The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED).