School Travel Assistance
There is some support for pupils under 16 to get to school. This is detailed below.
Support is also available for some pupils over the age of 16.
For pupils with special transport needs, assistance is available for travel to school within your catchment area.
The under 16 scheme and special transport needs assistance are based on travelling distances within school catchment areas.
Statutory Home to School Provision
Our Home to School Transport Policy September 2011 [Word] applies to all pupils starting or changing school from 1 September 2011.
The table below summarises the general principles which apply, but please see the policy for the full information.
|
Age on 1 September 2011 |
Walking Distance Between Home and School |
Type of Assistance |
Children aged 4 - 7
Travel assistance is given from the start of the academic year in which the 5th birthday falls |
Over 2 Miles |
Free Travel until the end of educational year in which 8th birthday falls (end of year 3) |
| |
2 Miles or Under |
Assisted Travel may be offered on available bus services |
|
Aged 8 - 11 |
Over 3 Miles |
Free Travel until end of educational year in which 11th birthday falls (end of year 6) |
| |
3 Miles or Under |
Assisted Travel may be offered on available bus services until the end of educational year in which 11th birthday falls (end of year 6) |
| |
2 - 3 Miles
(Low Income Families) |
Free Travel is available for pupils under 11 years of age who are eligible for free school meals, or whose parents are in receipt of maximum level working tax credit, if over 2 miles from school, for the duration of the educational year in which the award is made. This award is reviewed at the end of each educational year, in August. |
|
Over 11 |
Over 3 Miles |
Free Travel until end of educational year in which 16th birthday falls (end of year 11) |
| |
3 Miles or Under |
Assisted Travel may be offered on available bus services until the end of educational year in which 16th birthdays falls (end of year 11) |
|
2 - 6 Miles*
(Low Income Families)
|
Free Travel is available for pupils attending one of the nearest 3 schools between 2 and 6 miles when eligible for free school meals, or whose parents are in receipt of maximum level working tax credit, for the duration of the educational year in which the award is made. This award is reviewed at the end of each educational year, in August**. |
Under 16 Travel Assistance Scheme
Home to Denominational School Transport
The rules covering home to school transport for denominational schools (faith schools) are slightly different.
Any pupils starting or changing denominational school from 1 September 2011 onwards will be covered by the Home to School Transport Policy September 2011 [doc]
Where children of primary school age are attending the nearest suitable school preferred on grounds of religion or belief they are potentially eligible for support.
The table below summarises the general principles which apply, but please see the policy for the full information.
|
Age range |
Income level |
Type of Assistance |
| 5-11 |
Low income
|
Free travel to school 2-20 miles from home |
| 5-11 |
N/A |
Subsidised travel to school 2-20 miles from home
|
| 11-16 |
Low income
|
Free travel to school 2-25 miles from home |
| 11-16 |
N/A |
Subsidised travel to school 2-25 miles from home
|
Denominational schools
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Discretionary Under-16 Travel Provision
With effect from September 2011, the local authority will be operating a discretionary free travel scheme for Year 7 pupils attending preferred schools in Nottinghamshire. The scheme will be available to all Year 7 pupils resident in Nottinghamshire, attending a Nottinghamshire school and living more than 3 miles from the preferred school.
See the
Under 16 School Transport Travel Assistance 2011/12 [pdf] for full details.
Criteria
To qualify for free travel under the scheme your child will need to meet the following criteria:
- be of secondary school age (year 7 in academic year 2011/2012) and resident in the county i.e. the scheme will not extend to children resident in other local authority areas attending Nottinghamshire schools.
- be attending a local authority maintained secondary, academyor special school in Nottinghamshire. The scheme will not extend to children resident in Nottinghamshire attending schools in other local authority areas except those children who on faith grounds attend linked Catholic secondary schools for named Catholic primary schools in Nottinghamshire i.e. The McCauley Catholic High School and the St John Houghton Catholic (Voluntary Aided) Comprehensive Schools.
- live beyond the 3 miles statutory walking distance from their preferred school and not be eligible for statutory free school travel.
- live within a maximum journey distance of 25 miles or 75 minutes travel time from their school, calculated by Nottinghamshire Transport and Travel Services using public transport journey times.
- will be provided for the purposes of home to school travel on school days only and not outside of standard school hours. (Local bus service timetables may apply).
- The scheme will only provide free travel on existing school and local bus services. If your child has special educational needs or disabilities this will be allocated to existing school and local bus services or special transport services subject to assessment of compatability.
- If your child is in receipt of free travel under the scheme they will remain eligible for assistance until they leave education at the end of year 11 (aged 16 years) or until they change address or change school. If your child's individual circumstances change while still of statutory school age in secondary education, a new application for travel assistance would be required and will be considered in accordance with the home to school transport policy and discretionary scheme in place at the time.
Please be aware that Nottinghamshire County Council is under no obligation under this scheme to ensure that non-statutory bus services currently in operation, i.e. existing school bus services, local bus services or special transport services, will continue to be available in the future. Commercial bus operators are not required to continue or increase services to accommodate additional non-statutory usage and these operators will continue to run services within their commercial constraints. New routes / new provision will not be established under the scheme.
Any change in circumstances i.e.: moving home address, changing school etc must be notified to Nottinghamshire Transport and Travel Services immediately in order for entitlement and provision to be reassessed. Previous entitlement does not guarantee that free travel will be provided in the future.
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Apply for under 16 school travel assistance
Once you've read the above notes and guidance in the under 16 travel scheme booklet [PDF] you can submit an application in two ways:
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Special Transport Needs
Special transport needs aren't necessarily the same as special educational needs. Not all children with special educational needs have special transport needs.
A special transport need would be where your child:
- Can't walk
- Lives within walking distance of the school but cannot walk safely to school even if accompanied
- Can't use public transport without help.
If your child has a special transport need, we'll provide free transport or a paid mileage allowance to get your child to the catchment area school no matter how close it is. We don't usually give help for your child to travel to other schools.
Special transport arrangements are usually by bus, minibus, taxi or ambulance. If there is more than one pupil in the vehicle, we may arrange an escort. If your child is travelling alone in a taxi, we may ask you to accompany him or her. If the school is beyond walking distance, the taxi will take you home and pick you up again in the afternoon. If the journey is less than the legal walking distance, we'd expect you to walk home in the morning and back again in the afternoon.
If you think your child has a special transport need, please contact the Children and Family Services team at County Hall tel: 0115 977 4341.
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School Travel Review
Should you be unsuccessful in being awarded travel assistance and disagree with
the assessment made, you can go through the Travel Review Process.
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