Below you will find key messaging on both project work and general updates relating to travel assistance.
We aim to update these items as often as possible with important information.
September guidance 2024
Applications that have been confirmed eligible for travel assistance this year, where your child is due to start their school placement in September, transport arrangements will be confirmed up to 7 days before the start of term in September.
They will be communicated via the following:
- You will receive an email with a notification from gov.uk, this will include a link to a letter detailing the transport company.
- The transport provider will contact you in advance to confirm the start date, pick-up and drop-off time, as well as any specific needs of your child.
If an application is submitted after 31 July and your child is eligible for travel assistance, travel arrangements will not be in place for the start of term in September and an interim travel allowance will be issued.
Key Travel Assistance dates 2024
From the 1 July, we are unable to implement travel arrangements before the end of the summer term.
If your application is deemed eligible for travel assistance between now and the end of term, confirmation of travel arrangements will be communicated up to 7 days before the start of the Autumn term in September.
If a family submits an application for travel assistance before the end of July, and requests a travel solution for September, arrangements will be communicated up to 7 days before the start of term.
For applications submitted after 31 July that are deemed eligible for travel assistance, where a travel solution is required to start in September, transport arrangements will not be in place for the start of term. If you are eligible, we will contact you and offer an interim travel allowance.
For families whose children hold an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), we will contact you and offer a Personal Travel Budget, which is a calculated rate tailored towards the needs of each family.
How will transport arrangements be communicated?
If the Council has assigned contracted transport in the form of a taxi or minibus, there is a two-step process for confirming specific arrangements to you:
1. You will receive an email with a notification to access a letter detailing your transport provider. The notification from gov.uk will include a link to a letter which details the transport company.
2. The transport provider will contact you in advance to confirm the start date and pick-up and drop-off time.
Best practice suggests operators should offer parents and carers a "Meet and Greet" service, to enable the pupil to see the transport being provided and meet their new transport team. However, we know that in some circumstances this may not be possible, particularly if we need to add a child or young person to an existing route that may change the setup of the arrangements.
Review of unsafe travel routes
We are currently reviewing a number of routes across the County that are deemed unsafe. This involves reassessing eligibility for travel assistance in some circumstances, if there are any changes to route safety, we will write to all families affected. Any review of an unsafe route will be undertaken in line with National Road Safety Guidance.
Applications submitted during the academic year
We will assess your application and provide travel assistance (if eligible) within 30 working days of the request being submitted.
Would you like to receive an Independent Travel Allowance?
This allows you to make your own transport arrangements for your child to get to school or college. We now pay 45p per mile for 4 journeys on each school day required.
If your child is eligible for travel assistance and you would like to receive the allowance, please contact the team using our online enquiry form.
Please visit our FAQ page for further information.
Post-16 travel assistance
This year, we contacted around 500 families regarding their current travel arrangements. We spoke to families about the benefits of the Independent Travel Allowance and to hear their perspectives on their current travel entitlement.
Where the Council assesses a young person aged 16 to 19 years as eligible for travel assistance under its policy, the assistance offered in the first instance will be in the form of a travel allowance to support families and young people to make their own arrangements, unless due to specific needs or a requirement for specialist transport means this is not appropriate.
As per the Council's Travel Assistance Policy for learners aged 16 to 25, shared transport arrangements will be put in place wherever possible if the allowance is not appropriate. You are reminded that free transport is provided on a discretionary basis and is available at the beginning and end of the school/college day only, and individual timetables are not able to be met. Therefore, students should expect some waiting time.
Post-16 contribution rates 2024 to 2025
Where it is agreed that travel assistance is required in the form of a taxi or minibus, we will ask you or your parent/carer to contribute towards the transport costs. However, if you or your family experience severe financial hardship, we will consider delaying, reducing, or waiving the charge for post-16 students.
We have increased the contribution this year at a time of real challenge for public finances, when we are all facing increased costs and recognise the hardship that families are experiencing. The new contribution rates for 2023 to 2024, while an increase on last year, are still lower than our neighbouring authorities.
Our new post-16 travel allowance has been in place since 2022 and if you choose to accept this, you will not be required to pay the contribution.
The contribution rates for the academic year 2023 to 2024 are as follows:
- £659.01 for students whose families are in receipt of the maximum Working Tax Credit and/or who continue to meet the eligibility criteria for Free School Meals; students in care; care leavers; those on Income Support/Universal Credit in their own right; disabled young people who receive Employment Support Allowance/Universal Credit and either Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment in their name; or
- £908.85 for all other students.
Potential changes to current arrangements
For existing passengers who access their education settings via contracted transport, wherever possible, transport will be the same or similar. There will be occasions where we will need to change a service, or where arrangements may change. Reasons why we are required to change a service, and what could change include:
- More children and young people being awarded transport to a specific education setting and are added to a specific vehicle/route.
- The operator of a current route changes.
- The type of vehicle.
- A journey time is increased owing to more children in a vehicle.
- The home pick-up and drop-off times.
For new applicants, and those where the travel arrangements are changing, you will be informed of the arrangements as soon as possible to make any necessary preparations. In all cases, we will aim to ensure that information is provided two weeks before the start of transport.
