Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS)

Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS) supports operational effectiveness through the provision of educational support to Service and eligible MOD civilian families.

CEAS provides advice, support and guidance regarding the educational well-being of the children and young people belonging to families in all 3 services and eligible MOD civilians who are based overseas. All advice given is professional, child-centred and focuses on the best interests of the individual.

The CEAS team is comprised of qualified teachers and experienced case advisors who can answer queries predominantly via email and telephone.

Role

CEAS provides authoritative, bespoke, professional advice to Service and eligible MOD civilian families on a wide range of educational issues including:

  • parental rights and responsibilities
  • children or young person’s rights and responsibilities
  • special educational needs and/or disability
  • school admissions and appeals
  • overseas education and supportability in non-MOD school areas
  • retention of Service Family Accommodation for educational purposes
  • Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) and The Special Educational Needs Addition (SENA)

CEAS does not make decisions about a child or young person’s education; we advise families and commands to allow them to make informed decisions.

In order that we may address your queries and abide by data protection regulations you will need to submit an application for support using the relevant forms stated in each area below.

Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND/AN)

If you require information, guidance or support regarding your child(ren)’s special educational additional needs and/or disability, please feel free to contact CEAS or read Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) information.

For further support and guidance from CEAS, please complete and return the General Education Support (PDF, 126KB, 3 pages) along with any evidence to support your case.

Please also read the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years.

School admissions and admission appeals

If you cannot get your child(ren) into the school of your choice and would like information about school admissions and appeals, please read the following links:

This guidance relates to school admissions in England only and you should contact CEAS directly if your school admission query relates to anywhere other than this.

For further support and guidance from CEAS, please complete and return the admissions and appeals CEAS support form along with any evidence to support your case.

Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA)

If you are considering boarding school for your child(ren) and have checked the regulations to see if you are eligible, you can request Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA).

You can start the process for applying for CEA by completing the CEA request form.

DCS have produced a boarding school finder website for service parents, which may be useful when choosing a boarding school.

If you are already a claimant for CEA and wish to withdraw from CEA, please read the CEA withdrawal advice. Please then ensure that you contact CEAS RC-DCS-HQ-CEAS@mod.gov.uk for individual advice and the necessary CEA withdrawal form.

CEA Special Educational Needs Allowance (SENA)

If you are in receipt of CEA and your child has special educational needs and/or a disability, and you or the boarding school need additional educational provision as a result, you can apply for CEA Special Educational Needs Allowance (SENA). Please read the SENA process responsibilities.

If you would like to apply for CEA SENA please read the SENA advice and guidance and complete the CEA SENA application form.

General education advice and support

If you have a query or require support that is not covered by any of the topics mentioned above, you can apply for .

Overseas education

For support in relation to service children’s education in overseas command areas, not supported by an MOD school, including isolated detachment areas (ISODET) please see Education overseas for service children and email any enquiries to RC-DCS-HQ-CEAS@mod.gov.uk.

Contact us

The most effective way to contact the CEAS team is via email:

RC-DCS-HQ-CEAS@mod.gov.uk

Emails are checked every working day and allocated to case workers to provide the required action.

If parents would prefer to speak to a member of the team – please indicate this in your email and a staff member will call you as soon as they possibly can.