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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?

12 replies

Forkintheroad1 · 23/10/2022 10:57

Making secondary school preferences but our catchment school is 4 miles away and no safe walking route so entitled to free transport. This school is over subscribed and daughter will not get in. What should I do next? I think if I make a preference for another school then we lose the free transport as its a preference and we've chosen to send daughter? Should I just put catchment school and then we will get free transport to next suitable school? We don't have many good schools in our area and all of them are over 5 miles away. Next catchment school is 8 miles away. I can't afford the bus which is £800 per year and I have 2 more children going to secondary school in next few years. Any advice or insight would be gratefully received.

OP posts:

clary · 23/10/2022 11:07

Why do you think your dd won't get into the catchment school?

Do you like the school? If so, put it first. If your dd is placed in a school 3+ miles away and there is no school nearer, as I understand it, she qualifies for free transport.

VariationsonaTheme · 23/10/2022 11:14

If you need the free transport then put your three nearest schools. If you choose one further away then you’re right, it counts as ‘preferring’ a school and you won’t get the transport.

BananaDaiquiri · 23/10/2022 11:14

My understanding is that you qualify for free transport if it's the nearest school with available places. So I think you should place your catchment school first preference (just in case she can get in this year), then the next closest etc. Then if she doesn't get into catchment school due to oversubscription, she will hopefully get into next closest one and will qualify for free transport to it.

PuttingDownRoots · 23/10/2022 11:18

Listing your nearest school first won't harm your chances of getting into the second nearest school if the neatest school hasn't got space. But yes, you would have to get rejected from closest to get transport to second closest.

Original poster

Forkintheroad1 · 23/10/2022 11:19

Hi, thank you for reply. Our catchment school is oversubscribed and last year it only offered up to 1.5 miles away and we are 4 miles away. Our next catchment school is 8 miles away which isn't oversubscribed so would get in but if I put as a preference I would have to pay for transport. There are other schools slightly closer but are not a catchment school. Next closest is 5.5 miles away. I believe council would offer at this school as its closer? I just wanted to clarify if any onous is put on a catchment school before school proximity to us?

OP posts:

PuttingDownRoots · 23/10/2022 11:25

What are you meaning as "catchment"? Are you meaning the area in which a school normally takes pupils, or an officially defined priority admissions area? Or are you talking education authority boundaries?

PatriciaHolm · 23/10/2022 11:32

You need to be clear on what catchment actually means; look at the admission criteria for your schools on the LA website; do you actually get any preference at them?

Transport should be paid to the nearest school that would offer you a place, if that school is over 3 miles away. If you opt for a further school, then transport would not be paid. So it depends whether you would get a place at the 5.5m school if you applied for it.

Hobbi · 23/10/2022 11:32

What do you mean by, 'catchment'?

Amicompletelyinsane · 23/10/2022 11:37

Be wary if the school goes over a border into a different county as they won't fund transport then even if its your feeder local school. Got burnt by that already

Thatsnotmycar · 23/10/2022 12:30

Here is the home to school transport guidance. The LA must provide transport to the nearest suitable school. If the nearest school is oversubscribed and you aren’t awarded a place they will look at the next nearest and so on. There’s also other rules if you have a low income.

Finerthings · 23/10/2022 13:08

Not sure what you mean by catchment school and "next catchment" school 8 miles away in this context. Also what do you mean by there being no good schools within 5 miles? Are there bad schools within 5 miles?

Generally yes I would put down close and catchment schools even if you think she won't get in, to ensure she is entitled to transport.

Closest distance offered can vary wildly in different year groups so it's worth a punt for an unlikely school you'd definitely get transport for.

clary · 23/10/2022 16:12

Actually yes, rereading what you have posted @Forkintheroad1 I agree - what do you mean by catchment? Are you actually in catchment for both schools mentioned?

Is the four-mile-away school your closest one? If so, and you are in catchment for it, I am not sure how it works that you (and presumably others) do not get a place?

Or are there other schools a lot nearer that you just do not like? If so, then yy you may well not qualify for transport to a further school.

We live two mins walk from our "catchment" school (as in, it will offer a place to all DC who apply on time and live in a certain (catchment) area - not sure if this is what is meant by catchment everywhere tho). We live about three-four miles from another, v popular school; if I put this one first on my form and was offered a place (possible, certainly, tho we are outside catchment) then we would not be offered free transport as there is a nearer school.

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