Information for Home-to-School/College Transport provided by
Suffolk County Council.
Entitlement to Free Home-to-School Transport
The general policy of the County Council is that free transport
is provided only for children of compulsory school age (5 years up
to 16 years) who:
are under 8 years of age and live two miles or more from the
school; or
are 8 years of age and over and live three miles or more from
the school.
The ages are taken at 1 September in each school year.
Free transport will be made available to the catchment area
school or if applicable, to a suitable school which is nearest to
the pupil's home. Free travel may also be offered if the catchment
area school is full and a place has been offered by the County
Council at another school which is over the distances mentioned
above.
Distances are measured using the nearest available route from
the gate or access of pupil's home to the gate or access of the
school. The type of route measured is one with a hard surface
available for all-the-year-round use.
Education and Inspections Act 2006
Under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, free home-to
school transport will now be provided to children aged between 8
and 11 years from low income families, who live more than 2 but
under 3 miles from their catchment or nearest school.
From September 2008, free home-to-school transport will be provided
to children aged 11 to 16, from low income families, who live more
than 2 miles but less than 6 miles from their three nearest
schools.
Where parents have expressed a preference for a school based on
religion or belief, free home-to-school transport may be provided
from September 2008 to children aged 11-16, from low income
families, who live more than 2 miles but no more than 15 miles from
their school.
For further information and an application form telephone 08456 066
067.
Discretionary Travel Scheme for Children of Compulsory School
Age
Transport assistance is only available to students
who live in Suffolk and whose parents/guardians pay their Council
Tax to a District or Borough Council in Suffolk.
If the County Council has any spare seats on journeys arranged
specifically for children entitled to free travel, these seats may
be purchased under the Discretionary Travel Scheme. The
scheme operated in Suffolk can provide assistance to children, who
do not otherwise qualify for free travel. This scheme does not
extend to the offer of seats on public transport journeys or to
other vehicles that have not been hired as a whole to carry out
school transport journeys solely for the County Council.
Parents whose children do not otherwise qualify for
free home-to-school transport who would like them to travel on the
transport should register on expression of interest which
will be forwarded to Passenger Transport to assess
if there is any spare capacity.
Where the offer of a seat can be made, this expression of
interest will be confirmed, following completion of an application
form. Travel is conditional on the parents/guardians accepting the
terms and conditions of the offer and making a termly contribution
toward the cost of the transport.
For Suffolk resident families the payment is waived in certain
circumstances – receipt of Income Support, Income Based Job Seekers
Allowance, Tax Credit (in some cases) or an NHS exemption
certificate, being the principal tests.
In addition, applications for exemption from the charges by
those in receipt of certain other benefits or a low income
will also be considered. Only a maximum of two children in
any family are charged; third and subsequent children are exempt
from the charge. Please note that post-16 aged students are
excluded from these arrangements. In all cases full terms and
conditions of the discretionary travel scheme and the payment and
exemption arrangements are set out when the offer of a seat on
transport is confirmed by the County Council.
Sustainable Travel to School Strategy
View this document here.
Discretionary Travel Scheme for Post 16 students
Suffolk County Council does not provide free transport for any
Pupils over the age of 16, however we do operate a subsidised
discretionary transport scheme. Students who are offered
transport assistance will be required to make a payment toward the
cost of that transport each term in advance. This represents a
contribution toward the cost – the County Council and its partners
will meet the balance.
Transport assistance will be available to those students
who:
- are over compulsory school age but under 19 years (also to
those who are completing a course started prior to their 19th
birthday);
- undertake an approved full-time course of further education
study (A full time course is one which involves a minimum of 450
guided study hours per year (approximately 12 guided hours per
week), as confirmed by the providing school or college). The term
“school” refers to a school maintained by a local education
authority or a foundation school funded from public resources. The
policy of travel assistance for sixth form students does not extend
to independent schools; and
- are normally resident in Suffolk.
Students must live in Suffolk (and pay their
Council Tax to a District or Borough Council in Suffolk) and live
at least three miles away from the school or college to be
attended. Any offer of assistance is subject to the
home-to-school/college journey time not exceeding 75 minutes.
Distances are measured by the shortest available walking route in
accordance with the arrangements set out in the Education Act
applicable to children of compulsory school age.
Students with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities
For students at Special Schools and for other students who have
learning difficulties and/or disabilities, transport may be
provided irrespective of the minimum distance and other
criteria outlined in this policy, where it is accepted that
transport is necessary to enable access to the education they
require. For students undertaking a course at a school sixth form
this might be through a Statement of Special Educational Needs made
while the student was of compulsory school age and continues to be
maintained. In other cases the advice about transport needs may
also come from Connexions, Social Care, schools or other
agencies.
For those students with learning difficulties and/or
disabilities, transport assistance may be provided to students who
begin a course after they reach the age of 19 years:
in such cases assistance through the arrangements agreed by the
County Council and its partners and set out in this statement would
continue until the end of the summer term following the students
21st birthday;
Transport to study for students with learning
disabilities/difficulties aged 21-25 - New policy.
Transport to study for students with learning disabilities or
difficulties who are 21-25 years old will be funded by Suffolk
County Council and its partners for the academic year 2008/9.
In future years, learners who need support to access learning,
and who are eligible for help from social care, will be able to use
some of their personal budget for this purpose.
Students who are planning to continue their studies beyond this
academic year, and think that they may need support with transport
to study in the future, should contact Adult and Community Services
using the details below:
Customer Service Centre Tel: 0845 606 6067
Email:
customerservice@csduk.
Adult and Community Services will also be able to provide more
information about the future introduction of personal budgets.
Other options to consider:
Some students may be able to use their Disability Living Allowance
to support them with their transport needs.
Some colleges in Suffolk may be able to assist learners through
their Learner Support Grants. Please contact the colleges
direct.
District and Borough Councils operate the National Concessionary
Fares Scheme for disabled persons. Contact your council direct.
Some students may be able to use their disability living
allowance to support them with their transport needs. Further
information is available from the
DirectGov website.
For further information on special educational needs transport
please visit
Special Education Needs Transport
To view the Post-16 Transport Policy for 2008-9 please click
here (Word document 56.5KB)
Discretionary Travel Scheme to Roman Catholic Schools
Transport assistance is only available to students who live in
Suffolk (and whose Parents/Guardians pay their Council Tax to a
District or Borough Council in Suffolk) and who are a baptised
Roman Catholic or are adhering to the Roman Catholic
faith.
The discretionary policy for assistance to denominational
schools is the same as the discretionary travel scheme for children
of compulsory age with the following exceptions:
If a child started a new school or changed school after the
beginning of the Autumn term 2005, a parental contribution to
transport will be charged under the same terms and conditions of
Suffolk County Councils discretionary policy.
If a child started their current school before the 2005-06
school year, then a parental contribution will not be charged until
they move to a new school.
To qualify for transport assistance pupils need to attend their
“nearest” or “designated” Roman Catholic Schools as identified by
the County Council.
Exceptions to the General Transport Policy
The County Council’s general policy on entitlement
to home-to-school transport is set by the County Council, and staff
have no discretion to amend its application.
However, if:
- a child falls outside the terms of the free travel policies;
and
- attends their catchment or nearest school; and
- the parents believe their circumstances justify special
consideration;
they are entitled to make written representation to a Committee of
the Council. The members of the Committee take final
decisions in those areas where the County Council has discretion to
provide home-to-school and college transport.
Further information on Suffolk County Council
Home-to-School/College Transport Policies and the services provided
are available by telephoning 08456 066 067.
For more information on Special Educational Needs Transport
please
visit these webpages