Consultation on SEND school travel: School travel support eligibility for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Bath and North East Somerset is under review.
The council said parents and carers are being asked for their views on an updated policy to support the best way for pupils to travel to and from school.
Bath & North East Somerset Council is consulting on a review of its SEND Home to School Travel Policy to clarify eligibility criteria and make travel support choices clearer for families, in response to new government guidance published last year.
Around 520 children and young people with SEND in B&NES currently receive home to school travel support which costs the council £4.3million per year.
The consultation runs until May 7. If approved in a single member decision later this year, the new criteria would begin to be applied from September 2024.
Information from the Council:
What assistance with Transport is available?
We offer assistance with Home to School transport for children and young people who have an EHCP plan in place and attend their nearest appropriate special school as designated by the Local Authority (LA), and meet the qualifying criteria.
In exceptional circumstances we may provide assistance with transport on medical grounds.
Our aim is to offer a greater choice and control over the way in which children/young people travel to and from school. This could be in the form of a bus pass for use on public transport, a place on shared transport or, if this option is not appropriate, a personal travel budget. Travel training is offered to young people where appropriate to encourage independence and valuable life skills.
You can find more detailed, current information about eligibility for home to school transport on The Education Hub.
Who is eligible?
To qualify for assistance with Home to School transport a young person must attend their nearest appropriate special school as designated by the LA and the distance between home and that school, when measured by the nearest available walking route, is two miles or more for children aged five to eight years and three miles or more for children aged eight years and above.
More information can be found in our SEND Travel Policy for children 5-years-old to 16-years-old
There is additional entitlement for assistance with Home to School transport for Low Income Families:
- Transport will be provided for children over age eight, but under 11 years of age, who live more than two miles from the nearest school and are in receipt of or entitled to free school meals or their maximum level of working tax credit (with no reduction due to income).
- For children of secondary age between 11 and 16 who live between more than two and six miles from one of their closest 3 schools and are in receipt of or entitled to free school meals or their maximum level of working tax credit (with no reduction due to income).
If your child is not entitled to transport under the above policies they may be able to take up a spare seat on a hired vehicle only (this does not include public bus services), if one is available.
We offer assistance with Further Education Transport in the form of a bus pass for public transport or shared transport provided by us, where there is no option of shared transport a personal travel budget would be paid to parents/carers or the young person directly at the start of each term. For further information please contact us on the below details.
More information can be found in our SEND Post 16 Travel Statement
How can I request support?
To apply for transport assistance please contact the SEND Travel Team using the contact details below.
Contact information
If you require any assistance with eligibility/entitlement please contact the SEND Travel Team on 01225 394 456 or 01225 395 263 or email enquires to SENDSchool_TravelTeam@bathnes.gov.uk