Guidance

Delivering effective travel assistance to schools and colleges: guidance for local authorities

Published 30 October 2026

Applies to England

This guidance explains how you can work collaboratively to deliver school and college travel assistance which meets children and young people’s needs.

The Education Act 1996 places duties on local authorities in relation to:

• travel assistance between home and school for children of compulsory school age
• travel to education and training for post-16 students

The Department for Education has published statutory guidance to help you comply with these duties, on:

• travel to school for children of compulsory school age
• post-16 transport and travel support to education and training

Travel assistance and reforming the SEND system

Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have increasingly been travelling long distances to their education setting.

The government’s planned reform of the school and SEND systems will make sure more children and young people can achieve and thrive in a local mainstream setting. Specialist settings will continue to support those with the most complex needs.

The government is also investing over £3.7 billion, between 2025 to 2026 and 2029 to 2030, to create 60,000 new places for children with SEND.

This includes investment in specialist bases in mainstream schools, so they become a core part of every local education offer.

This will ease the pressure on your transport services over time. But there will still be children and young people – with and without SEND – who need help getting to and from their education setting.

Their travel arrangements should help them arrive at school or college ready to learn.

Many children’s travel arrangements can also help them develop independent travel skills. This is an important part of preparing to lead a fulfilling adult life.

The government has set out its plans to reform the school and SEND systems to ensure that every child and young person can achieve and thrive. It has set these plans out in:

• the white paper Every child achieving and thriving
• the consultation SEND reform: putting children and young people first

The role of local and strategic authorities

The Department for Education (DfE) will continue to work with local authorities, and will work with mayoral strategic authorities and other strategic authorities, to identify and share effective local practice.

Strategic authorities can play an important role in supporting the delivery of travel assistance through their wider responsibilities for transport, skills and public service integration. For example, they may be able to help to:

• align travel assistance with local public transport networks
• support independent travel training
• improve active travel routes
• convene partners across education and transport systems
• secure economies of scale for groups of authorities who wish to procure their own fleets of minibuses
• make sure children and young people can access education in an efficient, sustainable way that responds to local needs

Other government action

The government is taking wider action to improve transport connectivity.

The Bus Services Act 2025 gives local leaders greater powers to shape local bus services. This will help to make sure transport networks meet the needs of local communities, including by supporting access to education.

The Department for Transport (DfT)’s strategy, Better Connected: a strategy for integrated transport, highlights access to education as a key consideration in transport planning.

DfT’s work on socially necessary transport and local transport plans emphasises the importance of local transport links that support access to essential services, including education.

The government is also enabling more children to walk, wheel and cycle to school through the third cycling and walking investment strategy. This includes a target for 60% of children aged 5 to 16 to usually walk or cycle to school by 2035.

By 2030, the government will invest a projected £4.5 billion in active travel. This includes funding for Active Travel England to enable millions of children to walk, wheel and cycle to school.

Active Travel England is also working with mayoral strategic authorities to improve walking routes to 1,000 schools, helping more children and young people travel safely and independently.

Definitions

Parents

References to parents in this guidance include:

• birth parents
• adoptive parents
• foster parents
• carers
• legal guardians with parental responsibility

Qualifying schools

Qualifying schools are defined in travel to school for children of compulsory school age.

School and college travel team

This guidance refers to the officers in a local authority who are responsible for arranging school and college travel assistance as the ‘school and college travel team’.

We acknowledge that these officers will not always work together on the same team, because local authorities organise themselves in different ways.

Working collaboratively

The government expects local authorities, health professionals, education settings and others to work together to ensure school and college travel assistance:

• supports children and young people to participate in and benefit from education
• meets children and young people’s individual needs and supports their wellbeing
• makes effective use of resources

Senior leaders in local authorities need to support partnership working to:

• ensure travel assistance is considered at a strategic level in the authority
• secure the engagement of other partners, such as education settings
• align travel assistance with wider transport networks and local transport planning where appropriate, working with mayoral strategic authorities and other strategic authorities

This guidance explains how SEND caseworkers and travel teams should work together to decide which education setting to name in a child or young person’s education, health and care (EHC) plan.

It explains how you can work with education settings and health professionals to:

• deliver high quality, effective services
• support children and young people to travel independently

It also explains how you can develop positive relationships with parents, and work with them to make sure travel arrangements meet their children’s needs.

Using examples from this guidance

This guidance includes examples of good practice provided by local authorities.

Not all the examples will be applicable to every local authority, but all authorities should consider how they can work more collaboratively to deliver effective services.

The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning, and Transport has also published a SEND Transport Toolkit to help local authorities and share examples of efficient local practice.

Deciding what travel assistance will be effective

You are responsible for deciding what travel assistance to provide for the child or young person, as long as it:

• is suitable for their individual needs
• supports their wellbeing
• enables them to arrive at their school or college safely, on time and ready to learn
• does not create barriers to their attendance

It should also:

• support them to develop independence and build life skills wherever possible
• promote sustainable and active travel

In general:

• where it is available, using public transport will help children and young people develop independence
• larger vehicles, such as buses and coaches, are likely to bring economies of scale where enough children travel a similar route
• most children and young people will be able to share a vehicle with others
• many children will be able to walk to a safe pick-up point within a reasonable distance of their home – this will also help them develop independence
• single occupancy vehicles will only be necessary if:
  • a child or young person’s needs mean they cannot travel with others
  • no other children or young people travel a similar route
  • travelling with others would result in an unreasonably long journey

Promoting sustainable travel

You have a duty to promote the use of sustainable travel on journeys to and from places of education in your area.

Improving active travel routes to schools can:

• improve children’s wellbeing
• reduce the number of children who are eligible for free travel on the grounds that they have no safe walking route

Active Travel England has resources on active travel routes.

You should work with mayoral strategic authorities and other strategic authorities to consider how local transport networks, active travel infrastructure and public transport services can support access to education.

Considering travel arrangements when deciding which school or college to name in an EHC plan

The Children and Families Act 2014 governs the naming of an education setting in a child or young person’s EHC plan.

Considering a child or young person’s travel arrangements as an integrated part of the decision-making around their placement will help you:

• make arrangements which meet the child or young person’s needs
• reduce delays or uncertainty for parents
• make effective use of resources

Your SEND caseworkers and travel team will need to work together to do this.

How you can develop partnership working between SEND caseworkers and travel teams

Local authorities have suggested some tools to develop partnership working between SEND caseworkers and school and college travel teams.

Teach-ins

Teach-ins enable SEND caseworkers and the school and college travel team to:

• explain their roles to each other
• identify what they need from each other to do their jobs effectively
• ensure both teams understand the interaction between the SEND system and school and college travel assistance

A shared timeline

A shared timeline enables SEND caseworkers and the travel team to:

• map the tasks they each need to perform
• identify opportunities to work together
• identify pressure points
• support joint forward planning

Regular update meetings

You can hold regular update meetings to:

• encourage ongoing collaboration and shared decision-making
• provide an opportunity to ask questions and raise issues

Informative resources

Informative resources, such as information sheets about travel assistance, can support SEND caseworkers’ conversations with parents.

Mileage calculator

Some local authorities have developed automated mileage calculators to help SEND caseworkers to calculate the cost of transport.

The caseworker enters the length of the child or young person’s journey into the calculator to produce an estimated cost. This:

• avoids delays in decision-making caused by waiting for transport quotes
• frees up resource in the school and college travel team

Example: training for caseworkers and attending caseworker meetings

A local authority identified that their SEND caseworkers were not always aware of the impact their decisions could have on a child’s travel arrangements.

For example, they did not always realise the effect long or complex journeys might have on a child’s wellbeing and readiness to learn.

They identified a key contact in the school and college travel team to:

• provide bite-size training for SEND caseworkers
• attend monthly SEND casework meetings

Travel is now a standing agenda item at these meetings. This makes sure that:

• a child’s travel needs are considered early in the process of drawing up a new EHC plan, or reviewing an existing plan
• decisions support positive outcomes for children

Example: joint meetings

A local authority ensures a member of the school and college travel team attends phase transfer meetings.

These are meetings where SEND case workers consider which setting a child or young person with an EHC plan should move on to, for example when transferring from primary to secondary education.

The team member:

• makes sure decisions take account of the child or young person’s needs, for example how they would cope with a long journey
• makes sure suitable arrangements are made for their medical needs
• provides estimated transport costs where needed

Deciding whether to name a parent or young person’s preferred school or college in an EHC plan

You must name a parent or young person’s preferred school or college in an EHC plan unless it would be either:

• unsuitable for the child or young person’s age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs
• incompatible with the efficient education of others, or the efficient use of resources

The government expects you to:

• take the cost of travel assistance into account when deciding if naming the parent or young person’s preferred school or college is compatible with the efficient use of resources
• take account of any impact the journey may have on the child or young person, for example whether a long journey may have a negative impact on their wellbeing or outcomes

If you name a school unconditionally

Once a school is named unconditionally in the EHC plan of a child of compulsory school age, it is considered to be their nearest suitable school for the purposes of assessing their eligibility for travel assistance.

If they are eligible, you must provide travel assistance to that school – even if a nearer school would have been able to meet the child’s needs.

Making effective use of resources

It is very important that SEND caseworkers work with the travel team to calculate the total cost of the child attending the preferred school or college. They need to calculate the cost of the child attending:

• the preferred school or college
• an alternative school or college which can meet their needs

If attending the preferred school or college will cost more, the caseworkers and travel team need to assess whether the additional cost is incompatible with the efficient use of resources. The extra cost will only be incompatible if it is significant.

If the SEND caseworkers and the travel team decide that the extra cost is significant, they need to decide whether it outweighs the benefit to the child or young person of attending the preferred school or college.

What to do if the cost is incompatible with the efficient use of resources

If the total cost would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources, you can:

• name a different school that meets the child’s needs
• name the preferred school, on condition that the parent arranges the travel or provides some or all of the cost of the travel

If you name the preferred school with that condition, you can also name a different school that is appropriate for the child, which you would provide transport to.

When deciding whether to name the parent’s preferred school conditionally (alone or with another school), you may take account of the risk that the parent later becomes unable to arrange or pay for the travel, and the local authority becomes responsible for transport costs.

What to do if a parent can no longer arrange travel

If you name a school conditionally and the parent later becomes unable to arrange or pay for the travel, you may review the EHC plan to reconsider whether naming the parent’s preferred school is incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

These scenarios illustrate decision-making around naming a school or college in an EHC plan.

Scenario 1: failure to consider travel arrangements during the EHC plan process

A child is of compulsory school age. You have decided to issue an EHC plan for them.

Their parent has expressed a preference for school 1, which is 15 miles from their home. You consult that school and determine it would be able to meet the child’s needs.

School 2 is only 1 mile from the child’s home. It would also have been able to meet their needs.

There is no difference between the cost of education at the two schools.

You name school 1 in the EHC plan without:

• consulting school 2
• considering what arrangements would need to be made for the child’s travel to school 1

The parent applies for travel assistance. You determine the child is eligible because the school is:

• named unconditionally in their plan
• more than statutory walking distance from their home

No other child is travelling a similar route, so the child will need to travel on their own in a taxi.

Scenario 2: effective consideration of travel arrangements during the EHC plan process

In scenario 1, you also:

• consult school 2, and determine it would be able to meet the child’s needs
• consider how the child might travel to each school
• consider what the travel might cost

You discuss with the parent:

• the education offered by each school
• how the journey to each school might affect the child

The parent decides they are happy for you to name school 2 in the EHC plan.

The parent applies for travel assistance. You determine the child is eligible because:

• the school is named unconditionally in their plan
• they would be unable to walk to the school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem

There is already a minibus serving that school which can accommodate them.

If you had determined school 2 would not be able to meet the child’s needs, and no other school was appropriate:

• you would need to name school 1 in the EHC plan
• the child would be eligible for travel assistance to that school

Scenario 3: taking the cost of travel into account during the EHC plan process

In scenario 2, the parent asks that you name school 1 in their child’s EHC plan, even though school 2 would also be able to meet their child’s needs.

You must name school 1 unless doing so would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources. There is no difference between the cost of education at the two schools.

You calculate the cost of providing the child with travel assistance to each of the two schools.

If travel to school 1 would cost more than travel to school 2, you must judge whether the extra cost of providing travel to school 1 is incompatible with the efficient use of resources. This will include deciding whether any educational benefits and other advantages the school will provide for the child outweigh the extra cost.

If the cost of education was different at each school, you would add the cost of travel to the cost of education at each school to determine the total cost of each placement.

Scenario 4: considering the impact of the journey on the child or young person

You are deciding whether to name a school in a different child’s EHC plan. The school is 30 miles from the child’s home and the journey would take over an hour at peak times.

You have assessed the child’s needs and decided they would need:

• a specially adapted vehicle
• to be accompanied by a passenger assistant

They have a medical condition which means a long journey may have a negative impact on their health.

You try to find a suitable school closer to their home before you decide whether to name the school in their plan.

If you find a nearer school that can meet the child’s needs, you will consider:

• the total cost of placing the child in each school
• the advantages each school offers the child – including any benefit to the child of having a shorter journey

Scenario 5: taking account of the risk of the parent later becoming unable to arrange or pay for the travel

You have decided it would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources to name the parent’s preferred school in a child’s EHC plan.

The parent does not own a car and so would not be able to drive the child to school. There are no suitable public transport routes. The parent says they will pay for a taxi to take the child to and from school.

You consider it unlikely that the parent will be able to sustain paying for the taxi throughout the child’s time at the school, based on the circumstances of the case.

You decide it would not be appropriate to name the preferred school on condition that the parent arranges the transport. Instead, you name an alternative school that can meet the child’s needs.

Example wording if you name a school conditionally

If you name a school conditionally, in section I of the EHC plan you could say something like:

School 1 is child X’s nearest suitable school, but they will attend school 2, a maintained special school specialising in the education of children with autism.

This school is named on condition that child X’s parents are responsible for their home-to-school travel.

If their parents become unable to arrange their travel, we will review this EHC plan.

Arranging travel assistance for children and young people educated otherwise than at school or college

Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 enables you to arrange for a child or young person to be educated at a place other than a school or college if you are satisfied it would be inappropriate for their special educational provision to be made in a school or college.

This provision is sometimes called EOTAS. It is distinct from alternative provision.

A child is unlikely to meet the travel assistance eligibility criteria in relation to provision arranged under section 61, because they will not attend a qualifying school.

You should still consider how they will get to their placement. Long or complex journeys may be challenging for the child or young person, or costly for the parent. This may put the success of the placement at risk.

When you may need to provide travel assistance to children who are educated otherwise than at school or college

Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to secure special educational provision in accordance with a child or young person’s EHC plan.

You may be in breach of that duty if you arrange special educational provision which they will not be able to access without help to get there, and you do not provide that help.

Examples: considering travel when arranging education at a place other than a school or college

For example, child A:

• is 13
• has an EHC plan
• has been unable to attend school for some time because of their significant mental health needs

You have decided it would not be appropriate for them to attend a formal education setting. You have arranged home tuition for them, and one day a week on a community farm.

The child does not meet the travel assistance eligibility criteria because the farm is not a qualifying school.

Their parent is anxious about them being away from home and keen that the placement at the community farm is a success. They would like to support their child by driving them to the placement.

You do not need to provide travel assistance for child A.

Child B’s circumstances are very similar to child A’s, but:

• their parent does not drive
• you have determined that travelling by public transport would be very challenging because of their mental health needs, and expecting them to do so would jeopardise the success of any placement you arrange

You prioritise looking for a suitable placement close to child B’s home, with the aim that they will be able walk there.

Child B will not meet the travel assistance eligibility criteria if they do not attend a qualifying school. But you decide that you will provide travel assistance if you cannot find a suitable placement close enough to their home. This is to make sure the placement is successful.

Arranging travel for children of compulsory school age who attend alternative provision

Alternative provision settings provide suitable education for children of compulsory school age when it is not appropriate for them to attend school, for reasons such as illness or exclusion.

Schools and local authorities both have powers to arrange alternative provision. Statutory guidance about alternative provision sets out your responsibilities.

A child ordinarily needs to attend a qualifying school to be eligible for travel assistance. There are limited exceptions to this for children attending alternative provision settings.

Some alternative provision settings will be qualifying schools. Others will not.

Alternative provision arranged by a local authority

Section 19 (1) of the Education Act 1996 requires local authorities to arrange suitable education for children of compulsory school age who would otherwise not receive it, for example because of illness or exclusion.

The child will be eligible for travel assistance if they meet the eligibility criteria in relation to their alternative provision, even if it happens at a setting that is not a qualifying school. This is set out in schedule 35B of the 1996 act.

This means it is important for the person in the local authority who arranges the alternative provision to:

• consider how the child will travel there
• work with the travel team to take the cost of any travel assistance into account

Alternative provision arranged by a school

In some circumstances, schools can decide that a pupil should be educated somewhere other than on the school site.

The law does not usually require the local authority to provide travel assistance in these circumstances. There are limited exceptions to this when the child has been:

• suspended – this is described as exclusion for a fixed period in section 51A of the Education Act 2002
• directed off-site to improve their behaviour, as defined in section 29A of the Education Act 2002

There is statutory guidance for schools and local authorities about suspensions, exclusions and off-site direction.

There is statutory guidance for schools and local authorities about suspensions, exclusions and off-site direction.

Schools should work with you to:

• determine whether the child will be eligible for travel assistance
• help you make effective use of resources

Alternative provision at a qualifying school

If a school arranges for the child to attend another qualifying school during a period of suspension or off-site direction, the child will be dual registered at that school and their home school.

The child will be eligible for travel assistance to the other qualifying school if they meet the eligibility criteria in relation to that school.

The School Travel (Pupils with Dual Registration) (England) Regulations 2007 say that if one of the schools is a pupil referral unit, the child can only get travel assistance to the pupil referral unit during the period of suspension or off-site direction.

If neither is a pupil referral unit, the child can get travel assistance to whichever school they are attending on a school day when they need travel. In practice, it is likely they will only attend one of them during the suspension or off-site direction.

Alternative provision which is not at another qualifying school   

If the school arranges for the child to attend a place that is not a qualifying school, the child will be eligible for travel assistance if both:

• it is more than the statutory walking distance from their home
• there is no nearer suitable school

Paragraph 8 of schedule 35B of the Education Act 1996 sets this out.

Example: a school arranging alternative provision

A child has been suspended. Their school is arranging for them to attend another qualifying school during the suspension. It is deciding between two schools.

The school works with you and determines that the child is likely to be eligible for travel assistance to either setting.

You explain that:

• you already have a contract with a transport operator to provide minibus transport to one of the schools
• the minibus already picks up other children from the area where the child lives

The school arranges for the child to attend that school, because travelling with other children from their local area will help them feel more comfortable with the arrangements for their education.

Managed moves

In a managed move, a pupil permanently transfers to another mainstream school.

Managed moves are not a form of alternative provision.

Pupils who have been subject to a managed move will only be eligible for travel assistance if they meet the eligibility criteria for their new school. This is the same as in any other circumstances where a child moved to a new school.

A pupil should not be dual registered following a managed move, so the provisions of the School Travel (Pupils with Dual Registration) (England) Regulations 2007 will not apply. They will remain registered at their original school until the point of transfer. Then they will be registered at their new school.

Part-time attendance

Sometimes, a child’s physical or mental health issues mean they need to attend school on a part-time basis.

If the child is eligible for travel assistance, the person arranging their part-time timetable should:

• consider their travel arrangements
• work with the travel team to do so

Where possible, it is better to arrange their timetable so they can share transport with other children attending the same setting, or a nearby one, for at least some journeys.

Supporting the developing independence of children and young people with SEND

Professionals working with children and young people with SEND are expected to:

• support them to prepare for adult life and help them to achieve their aspirations
• start planning for a child’s future independence early

These expectations are set in chapter 8 of the SEND code of practice.

Learning to travel independently is an important part of preparing to lead an independent, fulfilling adult life.

If a child or young person has an EHC plan, you should consider independence as part of your earliest conversations with their parents about travel assistance. Some local authorities include outcomes about independent travel in EHC plans.

Starting early

From their earliest engagement with parents, your SEND caseworkers and travel team should explain that:

• the travel assistance they provide will help the child to be as independent as they can be
• they will regularly review the travel assistance to make sure it is still appropriate for the child’s needs
• they will consider the parent’s and child’s views when they review travel assistance

Offering independent travel training

You should offer independent travel training to children and young people with SEND who you arrange travel for, who you think will be able to complete the programme.

Working with children from an early age can help to prepare them for independent travel training and mean more children take it up.

You may find it helpful to work with schools, particularly special schools, to deliver independent travel training. Schools can help to:

• identify children who would benefit from independent travel training
• raise parents’ awareness of the benefits of the training

Many special schools and colleges also offer independent travel training.

You can read about how Cornwall Council introduced independent travel training, and the impact it had.

Suggested tools for working with schools to deliver independent travel training

Local authorities have suggested some ways to work with schools on independent travel training.

School visits

Local authority officers can visit schools to:

• deliver sessions to raise staff awareness of independent travel training
• provide information for staff to share with parents

They maintain regular contact to identify children who would benefit from travel training.

They provide progress updates on children who are already taking training.

Build a strong presence in and around the school community

Local authority officers can attend school events to promote independent travel training, for example:

• parents’ evenings
• coffee mornings
• open days
• transition events

This maintains valuable links with the school and raises parents’ awareness of the benefits of travel training. 

School-based road safety sessions

Local authority officers visit schools during the school day to deliver school-based activities to develop basic road safety skills.

They provide teachers with resources to continue class discussions and to share with parents.

They then take small groups of children on an outing to the library or the shops, on foot or the bus.

This helps the children and their parents feel more confident about independent travel. It can help identify children who would benefit from travel training when they are older.

Identify children early

A local authority travel team works with SEND caseworkers and local schools to identify primary school aged children who may benefit from travel training when they are older.

These children then participate in age-appropriate road safety training to prepare them to progress to independent travel training when they are ready. They are generally able to participate in travel training, and to travel independently.

Accredited training for school staff

A local authority arranges for school staff to achieve an accredited level 2 travel trainer qualification free of charge. These staff then travel train their pupils.

Securing parents’ support for independent travel training

Most parents will not have heard of independent travel training or know what it is. They may be anxious about their child’s ability to travel independently. The child or young person may also be worried about this.

Independent travel training requires parental consent for eligible children of compulsory school age. You may encourage parents to take it up if you consider it a suitable option, but you cannot insist they take it up.

You should work sensitively with them to help them understand the benefits of independent travel and build their confidence. Some authorities say it is just as important to work with parents as with their children.

Suggested tools for securing parents’ support for independent travel training

Local authorities have suggested some ways to secure parents’ support for independent travel training.

Include it in your school travel policy

Make independent travel training a clear part of the local authority’s school travel policy so information is easily available to parents.

Include information about:

• the benefits of completing the programme
• when travel training is offered
• what travel training entails

Explain what happens when a child completes the programme.

Create supportive tools

Leaflets and videos can be a useful way of providing parents with information in a digestible way. They can also help raise awareness of the benefits of independent travel training.

You could also publish case studies or testimonies from parents and children who have completed travel training.

Hold information sessions

Give parents and children a chance to ask questions and discuss concerns face-to-face.

Offer taster sessions

Give children and their parents a chance to experience travel training first-hand before they commit to it.

What to do if a parent is worried about their child travelling independently

A child who has travelled in a taxi may be able to travel on the bus when they have completed independent travel training. But some authorities report that withdrawing the taxi and providing a bus pass instead can lead to:

• conflict with the parent
• the child’s absence from school

Other authorities recommend working sensitively with parents in these circumstances, understanding that it is hard for them to imagine their child being able to travel safely on their own.

These authorities would not immediately withdraw the child’s taxi. They might work with the parent to agree a gradual transition from the taxi to the bus. For example, the child might travel to school on the bus in the mornings but return home in the taxi while they and their parent get used to the new arrangements.

Some authorities report that when a child sees their peers begin to travel independently, they become keen to do the same. They will then ask their parents to let them take the bus.

Introducing travel training at transition points

Some authorities introduce travel training at transition points, for example at the point a young person transfers to post-16 education.

They report that this can be effective because the child and their parent never become accustomed to having transport provided to their post-16 setting.

Instead, the trainer supports them to travel there, on public transport or on foot, until they can do so confidently on their own.

Examples of extended travel training

Some authorities have found their travel training programmes have been so successful they have extended them to:

• children who do not have special educational needs
• adults with learning disabilities

Some offer summer travel training programmes, for example, to support children to travel to the shops independently. This is an important life skill and can help build children’s confidence to travel to school independently.

Some award children who have successfully completed independent travel training a bus pass for free travel in the local area at any time, not just to and from school. This acts as an incentive to do travel training. When training is complete, it helps to cement their independent travel skills.

Some:

• deliver travel training on behalf of other local authorities
• offer accredited travel training qualifications to staff in other local authorities

Developing positive relationships with parents

Helping parents understand your school and college travel assistance policy

Many parents will not know anything about travel assistance before their children start school. It is important that your policies are easy to understand for someone with no prior knowledge.

You need a detailed policy to guide your decision-making. Some parents will find it helpful to read this policy, but many will not. You should consider also having a brief version which is easy to read for parents. Both versions must be clearly written and published on your website.

You will also need to include information about school and college travel assistance in your SEND local offer.

Your local parent carer forum can help you make sure your policy is easy for parents to understand, and gives them the information they need.

You should think about these things when you develop your travel assistance policy.

Make it easy for parents to understand if their child might get travel assistance

For example, a parent has a child with SEND and wants to find out if they are eligible for travel assistance.

They search for ‘SEND school transport’ on their local authority’s website. This takes them to a webpage which explains that children may be eligible for travel assistance if they would not be able to walk to school because of their SEND or mobility problem.

Their child has no difficulty in walking, but they do attend their nearest school and it is more than statutory walking distance from their home.

Does the webpage make clear that there are other eligibility criteria that may apply to children with SEND? Or does it lead the parent to think their child is not eligible for travel assistance? 

Explain the types of travel assistance parents can expect

For example, explain that:

• children may need to walk to a bus stop or pick-up point, where a group of children will be collected together
• most children will share their vehicle with other children

Make parents aware that their child’s travel assistance may change over time

For example, tell parents:

• you will keep the arrangements under review, to make sure they are still suitable for their child’s needs
• you may offer their child independent travel training in future
• their child may not get free travel when they reach sixth form age

Make it easy for parents to find your policy on your website

Consider:

• the search terms parents might use, for example ‘school bus’ – will they return the information they need?
• if a parent could easily navigate to your policy from your website’s homepage – how many clicks would it take?

Avoid jargon and explain terms parents may not be familiar with

For example, if you offer transport to a child’s ‘catchment’ school as well as their nearest school, consider how parents will know which is their catchment school.

If your policy refers to ‘qualifying schools’ or ‘suitable schools’, does it explain what these are?

Parents might not know when their child will reach compulsory school age. Your policy could link to the explanation of compulsory school age on GOV.UK.

Think about tone

Some parents find official documents and processes intimidating. Some expect they will have to fight for services which they are entitled to.

The tone of your transport policy can help to set the tone of your relationships with parents.

A policy that is drafted in a professional, straightforward and supportive way is more likely to encourage positive relationships with parents than one which appears obstructive.

For example, “some children get travel assistance” might be better than “most children cannot get travel assistance”.

Use clear, concise language 

For example, this is based on a real example from a local authority’s website. Parents might find it hard to read:

We provide assistance with travel to school, free of charge, for children of compulsory school age to whom the following apply if they attend their nearest suitable school and the school is more than 2 miles from their home, if they are under 8, or more than 3 miles from their home, if they are aged 8 to 16, or they can’t reasonably be expected to walk to school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem or because the nature of the route means they would not be able to walk it in reasonable safety.

The following would be clearer:

Your child can get help with travel to school, free of charge, if:

• they are of compulsory school age
• they go to their nearest suitable school
• one of the following criteria applies:
  • they are under 8 and the walking distance to their school is more than 2 miles
  • they are aged 8 to 16, and the walking distance to their school is more than 3 miles
  • they would not be able to walk to school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem
  • there is no safe walking route from their home to their school

They can also get help if they are eligible for targeted free school meals and one of the following criteria applies….

Ensuring travel assistance is suitable

You need to arrange travel assistance which is suitable for children and young people’s needs. You also need to make effective use of resources. This requires sensitive judgement.

You should clearly explain to parents:

• the travel assistance you might provide for a child or young person
• that the assistance may change over time, to make sure it is still suitable

Example wording for a school travel policy

Your travel assistance policy could say:

“We will provide travel assistance that is suitable for your child’s needs and the route they are travelling. This may be:

• a pass to use on public transport
• a seat on a school bus, minibus or taxi

Your child will share their vehicle with other children, unless either:

• that would not be suitable for their needs
• there are no other children travelling a similar route

If your child’s needs mean they currently need to travel on their own, we will develop a plan to support them to travel on shared transport in future.

They might need to walk to a bus stop or pick-up point.

We plan routes and pick-up and drop-off times to be as efficient as possible for all the children travelling in the vehicle. We cannot normally accommodate individual preferences.

We might offer you a personal travel budget instead of arranging your child’s travel. This is an amount of money so you can make your own arrangements for your child’s travel.

Some parents prefer this because it gives them more flexibility. You do not have to take it up if this genuinely does not work for you, but we ask you to consider this seriously as we will have good reasons for suggesting it.

We might also offer your child independent travel training, so they can use public transport or walk to school by themselves. Travel training is not compulsory, but being able to travel independently is a valuable life skill that can help your child live a fulfilled adult life. We encourage you to take up the offer.”

Annex 4 of the statutory home to school travel guidance provides some questions you may find helpful when you review your policies and procedures.

Case study: Promoting personal travel budgets

A local authority conducted analysis that showed many families were unaware of alternatives to council-arranged transport, such as personal transport budgets.

The authority worked with partners to redesign its approach. They applied behavioural science to policies, letters, and website content to make information clearer and more accessible.

They also engaged parent-carer groups to explain the benefits of personal travel budgets and how they could be used creatively, for example to fund specialist equipment and car seats.

This approach had a big impact. Use of personal transport budgets increased tenfold in one year. Parents reported improved understanding of their options and stronger relationships with the authority. It gave families more flexibility while also helping to reduce financial pressure on the authority.

Your other responsibilities

In some cases, the use of personal travel budgets may result in greater use of single-occupancy vehicles.

This could happen, for example, because children travel in individual family cars instead of shared transport.

You should consider any impact this may have on your responsibilities in relation to the air quality strategy for England.

You should also consider any impact this may have on your duty under section 16 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 to secure the expeditious movement of traffic (including pedestrians and cyclists) on your road network, so far as is reasonably practicable.

Post-16 students

You should target any support you provide to the young people who need it most, particularly those with a low income.

You should set out clearly in your post-16 transport policy statement the criteria you use to establish a young person’s eligibility for support.

Charging post-16 students

If you arrange a young person’s travel, you may ask them or their families for a contribution to its cost. You should make sure any contribution is affordable.

You may take account of the fact a young person gets the 16 to 19 bursary when assessing an individual’s need for financial help with transport. But you should not presume this will be available when you set out your policy. The 16 to 19 bursary is a means tested and finite resource.

Young people with SEND are likely to remain in education or training longer than their peers. You should allow for the fact they may need to contribute to their travel costs for longer.

It is good practice to set out the average amount a student may be expected to contribute, so young people and their parents can understand the extent of the local authority subsidy.

The statutory guidance on post-16 transport and travel support points out that some young people will be eligible for free transport when they reach the age of 19. It says it is good practice not to charge them a contribution when they are of sixth form age if it is likely they will be eligible for free transport under the adult transport duty.

Motability vehicles and post-16 students

If a young person uses their Personal Independence Payment to lease a car through the Motability Scheme, you may take that into account when you decide what support they might need to get to school or college.

If there are genuine reasons why the vehicle cannot be used to get the young person to school or college, you cannot insist that it is.

Working with parents to meet children and young people’s needs

Managing changes to a child or young person’s travel assistance

Give parents good notice of their child’s travel arrangements.

Children may find change upsetting, particularly children with SEND. Give parents good notice of any changes to the arrangements where possible.

This will enable:

• parents to prepare the child for the change
• the child or young person to feel confident about how they will get to school or college
• a new driver or passenger assistant to meet the child and their family

For example, one local authority arranges a meet and greet if a child or their family has concerns about:

• joining transport for the first time
• changing to a new route or operator

Meeting their driver and passenger assistant has very successfully eased anxiety for families and children.

The example of Child V in the statutory home to school travel guidance may also help. This is in part 3 under the heading ‘Managing behaviour that is part of a child’s special educational needs or disability’.

Managing behaviour related to a child’s SEND

You should work with parents to manage any challenging behaviour on transport.

Parents know their child best. They are likely to understand what might trigger challenging behaviour and how to manage that behaviour, if it happens.

For example, one local authority asks parents to fill in a one-page travel profile about their child. This helps them arrange travel which meets the child’s needs.

They share the profile with the child’s driver and passenger assistant so they understand the child’s needs too.

They encourage the driver and passenger assistant to visit the family before the travel arrangements begin, so they and the family both know what to expect.

The profile asks the parent to fill in this information about their child:

• what you need to know about me and what I am interested in ….
• what is important to me when I am travelling ….
• to support me, I may need ….
• I like to be met and helped on transport in the following ways ….
• I really don’t like ….
• if I become upset, you can help me by ….
• medical support and equipment I use ….

The example of Child U from the statutory home to school travel guidance may also help. This is in part 3 under the heading ‘Managing behaviour that is part of a child’s special educational needs or disability’.

The Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers has worked with DfE and DfT to publish guidance which shares good practice in managing behaviour that is linked to child’s special educational needs or disability.

Avoiding and managing appeals and complaints

Follow the principles of good administrative practice. This can help you to:

• avoid appeals and complaints
• save associated administrative costs

It will never be possible to avoid all appeals and complaints, but handling them effectively can stop them from escalating and help to control costs.

Some people use complaints as a chance to identify things they can improve.

Good administrative practice: things to think about

Get things right: make sure your policy complies with the law. Always follow your policies and procedures.

Be customer focused: think about the tone of your communications and how parents will receive them. Make sure it is easy for parents to find the information they need, and they know what they can expect from you. Reply when you say you will. Explain things clearly and compassionately.

Be open and accountable: make sure parents understand what your processes are. If they have made an application, make sure they know what happens next. If you cannot reply to an enquiry when you have said you will, explain why. Admit when you have made a mistake. Be prepared to apologise.

Decision-making: take all relevant factors into account when you make a decision – and only relevant factors. Keep clear records of your decisions and why you made them. Make sure you can clearly explain why you made a decision.

Example: working with a local charity

A local authority has developed a relationship with a local charity that supports families of children with SEND. The charity helps parents better understand school and college travel policy.

Where issues arise about a child’s travel arrangements, the charity can:

• escalate these to the local authority for the parent
• work with the local authority to find a suitable solution

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman publishes guidance on good administrative practice.

Developing positive relationships with schools and colleges

The government expects schools, colleges and settings that provide alternative provision to work with local authorities to support the delivery of travel assistance.

References to schools and colleges in this section include any setting which a local authority might arrange a child or young person’s travel to.

The school or college day

Schools and colleges are responsible for setting the length of their day. They should:

• engage you before making any changes to their day which may affect travel arrangements
• work with you to avoid unintended consequences and additional travel costs wherever possible
• work with transport partners, where relevant, when considering changes that could affect travel patterns or local transport services

This is set out in the guidance for schools on the length of the school week. You will need to make sure schools and colleges know how to contact you.

They should also give you information about their term dates and INSET days.

Children who start or finish at a different time of day

The government does not generally expect you to provide travel assistance to accommodate particular classes, year groups, children or young people who have a start or finish time that is different from most pupils at the school or college. Schools and colleges may need to make arrangements to accommodate these pupils.

You may decide to make an exception if a child has a medical condition which means they are not well enough to attend school for the whole day. You may consider it appropriate to arrange travel at times which best meet the child’s needs.

Patterns of attendance in specialist settings

Specialist settings may structure their day or week in more varied ways than mainstream settings.

They should work with you so children and young people’s pattern of attendance fits with the travel arrangements you can make. For example, they might arrange for children who travel in a vehicle together to start school at the same time.

Examples

DfE has drafted some examples to illustrate how schools and colleges can work effectively with local authorities when they change their school day.

Example: school working ineffectively with the local authority

A secondary school decides to extend its school day, so it will finish at 3:20pm rather than 2:55pm.

They consult parents and teachers and tell them at the beginning of the summer term that the change will take place at the start of the autumn term.

Five school buses and several taxis bring pupils to the school. These arrive by 2:50pm each afternoon. They then collect pupils from another secondary school.

Shortly before the start of the autumn term, the school tells the local authority that the pupils will now not need the transport until 3:15pm.

The local authority has to rearrange the routes to the 2 schools and renegotiate its contracts with transport operators. This takes several days and results in significant additional expense for the local authority, as they need more vehicles.

Children whose parents cannot collect them from school miss several days at the start of term until the new transport arrangements are made.

Example: school working effectively with the local authority

A primary school decides to stagger its school day because of parking problems outside the school gates at drop-off and pick-up times.

Children in reception and key stage 1 will start school at 8:45am and finish at 3:05pm. Children in key stage 2 will start school at 9:05am and finish at 3:30pm.

Several pupils at the school get travel assistance. The school consults the local authority. They realise there would be disproportionate cost if the local authority arranged separate transport for pupils in each key stage.

The local authority arranges for all eligible pupils to arrive by 8:45am and be collected at 3:30pm. The school arranges for the:

• key stage 2 pupils to have supervised play between 8:45 and 9:05am - reception and key stage 1 pupils to have supervised play between 3:05 and 3:30pm

Example: special school working effectively with a local authority

A special school has 180 pupils aged 4 to 19. It wants its pupils to arrive at staggered times, so staff can take the time to welcome them in small groups.

This will make the daily transition from home to school easier for the children and mean they are calm and ready to learn.

The school speaks to the local authority before arranging the staggered start times, so children who travel in a vehicle together can arrive at the same time.

Managing children and young people’s behaviour

The government expects schools and colleges to support you in managing children and young people’s behaviour on school and college travel.

The guidance on behaviour in schools explains that:

• schools have the power to sanction pupils for misbehaviour outside the school premises
• schools’ behaviour policies should set out what they will do in response to poor behaviour which occurs off the school premises
• schools should collaborate with local authorities to promote good behaviour on school transport

A student who is found to be misbehaving on school transport may be sanctioned in accordance with this policy.

Possible strategies schools can use

For example, schools have used these strategies to manage pupils’ behaviour on transport:

• members of school staff supervising boarding and alighting from vehicles
• appointing senior students as bus prefects to encourage positive behaviour among younger pupils, and to report back to the school
• having seating plans
• school staff travelling with their pupils

The charity Kidscape has published tips for bus drivers on how to deal with bullying, on its page giving advice for adults working with young people.

If a child’s behaviour is linked to their SEND, it’s more likely to need a bespoke response. We have provided an example of how schools can work with local authorities to find a solution.

Case study: a school working with a local authority to manage behaviour related to a child’s SEND

A local authority arranged for a child with autism to travel to primary school on a minibus with 2 other children.

The journey resulted in them displaying dysregulated behaviour.  They took time to calm down when they arrived at school, which affected their ability to learn.

The school, family and local authority wanted the child to continue travelling with their peers.

The school, family and local authority attended meetings at school to find a solution. They found that a combination of several strategies worked:

• using a different seating plan in the vehicle
• talking to the child about what to expect on the journey
• the passenger assistant talking to the child during the journey
• bringing toys from home

Schools arranging travel assistance

You can agree with a school that they will make the travel arrangements for some or all of their eligible pupils.

This can help children and young people with SEND, because the school or college may be able to arrange the travel more flexibly around their needs.

It can also benefit schools and colleges. For example, some local authorities provide schools with a minibus so they can provide home to school travel for their pupils, but the school can also use the minibus for other purposes such as school trips.

A local authority has provided a case study to show how a school can arrange transport.

Case study – a school arranging transport

A local authority had arranged minibuses to take children to their special school.

Six to 8 children travelled in each minibus. The children’s behaviour became dysregulated on 2 of the minibuses.

The local authority met the head teacher to discuss the problem. They identified that the dysregulated behaviour may be caused by the number of children on the minibus. They were taught in groups of 4 at school.

The head teacher suggested the school take over running these 2 minibuses.

The local authority funds the school to run these services, including paying for:

• the time of teaching assistants who act as drivers and passenger assistants
• staff to get D1 driving licences

This has worked well. Interaction between the school and parents has improved because school staff collect the children from home each day.

The children are settled and supported on transport by staff who know them well. This means they arrive at school calm and ready to learn.

The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund

Some post-16 students get support to stay in education through the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund. It is paid by their school or college and can be used for travel costs, and other essential costs like food and equipment for study.

You should include information about the bursary, and any other travel support provided by schools and colleges, in your post-16 policy statement.

Free breakfast clubs in primary schools

The government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children.

Your duty is to arrange travel assistance to enable an eligible child to:

• travel to school for the beginning of the school day
• return home at the end of the school day

You are not required to arrange travel to enable children to attend before and after-school clubs. But you may be able to work with schools to find solutions if they will not lead to unreasonable additional home to school transport expenditure.

How a school and local authority could work together to support children to attend a breakfast club

For example, 6 children travel to school together in a minibus. The parents of all 6 children want them to attend the breakfast club.

The local authority finds it is relatively straightforward to arrange for the minibus to arrive at school 30 minutes earlier each day.

If the parents of only 4 of the children initially indicate they want to take up the breakfast club, the school could speak to the parents of the remaining 2 children. They may also be happy to take up the breakfast club when they realise their children will still be able to travel on the minibus.

If school transport cannot get children to school in time for the breakfast club, schools may be able to find alternative solutions.

For example, some schools:

• have their own minibuses and may be able to arrange for school staff to collect children
• may be able to arrange a walking escort for children that live close enough to the school

More resources

DfE has published the delivering better value in SEND toolkit, to help local authorities take a sustainable approach to improving the SEND and alternative provision system.

The What Works in SEND programme shares examples of effective practice in the wider SEND system.

The Department for Transport has developed the connectivity tool. You can use the tool to:

• display how any location is connected to everyday services by walking, driving, cycling and public transport
• plot new transport routes to understand how these would affect an area’s connectivity