School travel assistance faqs

It is important that all pupils carry their pass and be ready to show it to the driver each time the vehicle is boarded. Passes should be kept safe and in good condition. Lost/damaged passes should be replaced immediately. The charge for a replacement bus pass is £15.

Unless otherwise stated, passes are valid for a return journey to/from school/college, Monday to Friday only. Please refer to the information on the reverse side of the travel pass for more conditions of use. The misuse and/or fraudulent use of a travel pass is treated seriously and can result in transport being withdrawn. Any of the following may lead to confiscation:

• use by anyone other than the named pass holder
• attempted use for unauthorised journeys
• using a damaged or defaced travel pass

Confiscated passes must be replaced immediately, for which there is a charge of £15

Lost or damaged travel passes must be replaced as soon as possible, for which there is a charge of £15. Payment can be made with a debit or credit card online. Please have the student reference number (supplied on the original letter) ready as this will be asked for.

Once a ticket has been replaced the original becomes invalid and cannot be used for travel. Pupils travelling on commercial bus or rail services will be expected to pay their fare until a replacement pass is received and no refunds will be paid for any expenses incurred.

Pupils who travel to and from school by rail, must also carry a valid photo card. If your child is allocated to a rail service, we will contact you to request a passport sized photograph. If your child already has a photo card, please retain it for use as photo cards are not renewed each year. If you lose your photo card, there is a charge of £15 to replace it and you may also need to supply a new photograph.

It may be possible to claim a refund if your completed application has taken longer than 14 days to process, please contact us using our enquiry form. The following conditions apply:

• no refunds will be paid for applications processed within 14 days
• only the cheapest fare available at the time of travel (e.g. return fares/child fares) will be refunded
• tickets must be retained and attached to your refund claim form
• no refunds will be paid for pupils who have their tickets confiscated due to misuse/damage
• retrospective payments for a previous academic year will not be paid

We cannot guarantee you will receive the same travel arrangements each year. Throughout the year, and particularly at the start of each new school year, new children start and others leave causing the demand for your child’s route to school to change. Where this is the case, we may need to adjust your child’s travel arrangements. This may include a using a different driver or company, varying the pick-up and drop-off times and passenger assistant where we have assessed the need for additional support. We will always give you as much notice as possible of any of these changes. For contracts where the children have special educational needs and/or disabilities, we will strive to provide sufficient time for a meet and greet with the new driver and/or passenger assistant.

Any inappropriate behaviour on the journey to and from school will be treated seriously and could result in your child being temporarily or permanently banned from travelling. Smoking is illegal in public places and this includes all school bus, local bus and rail services. Any pupils found to be smoking will receive an immediate transport ban. Further information can be found on our policies and guidance notes page.

If your child is unable to attend school or transport is no longer required you will need to contact the Transport Commissioning Team as soon as possible and contact the transport provider.

No. Eating and drinking is not permitted on vehicles. If your child has a medical condition which means they must eat regularly you must notify the Special Educational Needs (SEN) team/medical needs team of this in advance of the journey.

Additional equipment and bags will only be permitted if:

• there is enough room on the vehicle
• they can be stored safely and securely
• it does not incur any additional cost
• it does not inconvenience other passengers

Other options should be considered, for example is the equipment available at school.

Medication should be stored in a sealed container and placed inside your child's school bag.

If your child loses something whilst they are on the school bus, we suggest that you contact the bus provider as soon as possible as they will be able to help.

We will always attempt to provide transport to eligible children each school day, but there may be unforeseen circumstances, for example road closures or extreme weather, that prevent us from doing so.

The Transport Commissioning Service is committed to providing a high level of service. However, there may be times when you/your child experience problems with the bus or rail service allocated. In the event of a problem arising or if you have any concerns, you can report them to us by completing our general enquiry form below. We will then investigate the problem and take appropriate action.

If you have a complaint or are dissatisfied in the way you have been treated by a member of staff, please see our complaints procedure page. Any complaints will be investigated and we will aim for a response to be sent to you within five working days.

A change of address or school must be reported so we can update our records. When a change of address or school occurs, a re-assessment for transport eligibility must also take place.

The Transport Commissioning Service uses a bespoke mapping system which identifies the shortest available walking route along which a child, accompanied as necessary, may walk safely. As such, the route measured will include footpaths, bridleways, and other pathways, in addition to recognised roads. It will not include private driveways. The system takes into account routes that have been classified as hazardous routes and would therefore not expect any accompanied child/young person to walk along a route which has been deemed unsuitable on safety grounds.

For information on distance limits please see the low income section on our mainstream page.

We will promote good practice by reviewing routes, and where identified, put in place suitable new paths, pedestrian crossings and cycle lanes in order to improve safety and increase choice for pupils to walk.

Yes, for school admissions purposes but not for qualifying for home to school transport; the admissions policy and transport policy are prescribed and administered through two different laws.

The School Admissions Code 2012 "the Code" asks Councils to make arrangements for parents/carers to express a preference for a school they wish their child to be educated at. Parents may express a preference for any state funded school. As required by the Code, the admission authority for a school must set out in their arrangements the criteria against which places will be allocated at the school when there are more applications than places. The Code sets out a list of acceptable oversubscription criteria and 'living in the catchment area' is included in the list.

School/college transport for children/young people is provided by us either on a mandatory or a discretionary basis under the Education Act 1996 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006. Section 508 B of The Education Act sets out the duty placed on Councils to make such school travel arrangements as they consider necessary for an 'eligible child' who is attending the nearest qualifying school. The nearest qualifying school may not be the catchment school. It was agreed in 2014 that for any new applicants from September 2015 we would only provide travel assistance to those pupils attending their nearest qualifying school i.e. travel assistance will not be provided to the catchment school if there is a nearer qualifying school to the home address.

Spare seats will not be allocated until after the start of the academic year, once all eligible children have been allocated to the routes. Details of how payment can be made will be emailed to you if a spare seat becomes available. The availability of the spare seats will be reviewed periodically throughout the year. Your child may be asked to vacate a seat for an eligible child and a refund will be issued to you. Please check your junk mail/spam mailbox. 

Your child’s cash grant will be paid after a full term once attendance has been verified by the school. Payment months are January, May, and August.

The new Armed Forces Covenant Duty came into force on 22 November 2022. From this date, public bodies affected will be legally obliged to have due regard to the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant when exercising specific functions. The covenant sets out to ensure that members of the armed forces, and their families, are not disadvantaged as a result of their service, for example, by the frequent house moves associated with an armed forces career. Where a child is not automatically entitled to free home to school transport, families can ask for their circumstances to be considered as part of the published appeals process.

Where we are asked to consider discretionary travel assistance, the reviewing officer or panel must consider the implication of the Armed Forces Covenant, and the link between the discontinuation of transport and whether service in the armed forces has caused disadvantage.