Appeals - rural transport situation

[Luckingfovely]

Hi - hoping that someone wise on these matters will be able to help with my secondary school appeal.

I know that transport isn't usually grounds since they are expected to get them there themselves. I understand this in towns, but wonder if anyone knows if this is different in more rural areas with no footpaths/pavements and no public transport.

Our closest school is school A. Out of catchment (we are on the boundary) but two miles away, and with a school bus 50 yards from our house morning and evening. We want DC to go to this school. All other children from our village have historically got in - and others have this year - but not DC.

We have been given school B, which is over four miles away on unsafe roads with no footpath or pavement at all for much of it. No school bus. No public transport. We simply can't get DC there due to work and and other DC at different schools.

I would be desperately grateful for any advice on this situation - thank you in advance.

I’m in rural Scotland so I’m not sure if this applies: if your DC goes to their catchment school and its 2miles away from primary school, 3miles from secondary school or unsafe to walk then the local authority has to by law provide transport to school. ( I would certainly argue that no footpath at any point on a journey to school was unsafe.)
It is the parents/carers responsibility to safely get DC to pick up/drop off points.
I have heard of children living outwith a school’s catchment area, where spaces were available on school transport (bus) and they received transport to school but they had to pay a minimal fee, I think it was £1 a day.
I have found my local authority quite easy to deal with and responsive to reasonable requests. Hope this helps.

This is taken from gov.uk

"All children between 5 and 16 qualify for free school transport if they go to their nearest suitable school and live at least:

2 miles from the school if they’re under 8
3 miles from the school if they’re 8 or older
Find details on free school transport from your local council.

If there’s no safe walking route, they must be given free transport, however far from school they live. Contact your local council if you think that the walk to school isn’t safe."

So it looks like your child should get free transport.

I don't know how this will help an appeal though.

Thanks so much, Glen and Havoc. That really helps to clarify.

If anybody else has experience of this in relation to appeals, I would love to hear about it?

Given the distance the LA will have to provide free transport. I'm afraid this won't help you at appeal. The distance involved isn't enough for you to argue that it is unreasonable.

No experience of appeals but my children live in an remote area with no footpaths/pavements and a mini bus collects all local children. It actually comes to our door so is very convenient - no waiting at freezing cold bus stops in the winter.

I'm in England and the school my son got offered was 3 miles away. The LA (after three battles) provided a taxi bus to pick up outlying children and get them to and from school.

I battled hard and was still battling on the first day of term. It was approved in the end.
They had to assess the route, but we are rural with no lighting or pavements so it was deemed dangerous at the risk assessment.

Still took 6 months to get approval.

Look on it from health and safety point of view. The LA are responsible for providing safe means of getting your child to school.

They need to coordinate places better to prevent the extra costs of taxis for the next 5 years. It could have been avoided if they had given you your first choice.

They didn't, so it's up to them to sort safe transport out for your child.

This is not you and your car, although I believe in some difficult cases the LA can pay petrol costs.