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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

Secondary school free transport

20 replies

Forkintheroad1 · 21/03/2021 10:26

I have a dilemma - our dd didn't get our first choice school but got a school we are in catchment for but 7 miles away. We have a closer catchment school (4 miles) away but anyone living more than 2 miles away never gets in to it so I put as our 4th preference (thinking we won't get in anyway) Now I realise stupidly that I should have put it as our first choice knowing I won't get in and will get next catchment school (been offered) with free transport to it. I don't think we will qualify for transport to this catchment school? I'm thinking should I change our preference order in April? Then qualifying school is higher preference and then will get free transport? Has anyone ever done this/had any experience of this problem? It's our first time doing this, wasn't aware of rules.

OP posts:

ImpatientAnn · 21/03/2021 11:03

I don’t understand? Isn’t it just linked to how far away it is, not what position it was on your choices? Or are you saying you want to change your school choice so you get one which will have transport?

Gizlotsmum · 21/03/2021 11:06

Was the school you have been offered one of your choices? I think if you had it as an option you don’t get free transport (but I could be wrong) you would need to check your areas transport policy. I don’t think changing your preferences now will change anything, you can go on waiting lists for the nearer schools

Original poster

Forkintheroad1 · 21/03/2021 11:45

Sorry to clarify - we are in catchment of 2 schools. Closest one is over 4 miles away and only offer in catchment up to 2 miles away, so I knew we wouldn't get in to it. Second catchment school is 8 miles away this is the school we were offered but I now realise I should have put closest catchment school as a higher preference as when not offered then I believe next catchment school you are still eligible for free school transport (there is no safe walking route to either school) but because closest school is 4th on our preference list then we don't qualify for transport? I didn't realise this and thought we would still be eligible for transport? I thought as no place could be offered anyway. I put it 4th and final on our preferences just in case. If I change our preference order I wasn't sure if this would show we couldn't get dd into the first catchment school anyway. She really wants to travel to school with her friend. The school bus is always full and no spare seats even to pay for. She will have to travel by public bus on her own.
Any advice welcome.

OP posts:

EduCated · 21/03/2021 11:56

Have you been told you are not eligible, or are you surmising? You need to check with your LA.

Gizlotsmum · 21/03/2021 12:05

Ah so I think putting it as one of your choices means you don’t get transport (does in our area) preference order would not change your entitlement to transport as it was still one of your preferences. Double check with your local area but I suspect as it was on your list you won’t get transport even if you could change preference (which I am not sure you can do after allocation day) you can go on the waiting list for your preferred schools

clary · 21/03/2021 12:07

My understanding is that you qualify for free transport if the school is further than 3 miles away and you didn't choose it ahead of a closer school.

In other words, my DC could (possibly) have got a place at a school three miles away in the next village - if I had put it first. But bc there is a local school round the corner, if I had done that and they had got in, we would have to pay for the bus (ie there is a close alternative I had rejected). There was a big hoo-ha locally to me a few years ago when they changed the rules about faith schools, so people stopped qualifying for free bus ride to the catholic school only one in the city) if they picked it over their local non faith school.

Doesn't sound to me as though this is the case for you - you say the closest school is 4 miles away anyway. So surely you would have to have free transport. But yes, I would check with your LA as they do vary.

Gizlotsmum · 21/03/2021 12:25

I think if you didn’t put the nearer school as a choice ( at least in our area) that means you won’t get transport. So I put our first choice school, our nearest school then nothing knowing that if we put a third choice school we would have to sort transport and it would be the school we were likely to get as a fall back (next nearest and not over subscribed) but as not on our preference list the council would be responsible for transport.

Gizlotsmum · 21/03/2021 12:26

You really need to check your areas policy as you can see it varies

DancesWithDaffodils · 21/03/2021 13:03

You need to check the policy.
We are catchment for more than 1 school. DS preferred the one that isnt walking distance, and has qualified for free school transport.
If you live out of catchment, you dont qualify in our area.

titchy · 21/03/2021 13:10

The criteria should be the nearest school you WOULD HAVE QUALIFIED FOR is over 3 miles away. So if there are closer schools it won't matter UNLESS you would have qualified for them had you put them higher priority.

In other words as long as you are going to the nearest school you could have got a place at, you're fine.

clary · 21/03/2021 13:55

if we put a third choice school we would have to sort transport and it would be the school we were likely to get as a fall back (next nearest and not over subscribed) but as not on our preference list the council would be responsible for transport.

That's not the case - if you had put a school more than three miles away as third preference and been offered it, the council would have had to provide transport - as that is the nearest school it can offer you (assuming as Titchy says you had listed but failed to get into the nearest schools). My point is that is the case whether or not you list it.

So if I listed our nearby school but the dc failed to get in (unlikely but hey) then they council would have to transport them to whichever school they were allocated, whether on my list or not, as it woudl be 3 miles + away (the only walkable school for our DC is the local one as it goes). BUT if we had listed a faraway school higher and got it, THEN we don't get transport (as it is our fault that DC are havin gto travel.

Gizlotsmum · 21/03/2021 14:13

@clary sorry should have clarified our third choice school would have been the school we would have ended up being allocated but I must admit I thought if it was on our choices we were responsible for getting there.. good to know that wasn’t correct although it was what I was told from the transport department

Gizlotsmum · 21/03/2021 14:19

&Clary so if the open put the far way school higher than the nearest catchment school (where she was unlikely to get a space) would she have chosen the further away school or be entitled to transport as the nearest one had no space even though lower in her preference?

clary · 21/03/2021 16:06

@Gizlotsmum

That's what I don't know. We cannot know if the nearer school would have had a space as she put it lower.

But my point is that since that nearer school is also more than 3 miles away, she would have to have transport anyway! LA may not take that view tho, which is why I would call.

Op and anyone else: it's a good plan to out schools in actual order of preference, even if you are unlikely to get them; it won't affect your chances of getting a school lower down your list. If you put a more likely school higher than a less likely one, you will get the more likely one! If you actually prefer the less likely one you have missed a trick.

meditrina · 21/03/2021 16:12

Would you have got into the 4 mile school this year?

If not, you should still get transport to the 7 mile school, as it was the closest school for which you got an offer

That gets scuppered if there are any other schools closer that 7 miles which you would have received an offer had you applied

meditrina · 21/03/2021 16:14

We cannot know if the nearer school would have had a space as she put it lower

But the council will, as they will know what was the greatest distance offered in OP's criterion.

That information might already be published, but if not, then OP should request it, as it's relevant to her DC's eligibility

clary · 21/03/2021 17:02

@meditrina

We cannot know if the nearer school would have had a space as she put it lower

But the council will, as they will know what was the greatest distance offered in OP's criterion.

That information might already be published, but if not, then OP should request it, as it's relevant to her DC's eligibility

Yes that's very true, hence my caveat about getting free transport. A call to the LA is definitely the plan.

Original poster

Forkintheroad1 · 21/03/2021 17:30

For extra info the closer catchment school is over subscribed (neighbour across road put it as first choice and didn't get in this year).
I will ring our LA to ask the question about if eligable. I'm just not sure if the onus is on me to show the closer catchment school didn't have a place available anyway. I'm thinking local LA will argue we should have put at higher preference even though there wasn't going to be a place available anyway?

OP posts:

ittakes2 · 23/03/2021 15:52

Our previous house did not have a safe walking path and we were told the transport is only for the nearest school. But we didn’t use free transport. To be honest I think it’s bollocks the council uses tax payers money to play for school transport because a parent moves into a house knowing it does not have a safe path to school.

Bramshott · 23/03/2021 15:59

Blimey this is a minefield! But I can see the logic in what you're saying sadly - though I don't know if you can change it now as you did put the closer school lower down on your form.

We are in a similar situation - 2 schools about 3-4 miles away, though we're in catchment for one (School A) but not the other (School B). The council will only provide transport for our village to School B if you applied to School A but didn't get a place.

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