Home to School or College Transport

Overview

When choosing which schools or colleges to apply for, it is important to consider how your child or young person will get there. Some children and young people are eligible for free travel, but this isn’t the case for everyone, even where a child or young person has SEN or even an EHC plan.

No child of compulsory school age should be prevented from accessing school due to a lack of transport or the cost of transport and therefore home to school travel is an integral part of the school system. The local authority (LA) must make free-of-charge travel arrangements to facilitate the attendance at school of eligible children resident in its area.

Compulsory school age starts on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday – whichever comes first. If their fifth birthday is on one of those dates then they reach compulsory school age on that date. Compulsory school age ends on the last Friday in June which falls in the academic year in which they turn 16. However, young people are expected to remain in education or training until they are 18.

To help make these decisions the local authority has several criteria that need to be considered. Whilst an LA may have its own local policies to help it consider these, law and statutory guidance will trump local policy where any differences occur. These are the Education Act 1996 – namely sections 508 & 509 (“the Law”) and Travel to school for children of compulsory school age updated May 2026 (“Statutory guidance”).

When considering these, where the words ‘must’ and ‘must not’ are used, they represent a statutory requirement. Where the word ‘should’ is used, it represents something authorities ought to do or something that is considered good practice but is not a mandatory requirement. The word ‘reasonable’ is used extensively throughout the guidance.

The local authority is expected to act reasonably in the performance of their functions. Whether an action is reasonable may vary according to the circumstances in which it is being considered and it will need to use its judgement. In general, the LA should seek to act in a way that is fair and rational and takes into account relevant factors.

Who is eligible for free home to school transport ?

A child is eligible for free home to school transport if they are of compulsory school age, attend their nearest suitable school and:

live more than the statutory walking distance from that school (Under 8 years old: Two miles from home to the nearest suitable school. 8 years old & over: Three miles from home to the nearest suitable school. The distance is calculated using the ‘shortest safe walking route’) or
could not reasonably be expected to walk to that school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, even if they were accompanied by their parent (distance criteria may not apply) or
would not be able to walk to that school in reasonable safety, even if they were accompanied by their parent (known as ‘unsafe walking route’)

There are also ‘extended rights’ to free travel to school, for children from low-income households (where they meet the eligibility). Different distance criteria (see below)

Extended rights (families on a low income) – If your family is on a low income, the distance criteria is more generous by lowering the statutory walking distance for over-eights and extending the range of schools for secondary-aged children.

You will meet the criteria for low income if your child receives free school meals because you get Universal Credit and your earnings are below certain thresholds. You can find out more about these thresholds values via this link to CONTACT.

Your child will then be eligible for free travel if they are:

Age 8-10 living over two miles from the nearest suitable school.
Age 11-16 living within two and six miles of school if it is one of the three nearest suitable schools.
Age 11-16 living between two and fifteen miles of the nearest school preferred on the grounds of religion or belief.

What is a ‘suitable’ school?

A ‘suitable’ school for school travel purposes is a qualifying* school that is suitable for the child’s age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have. It should also be suitable for the child’s sex, for example a girls’ school could not be considered the nearest suitable school for a boy.

‘Suitable school’ does not mean the most suitable school for a child. Schools are able to meet a wide range of needs.The nearest secondary school to the home of a child of secondary school age, for example, will almost always be their nearest suitable school (provided it would be able to admit them).

Where a child has an EHC plan, the school named in the plan will normally be considered to be their nearest suitable and an independent school is a qualifying school if it is the only school named in their EHC plan.

*Qualifying schools are (defined by paragraph 15 of schedule 35B to the Education Act 1996).

community schools, foundation schools, voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools;
academies (including those which are free schools, university technical colleges, studio schools and special schools);
alternative provision academies;
community or foundation special schools;
non-maintained special schools;
pupil referral units;
maintained nursery schools (where attended by a child of compulsory school age); and
city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts.

What if my child is not full time?

The LA must make arrangements to enable a child to travel to school for the beginning of the school day, and to return home at the end of the school day. They are not required to make arrangements:

for children to travel between institutions during the school day;
to enable children to attend extra-curricular activities and other commitments outside school hours; or
to enable children to get to and from before and after school childcare, whether formal (for example, a childminder) or informal (for example, a grandparent).

Where particular classes, year groups or pupils have a start or finish time that is different from most pupils at the school, it will not normally be possible for the local authority to make separate travel arrangements. Schools may need to make arrangements to accommodate these pupils.

This means that if the school itself is insisting on part time hours for a particular child, then the school may be required to make arrangements themselves.

However, there may be a small number of circumstances in which the LA considers it appropriate, to arrange transport at an alternative time of day, for example if a child has a medical condition which means they are not well enough to attend school for the whole day. (64-66 of Travel to School statutory guidance).

Transport to Alternative Provision (AP)

If Alternative Provision is being provided at a qualifying school (see above), then eligibility should be considered in the same way that home to school transport is considered, esepcially where the LA have arranged AP.

However, if the school arranged the AP then generally the school remains responsible for the off-site placement and should secure and arrange transport if it is required (i.e. if parents were unable to arrange transport themselves and consequently the child would not be able to attend).

Can the LA help even if we are not eligible?

Even though you may not be eligible for transport assistance, occasionally there may be spare seats on vehicles which the LA can offer. These are called ‘concessionary seats’.

Please note that:

the LA makes a charge for these seats
concessionary seats are not available on public transport
Seats sometimes have to be withdrawn during the term at very short notice

More about this, including costs, can be found on the WSCC website: Paid school transport – West Sussex County Council

Children with Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs)

Under section 39 of the Children and Families Act 2014, parents have the right to ask for a particular school to be named in their child’s EHCP. The LA must name that school in the plan unless it would be unsuitable for the child’s age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs, or incompatible with the efficient education of others or the efficient use of resources.

Where the child will be eligible for free travel, the LA should take the cost of travel into account as part of this decision. Travel arrangements may also be relevant to the decision about the school that should be named in the plan in other ways, for example, the effect the journey may have on the child and their ability to learn when they arrive at school.

Where naming the parent’s preferred school would be unsuitable (as per the conditions above), the LA must name a different school that they think would be appropriate for the child. However, where arranging travel to the preferred school would only be incompatible with the efficient use of resources, the LA may:

name a different school that would be appropriate for the child’s needs (this may be the nearer school), or
name the parent’s preferred school on the condition that the parent arranges the travel or provides some or all of the cost of the travel.**

** The LA should make clear that it may review the school named in the EHCP if the parent becomes unable or unwilling to arrange or pay for the travel. The LA should record this information in a formal letter to the parent. If the review shows that naming the parent’s preferred school is now incompatible with the efficient use of resources, the LA may amend the EHCP to name a different school that would be appropriate for the child’s needs.

Where a child has an EHCP, the LA has a statutory duty to secure the special educational provision set out in Section F of the EHC plan and will have real difficulty doing so if you cannot get your child or young person to school to access that provision. The LA must consider each situation individually where this might apply.

Children under 5

Children under compulsory school age are not automatically entitled to transport to an early years setting or school. However, the LA can use its discretion to make travel arrangements for your child and cannot refuse to make a transport arrangement simply because it does not have a strict duty to make it.

If your child is at school is not yet of compulsory school age, your LA has a discretionary power (under the Education Act 508C) to make such school travel arrangements as it considers necessary for the purpose of facilitating your child’s attendance at school.

Post 16

Under the Education and Skills Act 2008, local authorities (LAs) in England have broad duties to encourage, enable, and assist all young people to participate in education or training who are aged 13 to 19, as well as those aged between 20 and 25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). They also have specific legal duties relating to transport to school or college for young people with SEND.

Different duties apply to young people aged 16 – 19 and those 19 years old and over.

There is no legal duty requiring a local authority (LA) to provide free school or college transport to a young person of ‘sixth form age’ (16-19). This would apply where the young person:

is over compulsory age (which ends on the last Friday in June in the academic year in which you turn or turned 16) but under 19, or
began the course they are studying at school or college before their 19^th birthday. they will remain of ‘sixth form age’ until they complete that course, even if they finish this course after their 19^th birthday.

Local authorities have certain duties in respect of ‘adult learners’ (19+). These duties are set out in section 508F of the Education Act (EA) 1996. You are an ‘adult learner’ if you are over ‘sixth form age’.

For 16- 24 year olds with an EHCP – For both adult learners and those of ‘sixth form age’, if there is an EHC plan in place, then this could well strengthen the argument that travel arrangements are ‘necessary’ for you. The LA has a duty to secure the special educational provision set out in Section F of your EHC plan and will have real difficulty doing so if you cannot get to college to access that provision.

Even if the LA does not consider it ‘necessary’ to make transport arrangements for a young person, it has a discretion to pay some or all of the reasonable costs of transport if no other arrangement has been arranged (section 508F(8) EA 1996). Case Law (see below) has confirmed LAs must exercise their judgement “judiciously and in good faith”. This means that the LA can still choose to pay some or maybe even all of your travel costs and in making that decision the LA should be fair and consider your circimstances carefully.

An LA:

should not have a blanket policy of never providing discretionary travel arrangements, and
has to properly think about, and take account of, the reasons a parent gives about their child or young person’s circumstances.

Even where eligibility for free transport is not met, the LA could consider other types of support under their discretionary powers such as:

Subsidized bus or rail passes.
Personal travel budgets or mileage allowances.
Independent travel training programs

More about this can be found in their WSCC transport pages linked below.

What to do if you do not agree with the LA’s decision

If you feel that the LA has made the wrong decision about your child’s or young person’s transport to school or college, you should follow the ‘home to school transport’ department’s appeal procedure (not complaint procedure). Please see the WSCC Info & Policies section below). You can also email them here: school.transport@westsussex.gov.uk.

Do also have a read through their policies to check they a) do not conflict with law and guidance and b) have been considered and applied correctly to your situation .

Whilst the LA can decide how its appeals process will operate, the statutory guidance recommends LAs have a two-stage process with stage one being a review by a senior officer and stage 2 being a review by an independent appeal panel.

If you think that there has been a failure to follow the rules of an appeal or if there are any other problems in the way the appeal was handled or decided, you may be able to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).