South Gloucestershire Education Service

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN ADULTS AND HEALTH

APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE WITH TRANSPORT TO SCHOOL

Notes:

Statutory Transport

South Gloucestershire Council will provide free transport to school if the school attended is the nearest appropriate one, as determined by the Department for Children Adults and Health if the distance between home and that school, when measured by the nearest available walking route, is two miles or more for children aged from five years to the age of seven years and three miles or more for children aged eight years to sixteen years. (These are statutory walking distances).

Parents should note that in Joint/Consortium areas of prime responsibility, transport normally is provided to the nearest school to the home address, as long as the statutory walking distance is met.

Where pupils attend, as a result of parental preference, a school other than the nearest appropriate one, as determined by the Department for Children Adults and Health, parents must accept full responsibility for the cost and arrangements of their child's travel to and from school unless:

(i) The Department for Children Adults and Health specifically agrees to provide transport to the school being attended, following representation from parents or:

(ii) A concessionary place is available on a vehicle under contract to South Gloucestershire Council. A pupil not entitled to transport under the Council’s policies may be able to take up a spare seat on a hired vehicle, if one is available, on payment of the termly charge determined by the Department for Children Adults and Health. Children travelling as concessionary passengers who are eligible for free school meals may travel without payment of the charge. However, it must be emphasised that a concessionary place may not always be available and, at very short notice, parents could be faced with making their own transport arrangements to and from the school of their choice.

Assistance for children on the basis of family income

Children from families in receipt of free school meals or who are in receipt of the maximum level of Working Tax Credit will be entitled to free transport if

- they are aged between 8 and 11 and live more than two miles (walking route) from their nearest qualifying school

- they are aged between 11 and 16 and are attending one of their three nearest qualifying schools, stated as a preference, and live between two miles (walking route) and six miles (road route) from that school

- they are aged between 11 and 16 attending the nearest voluntary aided church secondary school on faith grounds and living between 2 and 15 miles from that school.

The Authority will determine whether assistance is provided through the issue of a Scholars' Season Ticket for travel on the public bus or whether their travelling arrangements will be met by the provision of a hired vehicle.

Pupils may be expected to walk some or part of the way between home and school. Scholars' Season Tickets may not necessarily be valid for relatively short journeys involving the use of a second bus.

*Where an application for assistance is approved, parents must notify the Authority immediately of any changes which may affect a pupil's entitlement to free travel, eg change of address/school.

*If a pupil issued with a Scholars' Season Ticket should leave school before the expiry date shown on the ticket, it is the parents' responsibility to return the ticket to the Authority immediately their child completes the final homeward journey from the school so that an appropriate refund for any unexpired portion of the ticket can be claimed from the appropriate bus company.

* Failure to comply with these points above may result in parents being charged with the cost of any travelling expenses incurred unnecessarily by the Authority.

If parents are in any doubt as to whether their child would qualify for transport provision, they should contact Admissions and Transport in South Gloucestershire Department for Children Adults and Health on (01454) 863295/863314.

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