can anybody advise me with ref to CEA

debtfreewannabe321

Hi there,

I wondered if someone might be able to advise me. My son is currently at boarding school and the fees are mostly covered by CEA. My son is extremely unhappy and has had issues with bullying & depression to name a few, and we've decided to take him out. My question is, do I need to keep him in there until July for the CEA to be paid.

For example if i took him out at easter, and put him locally, would the cea still help me out for the last term (the school have said it is too late to give notice to not have to pay for summer term) or will i be liable to pay it all myself?

My husband is also worried if we take him out we will be told to pay back everything they have paid so far :eek: can anyone tell me if this is true?

I'm going to go to our welfare on Monday, but i've been so worried about this I thought I would ask here too in case someone has an answer ...i hope this makes sense and thank you in advance for reading

Redouble

I think your best bet is to get your husband to ask the chief clerk (or equivalent)
I was in the same position as your son many years ago, and my parents had to pull me out (I was at Duke of Yorks ) and they didn't have to pay back what they had been paid.
My gut says you won't have to pay anything back, but you may not get any money for the rest of the school year seeing as there have been some big cuts with the boarding school allowances.

Sorry I cannot be of more help, but (hug) for you and especially your son. I wish my parents had taken me out sooner, but you can't change the past

Fergie76

From JSP752:

Breaking Continuity of Education. Claimants contemplating changing school or withdrawing a child from a school for which CEA is paid, other than at the end of a stage of education, are to seek early advice from the CEAS and their Unit HR about the effect of such action on the education of their child and their entitlement to claim CEA. Circumstances where the early withdrawal of a child from a school - for which CEA is paid - may be acceptable are outlined at Annex C to this section. In these circumstances, claimants should direct their requests in writing to the CEAGT supported by a completed Annex B to this section, a letter from the Head Teacher detailing their view on the early withdrawal and any independent evidence required by the circumstances outlined at Annex C. Claimants wishing to withdraw their child from a school in circumstances other than those outlined at Annex C must submit casework to the SPVA PACCC providing the supporting evidence referred to above. This process must be carried out by the claimant at the earliest opportunity, and before the date of withdrawal, providing sufficient time to allow consideration of the case and, where necessary, to accommodate the need to give a term’s notice of withdrawal to the school. Unless the request is fully justified in accordance with this regulation, future entitlement to CEA will be forfeited in respect of the child concerned for at least the remainder of the current stage of education and where appropriate, CEA paid may be recovered in accordance with paragraph 09.0124.

09.0124. Recovery of CEA. A claimant who forfeits their entitlement to CEA is normally to be given one full term’s notice in writing. In practice this will equate to one full term plus the remainder of the term during which entitlement ceases. Incorrectly paid CEA may be recovered allowing for a full term’s notice from the date which rendered the claimant ineligible, however:

a. Where a claimant has rendered themselves ineligible for CEA for any reason, but fails to inform their Chain of Command,and the CEAGT of their ineligibility and continues to submit claims for CEA, the MOD reserves the right to recover all CEA received from the start of the stage of education during which the Claimant became ineligible. Where doubt exists, regarding entitlement to CEA, casework is to be submitted to the SPVA PACCC.

b. Where the reasons for the withdrawal of a child from school are not fully justified, the SPVA PACCC reserve the right to call upon the claimant to repay CEA already received for the current stage of education prior to the date of withdrawal, on the grounds that the objective for which the allowance was issued has not been achieved.

Children Unhappy at a Particular School

4. The principle here is similar to that in the preceding paragraphs. If independent evidence can be supplied from an Educational Psychologist in accordance with paragraph 09.0306d clearly showing that it would be intolerable for a child to remain at the present school, it will be possible to regard a withdrawal as justifiable under the regulations. Entitlement will, however, usually be retained only if it can be established that the child’s unhappiness was clearly connected with that particular school, and that there are no grounds for supposing that another school would not prove entirely suitable. There may be cases where a child enters boarding school too early and, when more mature, will become suitable for boarding school education.

5. It is possible that a child may become unhappy at a particular school following the departure of another (usually older) sibling. Consideration will be given to allow a child to accompany the other sibling to another school without affecting the claimant’s entitlement to CEA. Such cases will be based on a comparison of the personal stability of the younger sibling with the continuity of their education and will require supporting independent advice from an Educational Psychologist. Any costs incurred in this process will be the responsibility of the claimant.

debtfreewannabe321

thank you both for your replies. Redouble, that is where ds is!

He is currently seeing a counsellor at school so i wonder if we might be able to get a report from them enabling us not to have to repay it all. i will look into that...i spent ages googling it and could not find any of that info, so glad i asked on here now

Redouble

debtfreewannabe321 wrote: »

thank you both for your replies. Redouble, that is where ds is!

He is currently seeing a counsellor at school so i wonder if we might be able to get a report from them enabling us not to have to repay it all. i will look into that...i spent ages googling it and could not find any of that info, so glad i asked on here now

It was(is) a brilliant school but not right for me.
Hope that it works out for you all

Naval_Families_Federation

Hello Debtfreewannabe321,

May I suggest contacting the Children's Education & Advisory Service (CEAS) on: 01980 618244.
They are a Tri-Service organisation funded by the MOD, established to provide information and support to Service families on all aspects of the education of their children in the UK and overseas.
All the best.
Kind regards,
The NFF Team