School travel support
Parents are responsible for their child’s journeys to and from school. However, in some circumstances we may offer free travel to school to ensure attendance, usually as a result of a child/young person being over the distance criteria. These circumstances relate to:
- the distance between your home and the school
- the safety of the walking route between your home and the school
- your child’s medical condition
- your household income
If your child has an Education Health and Care Plan and you wish to apply for transport, see the Special Educational Needs transport webpage.
Please note
You are required to apply for free school travel each school year. You can apply for free school travel at any time during the school year.
You can apply for the next school year any time after May in the preceding school year. We will not accept applications before this time.
Distance
You can apply for free school travel if you meet the distance criteria and your child attends a school:
- within your transport zone
- outside your transport zone because a space was not available in a closer school inside your transport zone
Check the schools that are inside your transport zone
Distance criteria
- Children aged five to seven - More than two miles' distance between home and school
- Children aged eight to 16 - More than three miles' distance between home and school
Route safety
You may apply for free school travel if you believe the route is not safe for a child to walk. For example, there may be no footpath or crossing. Following an application on these grounds, a road safety officer will assess the route you have described to see if they agree. We will then let you know their decision.
Medical condition
We may provide free transport for a child who has a medical problem that affects their ability to travel to school. This could be a temporary or long-term problem.
The child needs to attend a school in your transport zone to be eligible.
As part of your application, we will ask you to provide an approval letter from your GP or other health professional.
Response time
We will process your request within ten working days. If we refuse your application, you should only re-apply if there is a change in your circumstances.