Post-16 school transport - how does it work in your area?

[Mutakirorikatum]

So I know young Londoners aged 16-18 get a pass entitling them to free bus transport and subsidised tube and train fares in the whole Greater London area. Which is obviously lovely.

However. In our rural county I have just learnt that there is no free or subsidised transport at all for post-16 education. Instead we have to buy an annual season bus ticket which gives access to all the county's bus services (most of which will never be used, since it's primarily for getting to and from college/sixth form a few miles away). For a grand total of...

Eight. Hundred. and. Ten. English. Pounds.

£810 actual pounds.

Blimey. Most 6th form provision is concentrated in regional centres, so almost everyone will have to travel, and only the lucky few who live actually in the town where the college or school is will be able to walk or cycle. There are 'bursaries' available for low-income families, but they have to be applied for through the individual school or college, and there appear to be limited funds available.

I had blithely assumed that because post-16 education is now compulsory, there would be some form of transport provision, not necessarily to any school or college, but at least to your nearest one. But nope.

Is this unusual? I'd be interested to know what the provision is in other parts of the country.

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

We get no financial support for DS2's travel in his sixth form. He currently has a £2.75 per day train journey - but that's only because there is now a 16-18 railcard. DS1 had the same journey a few years ago and it was double that.
Surrey/Berkshire border (Middlesex really)

[avocadochocolate]

I think the way it works is that your local council has a statutory duty to ensure children up to and including y11 can get to school. After that, they have no responsibility. There might be some exceptions in special circumstances, such as disability.

If you go onto www.gov.uk, you can search no 'travel to school' and find the official guidance.

[Thistly]

Sorry, I’m totally assuming that an experience like that would affect someone’s confidence, but that may not be the case for your dd.

[Thistly]

My goodness Teen, that’s awful. My dd may well have a similar trajectory, and I’m disappointed to see the local nursery i thought so highly of when my younger children went there, seems to also have personnel issues. I now work in a related role and hear about some poor treatment of staff.
Such a Shame that childcare workers are not better looked after.

I wish your dd a full recovery and that she finds a path which helps her to rebuild her confidence.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Thistly It was a nursery apprenticeship started at 18 having done a different BTEC at college. Started well. Hurt her back lifting a child. Never had a chance to recover, appalling personnel management from the nursery, back got worse and worse, eventually went off sick. Took 7 months to recover to functioning day to day normally, didn't dare go back for fear of reaggravating it so quit. Couldn't even get a letter or anything showing 2/3rds of units done. We're nearly 2 years on from when injury happened and not back in permanent work.

[Mutakirorikatum]

Correction! the Somerset 16-25 bus pass is £810 not £900 but it is still a lot!

Yes, we’re Somerset too, though different area by the sound of it.

I realise they can’t fund all post 16 transport in the way they do 11-16, because not everyone goes to their catchment secondary. But if you opt out for an out of catchment secondary, at least your child pays a child fare on the bus. Making provision for 16-18yo in education to pay child rates woukd be an obvious place to start.

[Thistly]

Hey Teen how did the apprenticeship go?

[Lara53]

50% off train in Surrey for DS - new card issues in September bringing his full price fare back down to child fare. Hopefully he’ll be driving soon and can drive himself and his brother to and from school - 20 ish mile round trip

[catshavestaff]

teenplustwenties apparently they would need a double decker bus full to make it viable - parents have asked about it. Cycling isn’t really an option as single carriage main roads with traffic going at 50 - 60mph for part of the route.

[MollyButton]

Surrey doesn't do the Railcard anymore - because the government 16-17 railcard is much better value. It costs £30 a year but gives you 1/2 price on all rail fares, including season tickets. For my DD that made taking the train uch cheaper than a bus. Of course it depends on home and school being near stations...

[Ilikesweetpeas]

TeenPlusTwenties it's not our nearest school, but it's 2nd nearest and only about 5 miles away! We can't drive her there because of our work times. In Lancashire it seems you pay for bus travel unless it's the nearest school and over 3 miles. She had a miserable time from y4 onwards with some horrible girls who went to the local school so I wanted to give her a fresh start away from them. I admit I got a shock at the cost of the bus though!!

[calamityjam]

And yet parents with teenage children continue to vote Tory.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Thistly Oh I know, DD1 started an apprenticeship. But at 16-18 you need parental support anyway if you are staying in education. My point was that at least an apprentice has some money coming in to pay out for travel with.

[Thistly]

Teen... apprentice wages even lower than minimum wage; you couldn’t do an apprenticeship without parental support.

[dontletmedowngently]

Midlands here - the only secondary age children that get free travel are those that qualify for FSM. The ‘better’ schools are on the opposite side of town to us - there was no point applying as even if they got places I couldn’t afford to get them there.

[TheSandman]

Highlands - my 17 year old daughter just gets on the bus in the morning as she had always done. Didn't realise this was an issue anywhere.

Another bit of the Scottish Government just 'getting on with the day job' and doing it better than other parts of the UK I guess.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

But at least apprentices are getting paid coconut

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Ilike How come? Are you not in England, or did you choose a school far away past others?

[coconuttelegraph]

Post 16s can pay to go on the school bus that's provided for free to the under 16s, I think it's about £700.

For college you just use normal public transport like everyone else, afaik there's no special deals

How can you make post 16 education compulsory but not provide the transport It's not as simple as that, education isn't compulsory and there's no way that transport could be provided to every training or apprenticeship, that couldn't possibly work

[Ilikesweetpeas]

I have to pay for my 11 year old! Over £600 per year ...

[GuppytheCat]

Just shy of £600 annually here, but that's an improvement on the £900 it cost a few years back.

[Mustbetimeforachange]

School bus here is about £650 for 16-18. Four miles. No regular buses that go there and no guarantee of a place on the bus. And no, we're not in the sticks. Cheaper for us to buy a car and pass it down as they leave school.

[Inforthelonghaul]

Although of course the final year will be considerably more expensive as DS will turn 18 and the next rail card won’t cover peak travel.

[Inforthelonghaul]

Nothing for us and no sixth form provision locally. Thankfully there are good colleges a train ride away and although we have to pay, the new 16-17 rail card has helped.

[SunnyUplandsOhNoTurnipSoup]

Correction! the Somerset 16-25 bus pass is £810 not £900 but it is still a lot!