Forces Children's Education

Fife Council

Leuchars Station and its Service Family Accommodation fall within the jurisdiction of Fife Council.

In Fife staff in our nursery, primary and secondary schools have an understanding of the challenges facing Armed Forces children on the move. They are committed to ensuring that your child experiences a smooth transition that reduces any interruption to their educational progress.

Whether it is for the first or the sixth time, moving house and school can be a significant challenge for children and young people. The transition can offer new experiences, opportunities and friendships but may also represent leaving people, places and things that were important and familiar. Moving can also be hard work, stressful and be demanding for parents, especially if you are leaving extended family members, childcare supports, jobs and a house or town you have been settled in.

There are usually lots of practicalities to sort out, plan and organise. Ensuring that children are settled and positive throughout the change process is a key priority for parents and one which our schools will do their best to support.

Fife Council’s Education and Learning Service has well-established links with Leuchars Station. Our schools work closely with military welfare offices to ensure that the children of service families are well supported when they move in or out of Fife.

Admissions process for Military Families

In Fife, the Education & Children’s Services Directorate discharges its duty to secure effective and efficient education for the local authority area by operating a “catchment” system to enable parents/ carers to comply with their duty to provide efficient education for their child.

Each catchment area contains a denominational (Roman Catholic) primary and secondary school and a non-denominational primary and secondary school.

Sometimes a military family will not be able to supply a postal address as no house has been allocated as part of the new posting. In these circumstances, you should contact the Head Teacher of your local school and you will be supported through the process.

For further information on registering your child in a school in Fife, click here

All admissions forms for Scottish local authority schools contain a small section where parents can identify themselves as military families.

We want to ensure that schools are aware of your particular circumstances and can support you and your children appropriately. You are not obliged to identify yourselves as military families but doing so helps to ensure that your needs are met.

What to do if your child has Additional Support Needs

The first point of contact on all education issues is the Headteacher of your local school. If your child has an additional support need, it is important to get in touch with the local Head Teacher well in advance of your move to ensure that a smooth transition can be put in place. This enables staff to make progress on assessment of need so that any allocation of specialist support is not unduly delayed.

More information on support for children with additional needs is available online.

School holidays and term dates

Information on current school holidays and term dates for Fife council can be found here.

Contact details

If you are a military family moving to Fife and you have any queries, please contact your chosen school in the first instance. If for any reason they are unable to help you then please contact:

Name:   Nora Conlin, Education Officer
Tel:        01334 659362
Email:   education.services@fife.gov.uk