Priority access to schools for UK service families 

To support forces families, admission authorities may give priority in their oversubscription criteria to children eligible for the service premium.

Service premium

The service premium is additional funding paid annually to schools under Section 14 of the Education Act 2002. The funding is to support the pastoral needs of the children of Armed Services personnel. 

Pupils are eligible for service premium if they meet one of the following criteria:

  • one of their parents is serving in the regular armed forces, including pupils with a parent who is on full commitment as part of the full-time reserve service - this includes pupils with a parent who is in the armed forces of another nation and is stationed in England
  • registered as a ‘service child’ on any school census in the past 6 years
  • one of their parents died while serving in the armed forces and the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme

 To qualify:

  • children must be flagged as service children ahead of the autumn school census deadline
  • service parents must inform Lancashire County Council of their status by talking to the relevant Area Education Office
  • you must submit evidence of eligibility (such as a copy of a military identification (ID) card or official posting notice from a senior officer) at the time of your application

Oversubscription criteria in Lancashire

Lancashire County Council has agreed to include children eligible for services premium as third priority for school places where the county council sets the admissions policy for the school.

School admission policies set out the criteria for who is given priority for places in each school. They are applied when a school is oversubscribed (has more requests than there are places available).

Different types of publicly funded schools and academies have different admission arrangements.

Community and voluntary controlled schools

Lancashire County Council sets the admissions policy for community and voluntary controlled schools.

Effective for September 2025 admissions, category 3 priority is now given to children eligible for services premium.

You can view the full admissions criteria for community and voluntary controlled schools on our website:

Other publicly funded schools

For the following types of schools, it is the governing body that sets the admissions policy:

  • voluntary aided schools
  • foundation schools
  • academies
  • free schools

For these schools, admission policies will vary. You can view a summary of the admission policy for each school on our website and the full policy on the school's website.

Independent schools

Lancashire County Council does not co-ordinate admissions for independent (fee paying) schools and these schools set their own admissions policy. To find out more about admission to an independent school, visit the school's website.