Schooling on Assignment: Why It’s One of Global Mobility’s Trickiest Topics

Few subjects generate as much debate in Global Mobility circles as schooling. Whether it’s how to support families with children who need specialist education, what to do about lengthy summer holidays, or how to handle requests from locally hired expats who can’t access public schools, the issue of dependant education rarely fits neatly into policy templates. This is possibly why we see so many benchmarking questions on schooling and education throughout the year.

The complexity beneath the surface

On paper, schooling support looks simple: provide an allowance or reimburse tuition fees. In practice, it’s anything but. Education is emotive and deeply personal. Parents want stability and quality for their children, and schooling decisions can make or break an international move. As one of our members neatly put it,

“Education is a very emotive subject – language, school curriculums, availability of school places, eligibility criteria for local schools… all contribute to why we cover schooling costs globally for our employees.”

Global Mobility teams must weigh fairness, cost control and business needs against family wellbeing and practical realities in host locations.

Common policy approaches

Most organisations draw a line between what’s essential to support mobility and what falls into personal choice. Typical coverage includes:

• Tuition and mandatory school fees for primary and secondary education, often limited to international or mother-tongue schools where local schooling isn’t viable.

• Registration and enrolment fees, and sometimes school bus transport.

• Case-by-case flexibility for children with special educational needs or language barriers.

However, few policies stretch beyond that. Costs for uniforms, trips, after-school activities and meals are frequently excluded, with many respondents noting that these items are treated as personal expenses.

As one organisation explained:

“We only cover tuition fees – no books, clothes or other activities.”

Another added that this reflects internal equity:

“Since we don’t provide support for local employees who don’t have family to manage children, it would be inequitable to offer this to international assignees.”

Special educational needs and language barriers

When it comes to children with additional learning or medical needs, many Global Mobility teams tread carefully. Several benchmark respondents mentioned assessing requests individually, often with input from education consultants to determine the most suitable schooling environment.

One organisation described this approach:

“Where there is a request for special education requirements, we have an external education consultant conduct an assessment with the parent… Sometimes they still recommend the public system, sometimes private schooling, which the company would then fund.”

Others admitted that gaps remain in their policies, with one member noting, “This has not come up yet, but we are looking to introduce more flexibility into our policies to cater for such eventualities.”

In some cases, the challenge isn’t a special educational need but rather a language barrier that limits access to local or international schools. One member recently faced this situation:

“We have a senior assignee relocating to the UK on a long-term assignment, accompanied by her 15-year-old son whose first language is Italian. His English proficiency is currently below the level required by the independent schools they’ve applied to, and several have already declined his application.”

This highlights another layer of complexity for Global Mobility teams – supporting families where the child’s language skills are still developing can mean engaging education specialists, finding bridging or international programmes, or even delaying the assignment start date.

Local, international or boarding?

Companies differ widely on whether they expect accompanying children to attend local schools. In reality, many find this impractical due to language and curriculum differences, particularly for short-term assignments. Most organisations therefore default to international schools, often with defined cost caps or reference schools to prevent excessive expenditure.

Several members also talk about the “differential” approach – covering only the difference between home and host school costs when the child already attended a private school before the move.

For non-accompanying children, the trend is clear: boarding school fees are rarely, if ever, covered unless directly linked to the assignment’s demands.

Regional challenges and grey zones

Certain host locations create additional policy pressure. In Singapore and Thailand, for example, expatriates on local or local plus contracts often find that their children are ineligible for state schools, prompting calls for company assistance. A few organisations have responded with transitional or tapering allowances, whilst others hold firm that ongoing schooling costs remain a personal responsibility.

One benchmarking respondent summarised the balancing act:

“It’s been a deal breaker on some moves, so we came up with a phased approach – 75% of cost in year one, 50% in year two, 25% in year three, and then it stops.”

The summer dilemma

A less obvious but equally challenging issue arises during the school holidays. In many host countries, school breaks far exceed the parents’ annual leave allowance. Several members reported regular queries about summer camps and activities, particularly where both parents work. Yet almost no organisations provide cover for these costs, viewing them as comparable to home-country personal expenses.

Why it’s so hard to get right

From a policy perspective, schooling support sits at the intersection of cost control, family welfare and local practicality. It also has a habit of straying into moral territory – what’s “reasonable” for one company or location may look overly generous or insufficient in another. Add to that the tax implications, emotional pressure and global variation in schooling systems, and it’s no surprise that many policies contain caveats like “reviewed on a case-by-case basis”.

For many Global Mobility professionals, the challenge lies not in deciding whether to help, but in defining how far that help should go.

In short: schooling support remains one of the most sensitive and complex benefits in any mobility package. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but organisations are increasingly finding value in building flexibility and empathy into their frameworks – recognising that for many families, a successful move begins and ends with the right school.