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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Free school transport

12 replies

NadiSel · 31/08/2019 21:24

Hi, my daughter is 12. She is moving school from a state Academy that is 4 miles away from our home to a Grammar school which is 9 miles from our house. Previously she got free school transport to the state Academy. Moving school has been our choice - there is no underlying reason that forced this move.

Could someone please explain to me the rules for free school transport.

OP posts:

BackforGood · 31/08/2019 21:55

My understanding is, if you choose not to accept the local school, then it is up to you to make (and fund) the arrangements to get your dc there.

ie, there wouldn't be transport in your case

Original poster

NadiSel · 31/08/2019 21:57

Sorry I should have added that I have already checked the local education authority website.

It is enormously confusing as it says that I am not eligible for the old school, even though they have already sent the free bus pass for the new school year, which I returned because we are moving school.

OP posts:

OddBoots · 31/08/2019 22:02

"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"

www.gov.uk/free-school-transport

So I would read that as while she goes to the closest possible school then she will get free transport if that is over 3 miles away but if you choose a school further away she won't.

prh47bridge · 01/09/2019 00:03

The LA can give your daughter free transport to the grammar school if they wish but they don't have to do so.

Original poster

NadiSel · 01/09/2019 05:16

Prh what sorts of things would that be based on - I'm guessing vulnerable child, disability etc right?

OP posts:

titchy · 01/09/2019 09:36

Maybe the reason she currently gets free travel is that she wouldn't have got a place at your nearest school, in which case they're funding her statutory entitlement. Or the nearest school's walking route suddenly means it's not the nearest.

It's doubtful you'd get free transport to the grammar anyway. Most LAs don't have spare cash these day to spend on non-statutory items.

stucknoue · 01/09/2019 09:38

Unless it's either the nearest school or she has an education plan (SEN) that lists the specific school as the nearest suitable school you have to pay for transport.

RainOrSun · 01/09/2019 09:46

Can I hijack this?
We have 2 catchment secondaries. One about a 5 min walk away, one about a 90 min walk away. If we put the further school first, do we not get the transport I know exists because it's not our closest, even though it is catchment?

AlunWynsKnee · 01/09/2019 09:59

Thanks for that link @OddBoots
I've just realised that dd is potentially entitled to free transport to school! The school now named in her EHCP is slightly under the distance if she walks but she can't.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 01/09/2019 15:59

RainOrSun. we had two schools from which to choose. One was three miles away, the other, five miles in the opposite direction. If we chose the one three miles away, my children would have had bus passes. We chose the other, so had to pay.

The cost of transport was not a factor in the decision, we chose the school we thought best. I can see why it would be for some though.

prh47bridge · 01/09/2019 16:29

what sorts of things would that be based on

Entirely up to them. The law sets out the situations in which the LA is required to provide free transport. If the LA want to go beyond the legal minimum they can do so provided the criteria for qualifying are reasonable and applied consistently.

RainOrSun - If you put the further school as your first choice and get a place you will not have any legal entitlement to free transport (assuming your child does not qualify for free school meals or have a disability). If the LA is already running a bus that stops near you they may permit you to use it free of charge anyway but you can't force them to do so.

catndogslife · 02/09/2019 15:43

OP you need to check your LEA website and also check the school's policy.
Our LEA does provide help for families on low incomes who are attending non-catchment schools (such as faith schools) but they do not have to do so. We are not in a grammar area.
Sometimes schools provide their own transport. I am aware of a local academy school that funds its own bus service for pupils. (This decision was made when the local bus company cut a route making it more difficult for pupils to travel to school).

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