Education in the United Kingdom

Structural and other differences between the four 'home' countries have existed for a long time but the more recent formal devolution of statutory responsibility for education law to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has not only emphasised existing differences but continued to establish further ones.

Service families moving around the U.K. often find themselves in confusing situations resulting from these differences.  These differences may relate to a number of factors:

Differences in age ranges of phases of education
Different examination and assessment systems
Different curricular structure and content
Different admission systems
Different statutory approaches to meeting children's special educational / additional support needs.
Higher Education funding routes and arrangements.

In 2006, the House of Commons Defence Committee, in an enquiry into the education of Service children, expressed concern about some of the difficulties experienced by Service families as they moved around and in and out of the U.K.  This concern led to a recommendation, adopted by the MoD that a forum should be established within which the MoD and officials from each of the four 'home' education ministries work together to find ways to mitigate the difficulties experienced by Service families in this context.  The Forum is called the Service Children's Education Forum (SCEF)

Service families concerned about or experiencing difficulties with moves around or in and out of any of the four 'home' countries should contact CEAS for information, advice or support.  Any relevant information you can provide about your experience(s) of these issues is also useful to CEAS in its role as a member of SCEF.