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Adoption

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Transport for out of catchment school

4 replies

Sellingstress · 07/09/2022 20:05

DS 1 is starting secondary school next year - and as a child that has been in care we feel reasonably confident that he will get into the school we want for him on current allocation criteria. As well as being a great school his current primary feeds into the school, so all his pals will be there. So far, so good. It will be great for him all around.

He’s been at the same primary since reception but we moved last year so (despite being closer in miles!) we are now out of catchment for the secondary. My question is transport. As part of getting the importance of getting a priority place for the right school for an adopted child is that also backed up by providing transport? LA website and school website seems to think that as it is out of catchment, transport won’t be provided. Does anyone know if that is always the case or is it perhaps considered on a case by case basis?

I hope that makes sense. I can’t quite get my head around that although the school offers a priority place to adopted children that they can’t back that up with transport.

any thoughts welcome!

OP posts:
ifchocolatewerecelery · 07/09/2022 22:27

Our kids go to a primary school out of catchment area and we have to find our own transport to get them there. My friend in a different county wanted to not send her kids to the nearest secondary school but one a couple of miles further away that she went to as a teenager from the same address. When she went free transport was provided but when her kids were due to go the LEA's policy had changed and she'd have had to have paid. She couldn't afford it so ended up sending them to the nearest school instead.

Priority placements for adopted children do not come with guaranteed funding for transport. I think the only way to guarantee it would be to have a named school as part of an EHCP.

Ted27 · 07/09/2022 23:14

does he actually need transport though? How will his friends be getting there?

We did some travel training with my son - he got the bus with his friends and later cycled when the weather was good

Sellingstress · 08/09/2022 07:56

Thanks all. We live pretty rurally so public transport isn’t an option or cycling (7 miles from secondary on A roads). There is a school bus that goes through the primary school village but they don’t run a spare seat policy. Frustratingly said bus drives past our road end - but because we are 2 miles out of catchment he can’t get on it!

We can drive him, but of course work and other primary Ds school in other direction so not ideal - and he said he’d really like the bus experience too. But if that’s the way it is. Argh!

OP posts:
Ted27 · 08/09/2022 10:19

www.gov.uk/free-school-transport

might be something in here to help

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