Introduction
This document sets out our Home to School/College Travel Assistance Policy and describes how the Council fulfils its duties and exercises its discretionary powers as required by the Education Act 1996 and subsequent legislation and guidance.
The policy explains the criteria for eligibility for travel assistance for pupils to their school or college for children of statutory school age (5 to 16 years old). It describes how parents and carers can apply for travel assistance and how decisions are made. It sets out how parents and carers may appeal against decisions that they believe do not comply with this policy.
For updates relating to operational decisions and information regarding application timescales, please visit our main school transport webpage.
Policy statement
ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø is committed to ensuring that all pupils have a great start to life, are safe and healthy and have access to high quality education so that they can achieve their full potential. The Children and Families Act 2014 commits partners to work together to develop services which strengthen the abilities and resilience of children and their families to be independent.
The Council is also committed to meeting the educational needs of as many children and young people as possible within local schools. In many cases, this will mean that pupils can walk or cycle to school with their parents or carers. This policy sets out how we will help the small number of pupils who find it difficult to travel to school or college without some assistance.
As a Council we want to make sure we continue to deliver our statutory responsibilities for home to school travel assistance to meet the travel needs of children and young people, enabling them to access their place of education. The Council acknowledges that without this service some of the County's children and young people would be unable to access their school or college, especially those who have significant additional needs, are isolated within the community, or deemed extremely vulnerable.
Engagement with young people with special educational needs in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø confirmed that young people value independence highly, and that they want their parents, schools and the services that support them to help them prepare for adulthood, including continued access to education, employment opportunities and access to essential services and activities in the community. The ability to travel independently is important to them now to attend school, participate in community life and socialise with friends; it is also fundamental to their future ambitions.
We want to support parents and carers to fulfil their responsibility to ensure their school-aged children attend school regularly and to make any necessary arrangements to ensure that they attend school. Those children and young people not in receipt of travel assistance from the Council can use a wide range of forms of travel in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø, accompanied as necessary, including bus, train, concessionary fares, walking and cycling. We also want to support schools to promote safe routes to school and safe travel skills through their regular curriculum.
The council is also committed to reducing emissions and improving Air Quality, to improve the quality of life for our most vulnerable residents. Please see our Climate Change Strategy for more information.
This home to school travel assistance policy sets out travel assistance options which may be employed to assist eligible children and young people, please note that references to transport within this document are related to travel assistance.
Travel assistance may take one of the following forms:
- Provision of a bus or train pass
- Training to travel independently (walking and using public transport)
- Training to cycle independently (reimbursement of bicycle and safety equipment) subject to the agreement of parent/carer
- Personal Travel Budget
- Reimbursing of mileage costs for parents or carers
- Provision of a private bus, coach, or minibus
- Provision of taxis
Eligibility
Parents and carers have a legal duty to ensure that their statutory school-aged children (age 5 to 16) attend school regularly and to make any necessary arrangements to ensure that they attend school.
A child becomes of compulsory school age at the start of term after their fifth birthday and ceases to be on the last day of the academic year, in which they are in year 11. This applies to both children with and without an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
There are four core categories of eligible children set out in law:
- Children living beyond the statutory walking distance from school
- Children who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school due to unsafe walking routes
- Children who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school due to special educational needs, disability, and mobility problems.
- Children from low-income families who have extended rights to travel assistance to a choice of schools.
You can use our to see if you would be eligible.
Ordinarily and in accordance with the Council's statutory duty, children under the age of 5 will not be eligible for travel assistance between their home and school. Where circumstances exist where the Council determines that travel assistance is necessary it may exceptionally apply its discretionary powers on a case -by-case basis.
Your nearest available school, is defined as the school that is closest to your home as measured by walking route or, where all schools in question are over the statutory walking distance, measured by road route, that could have offered a place to your child on National Offer Day (for the relevant year), at the time of a Key Stage change, during a house move, or when seeking an alternative school place. If you reside near a county border, please note that your nearest available school may be located in a neighbouring county.
For pupils in year 12 and above (post 16 year olds), there is no statutory requirement on the Council to provide free transport to their school or college. The Council must decide and set out in a policy statement the arrangements that the Council considers necessary to facilitate attendance.
It is expected that young people in Post 16 education will use existing travel schemes to support access to their education placement. More information about existing schemes and discretionary support provided by the Council can be found in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø's post-16 policy statement which is updated each year.
Statutory walking distances
ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø, in accordance with its statutory duty, will provide free home to school travel assistance for children of compulsory school age to the nearest available school from their home address who meet the 'qualifying distance' criteria which are:
- 2 miles or more for children below the age of 8, measured by the shortest walking distance between the home and the school
- 3 miles or more for children aged 8 and above, measured by the shortest walking distance between the home and the school.
Distances will be measured from the address point of the pupil's house, to either the nearest school gate available for pupils to use when measuring to a ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø school, or the address point of the school property when measuring to a school outside ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø.
If the child/family qualify for free school meals or they are in receipt of maximum Universal Credit, then please refer to our section on extended rights.
How distances are measured
Walking distances are calculated using the shortest available walking route from the home address to school. If families believe that the walking route measured is not available to walk, they should request a review of the route. The legal definition of an 'available walking route' is a route along which a child, accompanied as necessary, can walk with reasonable safety to school.
When determining which is the nearest qualifying school to the home address for travel assistance, distances will be measured by the shortest road route.
In line with the Department for Education guidance, distances greater than the statutory walking distances will be measured by the shortest road route.
Children who live between 2 and 3 miles from their school will cease to be eligible for travel assistance from the start of the term following their eighth birthday.
When a child cannot be offered a place at the nearest school to the home address, the Council will, subject to the criteria set within this policy and the qualifying distance being met, provide transport to the next nearest school with space to admit. For transport to be provided in this instance the parent must provide evidence that they have applied for and been refused a place at the school which is the nearest school for their home address and any other schools closer than the school offering admission.
If the child/family qualify for free school meals or they are in receipt of maximum Universal Credit, then please refer to section on extended rights.
Children with special educational needs or disabilities
For children with special needs or a disability or mobility problems if it is deemed unreasonable to expect them to walk to school (accompanied by an adult as necessary), then the distance criteria does not apply and they are eligible for free school travel assistance regardless of the distance they live from school. Cases with such circumstances will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Unsafe walking routes
Where a child is not deemed eligible for travel assistance to their nearest qualifying school because it is under the relevant distance threshold and the parent/carer believes the child is unable to walk the assessed route safely (accompanied by an adult as necessary) due to the nature of the route, they should explain the concern within the application or via the appeals process outlining the aspect of the route they believe to be unsafe. Safety of route concerns will not be considered if the child is not attending their nearest available or qualifying school.
Walking routes are then inspected by the Council's Safer Travel Team using the 'Road Safety Great Britain (GB) Guidelines on Assessment of Walked Routes to School'. If the route is agreed to be unsafe an alternative safe route will be measured and if the child is then beyond the statutory walking distance, he/she will be eligible for free travel assistance.
Parent and carer working patterns or having children attending different schools are not typically considered valid reasons for being unable to accompany a child. These situations are common among many parents, and it is generally expected that parents will make appropriate arrangements to meet their various responsibilities.
Where a new route previously considered to be unavailable becomes available (for example through the provision of a new footpath), or a new route is found that was not previously known to exist, travel assistance will no longer be provided to any new applicants. Those applicants who have been eligible for travel assistance due to an unavailable route that has become available or a new route found, will be written to with an explanation of the change and provided with assistance for 4 weeks, or to the end of the half-term whichever is longer, after a route is re-assessed before travel assistance will be withdrawn. A parent and or carer will be able to appeal against the decision to withdraw assistance in these circumstances.
Extended rights
Statutory entitlement is extended for children from low-income groups. Children from low-income groups are defined as those who are eligible for free school meals, or those families who are in receipt of the maximum Universal Credit. Parents must provide supporting evidence regarding their Universal Credit payment.
Children above the age of 8, but under the age of 11, from low-income families will be eligible for travel assistance to their nearest suitable school if the shortest walking distance between their home and the school is more than 2 miles.
Children aged 11 and over (years 7 to 11) from low-income families will be eligible for travel assistance if they attend a school which is more than two miles (measured by the shortest walking distance) and less than 6 miles (measured by the shortest road route) from their home and the school attended is one of the three nearest suitable schools to their home.
Children aged 11 and over (years 7 to 11) from low-income families who are attending their nearest designated faith school preferred on the grounds of religion or belief will also be eligible for travel assistance if their school is more than two miles (measured by the shortest walking distance) but not more than 15 miles (measured by the shortest road route) from their home.
When considering whether a faith school is preferred on the grounds of religion or belief, ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø will consider the nature of other schools that may have been named as higher preferences on the application form. For an application for travel assistance to be agreed under this section, the expectation will be that the school that is preferred on the grounds of religion or belief will be named above any non-faith schools that have been named on the application form.
Parents must provide supporting evidence regarding their genuine adherence to their religion or belief, and this will normally be confirmed by asking their minister of religion to sign the application form.
Special educational needs, disability, and mobility problems
Where a child with special education needs, a disability and/or mobility problems does not meet the other three eligibility criteria but has identified specific needs/circumstances that may mean it is unreasonable to expect the child to walk to school (accompanied by an adult as necessary), then an assessment based on their individual needs and circumstances will be undertaken.
In determining whether a child cannot reasonably be expected to walk between home and school, the Council will consider whether the child could reasonably be expected to walk if accompanied and, if so, whether the child's parent or carer can reasonably be expected to accompany their child. Ordinarily, the expectation is that a child will be accompanied by a parent or carer, work commitments and other care will not be considered.
When assessing entitlement for travel assistance for a child with SEND or mobility problems, the Council will consider the individual needs of each child. This may include taking professional advice from educational psychologists, medical officers and teachers and consulting with parents and carers before arriving at a final decision.
Consideration will also be given to the child's physical and medical requirements including any disabilities they may have.
The following factors will be taken into consideration when assessing transport entitlement:
- the age of the child
- the distance of the child from school
- whether the child is physically able to walk the journey to school accompanied as necessary
- whether the walking route is appropriate for the pupil and their specific needs and allows them to arrive in a fit state to be educated
- whether a child's emotional and behavioural difficulties will create a clear health and safety hazard to themselves or others on the journey to school
- the SEND of the child
- any other individual circumstance.
This is not an exhaustive list. It is not presented in any order and is for guidance only. Meeting one or more of the criteria does not automatically entitle a child with SEND to transport assistance.
The fact that a child has an EHCP or attends a special school does not automatically entitle him or her to travel assistance.
Other family circumstances, such as parents and carers attending work or looking after other children, cannot be considered when determining eligibility
Children attending schools on grounds of religion or belief
Ordinarily assistance with travel to a faith school will only be provided if it is the nearest qualifying school. If parental preference results in children's attendance at a faith school when there are suitable schools nearer to home, then no travel assistance will normally be provided. However, if children meet the Extended Rights eligibility category criteria, then travel assistance to a faith school which is not the nearest suitable school may be considered (see section 3.4 for more details).
Under Extended Rights, when considering whether a faith school is preferred on the grounds of religion or belief, ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø will consider the nature of other schools that may have been named as higher preferences on the application form. For an application for travel assistance to be agreed under this condition, the expectation will be that the school that is preferred on the grounds of religion or belief will be named above any non-faith schools that have been named on the application form.
When applying under Extended Rights for travel to a faith school, parents must provide supporting evidence regarding their genuine adherence to their religion or belief, and this will normally be confirmed by asking their minister of religion to sign the application form.
Exceptional circumstances
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 sets out parental duty, with the overriding expectation that parents should undertake their legal responsibility to get their child(ren) to and from school and as such the Council will need to be satisfied that the parent has demonstrated why they, for social, medical, financial, or personal reasons cannot undertake this duty.
Recognising that the Council's discretionary powers should not be unreasonably restricted by its general policy, the Council will consider and may agree requests for home to school transport where there are considered to be extenuating circumstances that prevent a child accessing their school unless travel assistance is put in place. If the parent believes exceptional circumstances exist and assistance with travel is demonstrated as necessary, then a transport application form must be completed and submitted with all relevant information and evidence for consideration.
The determination will be based on evidence received to support the case whether transport is necessary for the child to receive an education. Consideration will be given as to whether the circumstances could have reasonably been foreseen by the parent/carer. For example, moving to temporary accommodation owing to flood damage cannot be foreseen, whereas choosing a school other than a child's nearest school and realising following this decision that transport is not available could be foreseen.
Where it is decided that a child does not qualify for assistance with travel based on the presented needs/circumstances then it remains solely the parent/ carer's responsibility to ensure school attendance or consider transferring the child to a more local school.
In all cases the decision whether to exercise discretion will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
Military families
Children below the Age of 5
The Council does not have a legal obligation to provide travel arrangements for children under the age of 5 to travel between home and school. While ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø has the discretionary power to offer Travel Assistance for children aged four entering reception year at primary school, this is not a standard practice and is only considered in exceptional cases.
Appeals
Parents and carers of children who live in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø and who wish to appeal a decision regarding one of the following, may apply for their case to be considered at a stage one appeal in relation to any of the following:
- their child's eligibility
- the distance measurement in relation to statutory walking distances and
- the safety of the route.
- the travel arrangements offered
During an appeal about an application for travel assistance, travel assistance will not be provided to the child/young person unless the appeal concerns the travel arrangements offered, in which case the offered arrangements will be available pending the appeal decision. Where the appeal concerns a change to existing travel arrangements, then the previously agreed travel arrangements will continue until the review is complete.
If an appeal concerns the safety of route, please note that the Council will not consider further appeals on this matter. However, you may appeal if you believe there are exceptional circumstances that prevent you or your child from walking the route.
Stage One Appeal: Case review by an officer
Parents and carers must complete a stage one appeal form on which they must indicate whether they believe the original decision to be wrong or whether they wish their case to be considered as an exception to the policy. The form must be submitted with details of the case within 20 working days from receipt of the original transport decision.
The request should detail why the parent/carer believes the decision should be reviewed and give details of any personal and/ or family circumstances they believe should be considered.
Within 20 working days of receipt of the request a senior officer, who was not involved with making the original decision, will review the case. More complex cases may sometimes exceed the 20-working day turnaround time for review.
The senior officer will write to the parent/carer, normally within five working days of the review, setting out:
- the decision reached
- how the review was conducted
- information about other departments and/ or agencies that were consulted as part of the process
- what factors were considered
- the rationale for the decision reached and
- information about how the parent/carer can escalate their case to stage two (if appropriate).
Where possible, applications for review at stage one of the review process should be accompanied by independent supporting evidence such as from a GP or consultant, a social worker, the police, other local authority officers and copies of relevant court orders as appropriate.
Except for eligibility based on extended entitlement for families on low income, qualification for travel assistance is not means- tested, and family income will not normally be given special consideration under this review process.
When considering appeals, the following will also not normally be taken into account:
- Parent/carers' work or other commitments
- Attendance by siblings at other schools
- An address other than the home address, including a childminder's address