Home to School Transport Policy (0 to 25 Year Olds)

This document describes the policy for home to school travel assistance and the criteria applied to determine eligibility.

The Policy has been developed in accordance with the legislative framework set out under the Education Act 1996 and current Government Home-to-school travel guidance. It is reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that arrangements adopted within Buckinghamshire reflect any new legislation and guidance.

This Home to School Transport Policy has been informed by national home to school transport research and the Council’s financial and demand forecasts.

It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to ensure that their child attends school and they must take all action necessary to enable their child to attend school. For most parents/carers this includes making arrangements for their child to travel to and from school. However, we will provide travel assistance if the school transport eligibility criteria are met.

Home to School travel assistance aims to:

• support those most in need
• promote principles of independence
• provide the most cost effective travel assistance
• promote and encourage the use of sustainable travel

As a Council, we expect the service delivered to be of a high standard. All children and young people who travel under this Policy can expect that those standards will be monitored and maintained. In this policy we have referred to children of statutory school age (5-16 years) as “pupils”, and those over statutory school age as “students”.

The Education Act 1996 provides the following duties and powers on local authorities:

• duty to promote sustainable modes of travel to meet school travel needs - s.508A
• duty to make necessary travel arrangements free of charge to secure suitable home to school travel arrangements for eligible children. Eligibility includes age, distance to school, special educational needs, a disability (SEND) or mobility problems and safe walking routes - S.508B
• power to make necessary school travel arrangements for other children on payment of a charge as appropriate - s.508C
• power to provide travel assistance or travel expenses for children attending early years education, subject to eligibility criteria - s.509A
• duty to prepare a Post-16 transport policy statement setting out transport provision and financial assistance (where applicable) to facilitate attendance of sixth form students at educational institutions - s.509AA and s.509AB