When we in the Forces take the decision to send our children to boarding schools, there are always doubts. Will the school we have chosen provide the stability that we believe our children require? Is life away from home and family going to prove too much? Or will our children enjoy boarding school too much – will home life with us from now on prove dull and mundane in comparison? Will the stability of school then become more of a home than the transitory, nomadic existence that Service life can sometimes seem? These are natural, human worries that are probably experienced by every parent who has ever been in the position of driving away from their child, left at boarding school for the first time – but the purpose of these pages is to make the decisions associated with this pivotal stage in our children’s lives somewhat easier.

My personal view is that in taking the decision to send a child to boarding school, we in the Services are not choosing a course of action that, while expensive, will make family and home life that much easier in the face of regular domestic upheaval. It is rather a decision that is taken with the welfare of our children in mind – there are some who will simply not benefit from the boarding environment and ethos, while many will positively thrive. However, for those Service children for whom boarding school is the right educational background, the particular benefits are self-evident – although, as my own experience showed, some children adjust to boarding at a different stage than others.

However, I would like to comment for a moment with my Single Service Chief of Staff hat on, rather than that of a parent whose children have enjoyed the benefits of boarding school throughout their lives. In these days of intense operational activity, our Servicemen and women, who find themselves routinely deployed overseas, discover that the knowledge that their children are happily based in a stimulating and settled environment allows them to focus on what they are doing – the benefits to the Army as a corporate body are therefore clear. The service that boarding schools and the Continuity of Education Allowance offer to Service families is therefore something to be valued and treasured; the freedom of choice and stability in the formative years of our children that this scheme offers are essential to the well-being of our Armed Forces. I therefore commend these pages for the choices they offer. As I have said in the past, it is vital that our people, who do so much for this country on operations and elsewhere, feel that we are doing everything we can to improve and stabilise their family life. Our commitment to the welfare of their families is considered the highest of priorities, and is recognised as being a critical aspect of the delivery of operational capability. By facilitating some of the most important choices that we will ever make for our children, this guide plays an important part in ensuring that we meet that commitment.