Does an EHCP mean we can get transport?

[SummerChilling]

My child has completed year7 at mainstream secondary with lots of supported help as autistic but bright, they have just been issued a draft EHCP ahead of going into year 8. We’ve had to take them to school every morning for send breakfast club and collect daily before bell goes off to help with transitions. Doing the longer school run (as we choose the school due to its send provision) has really impacted on me and my work hours. Are we able to ask for transport now they have agreed to issue the EHCP?

You can but the transport is for start and finish school times. I don't think it covers breakfast club.

You should probably contact the LA. They all might now be the same.

Transport should be based on your childs individual send needs but having the school named in an EHCP my help (depends on individual circs so hard to comment without more detail)

Most LAs will only transport at the start and end of the school day. They may agree to a mileage allowance that you could then pay someone to do the extended day school run with, though.

Transport can be provided to some pupils even without an EHCP, but focusing on DC with EHCPs, LAs sometimes try to refuse transport based on parental preference. This article is helpful for understanding how to try to challenge that and SENTAS can help you with challenging it. If the need for the SEND breakfast club is in F you may be able to challenge it if your LA state they only provide transport at the school start and finish time.

LA's operate differently.

If you placed the child there pre ehcp and it was not your closest or catchment school you may not get transport.

If the LA agree this is the correct school based on provision they may then provide transport.

Usually the school needs to be more than 3miles from your home, unless your dc has needs that mean they cannot independently get to school.

Transport is usually to and from school only and not breakfast/ after school clubs.

Is this the local mainstream school? If not, the local school would have had to have said they can’t meet need for them to consider paying for transport. Both my children have EHCPs, they attend a primary school several miles away, but we don’t qualify for transport.

It isn’t always necessary for the nearest MS to state they can’t meet DC’s needs. You can try to challenge the LA refusing transport based on parental preference. See SENTAS’s article I linked to. SENTAS can help you.

Thank you I will have a read of that link. I suspect our very poor LA wouldn’t fund at all and just say the nearest (failing) comp can meet needs but over my dead body will my child go there. My eldest did and only just made it through. The school they are at is 10m away so far enough to qualify but was parental choice before EHCP drafted. I don’t think they would attend the school if they couldn’t go in early to breakfast club. It’s mainly the pick up that’s the hardest to manage as I can’t keep flexing the time off work or take a late lunch to drive to get them sigh. For primary it was a short walk but secondary is an hours driving round trip.

Thanks. We tried but weren’t successful. Now in the process of moving to a special school so have decided not to challenge again.