Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the challenges faced by military families when applying for school places (a) during school holiday periods and (b) other times outside of the normal admissions cycle.

The department is committed to supporting the education of service children. Families of UK service personnel can be subject to frequent moves, often requiring them to apply for school places outside the normal admissions round.

The School Admissions Code requires admission authorities to allocate school places in advance of a service family moving into the area, where certain conditions are met.

Children eligible for the Service Pupil Premium can be prioritised in oversubscription criteria, and service pupils can be admitted as exceptions to the infant class size limit, outside the normal admissions round. Publicly-funded boarding schools must give second highest priority to service children who qualify for Ministry of Defence assistance with boarding fees.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are taking further steps to support children having difficulty securing school places in-year by giving local authorities improved levers to secure places for children quickly and efficiently.