Travel assistance
Children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) may be eligible for travel assistance to get to school or college. Travel assistance is managed and delivered by the Surrey School Travel and Assessment Team (SSTAT).
Contents:
- Preparations for travel assistance (September 2024)
- Submitting an application
- Under-five's access to home to school transport
- Post-16 (16 to 19 and 19 to 25 years)
- Appealing a decision
- Parent guide to travel assistance (with Family Voice)
- Surrey School Travel and Assessment Team contact information
Preparations for travel assistance (September 2024)
The Surrey School Travel and Assessment Team is currently undertaking a summer review of transport, where we review all arrangements for children and young people who have been assigned either a taxi or minibus.
Set out below is guidance for families whose children's placements start from September 2024.
- For children and young people whose families have applied before the 31 July this year for travel assistance, and are eligible for assistance, confirmation of transport arrangements will be communicated to you up to 7 days before the start of term in September.
- If an application is submitted after the 31 July, transport arrangements for eligible children and young people will not be in place for the start of term in September. We will offer an interim independent travel allowance and we will follow up with all families affected, providing information on when a travel solution will be in place.
Submitting an application
Eligibility for travel assistance is linked to when a child reaches the 'compulsory school age'.
Compulsory school age
Your child must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age. This is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first. If your child's fifth birthday is on one of those dates then they reach compulsory school age on that date.
For example, if your child reaches compulsory school age on 31 March, they must start full-time education at the beginning of the next term (summer term that year).
The table below provides details of when children who reach statutory school age would be eligible for travel assistance if they are attending their nearest appropriate school that is over two miles from home.
Date of fifth birthday | Date child is deemed at statutory school age | Term child is at statutory school age |
|---|---|---|
| 1 September to 31 December | 31 December | Spring term (starting in January) |
1 January to 31 March | 31 March | Summer term (starting in April) |
1 April to 31 August | 1 August | Autumn term (starting in September) |
Even if your child has an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, the council cannot guarantee they will receive Home to School Travel Assistance. It is important that you make them aware of the child's individual circumstances in your application.
Parents and carers must submit an online application to Surrey County Council to apply for travel assistance.
If a child changes school and travel assistance is still required to the new school, you must complete a new application.
- Application form for travel assistance for children under-16
- Application form for travel assistance for young people aged 16 to 25
Starting in September
For children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) starting a new school place in September, you should submit your application as soon as your placement is confirmed.
Outcomes will be issued throughout the spring and summer, with our aim that confirmation of travel assistance arrangements will be confirmed during August and at least seven days before the start of the Autumn term in September
If your application is agreed, travel assistance will be put in place for the start of the Autumn term.
If you submit your application later in the year, travel arrangements may not be in place for the start of September. The Authority will look to offer an interim travel allowance is this is suitable.
In-year admissions (outside of a September start)
If your child is changing schools during the school year, you should submit your travel assistance application as soon as your placement has been confirmed.
You should hear the outcome within 6 weeks of Surrey County Council receiving a completed application which will include confirmation of the type of arrangements agreed if they're eligible.
In some cases, it might take longer to put travel assistance in place. For example, if a child with medical needs requires a passenger assistant. In cases where it is likely to take longer than 6 weeks to assess and arrange transport, Surrey County Council should let you know and confirm a date for further updates.
Under-five's access to home to school transport
Travel assistance for eligible children will ordinarily only be available from the first term after a child's fifth birthday, i.e. when they reach the compulsory school age. As outlined in Surrey's Travel Assistance Policy, travel assistance may be considered for children under the age of five in exceptional circumstances.
What do you class as 'exceptional' or 'extenuating' circumstances?
The Council will consider and may agree requests for home to school transport where there are considered to be extenuating circumstances that prevent a child accessing their school unless travel assistance is put in place.
Exceptional circumstances may include (but are not limited to):
- You or your child having a medical condition or disability, which prevents safe travel to school.
- Unforeseen accidents/medical procedures that may prevent you from transporting your child as usual.
- Where the walking route to school is deemed unsafe for a child to use.
- Specific family difficulties or needs that mean you are unable to transport your child safely to their school.
If you believe there is a specific reason why assistance with travel is necessary, then you can make a transport application by completing the appropriate form: Apply for under-16 travel assistance to school.
All relevant information and evidence must be submitted with the application to enable a decision to be made.
Each application citing exceptional circumstances is assessed on a case-by-case basis and requires supporting evidence from you for a decision to be reached.
Consideration will be given to whether the circumstances could have reasonably been foreseen by you as the parent, carer or guardian. For example, moving to temporary accommodation owing to flood damage cannot be foreseen, whereas choosing a school other than a child's nearest school and realising following this decision that transport is not available could be foreseen.
What is not considered an exceptional or extenuating circumstance?
When considering a stage one appeal, the following will not normally be taken into account:
- Parent/carers' work or other commitments
- Attendance by siblings at other schools
- A work experience placement
- An address other than the home address, including a childminder's address
- Ad hoc visits to other establishments or locations
- Out of hours clubs (e.g. breakfast club, after school activities).
The council has previously provided travel assistance to four-year-olds in the term before they turn five. Why has this changed?
In Surrey, we have seen an increase in the number of applications for travel assistance for children and young people, at the same time as a reduction in the number of available providers to meet demand. This mirrors the national picture, where councils are spending significantly more on home to school transport than in previous years.
In order to balance these pressures, we are taking a more robust approach to the assessment of applications for children aged 4 years. Applying Surrey's Travel Assistance Policy – which confirms that 'there is no legal requirement for the Council to make special arrangements for children under the age of five to travel between home and school' - consistently and fairly across all applications.
We remain committed to ensuring children and young people in Surrey who are most in need of travel support get the help they need to access their education settings. And will continue to use our discretionary powers to provide travel assistance for children who are aged four and entering the reception year at primary school where we are content that extenuating circumstances have been demonstrated. However, we must balance this with our duty to ensure we are using the funds we have in the most effective way and for those most in need.
My application for travel assistance has been refused, can I appeal?
Details of the appeal process can be found on the appealing a decision section of this page.
Post-16 (16 to 19 and 19 to 25 years)
Local authorities do not have to provide free or subsidised post-16 travel assistance. Each request will be assessed on a case-by-case basis in-line with our post-16 policy statement which is available here:
Timescales outlined above also apply to post-16 travel assistance.
Appealing a decision
You can appeal the decision if you live in Surrey and any of the following apply:
- You believe the policy has been applied incorrectly.
- You believe there may be exceptional circumstances.
- Your child is attending their nearest available school but does not meet the distance requirement and you believe the walking route is unsafe.
Please see Surrey County Council's Appealing a travel assistance decision for more information on how to appeal, reasons for submitting an appeal and appeal processes.
What does the appeal process entail?
To appeal a decision, a Stage One Appeal form must be completed and submitted by you as the parent, carer or guardian with details of why you feel the decision should be reviewed and details of any personal and / or family circumstances you believe should be considered. This must be submitted within 20 working days from receipt of the original transport decision.
A senior officer from the Surrey School Travel and Assessment's Appeals Team, who was not involved in making the original decision, will review the appeal with colleagues from Early Years and respond.
Further details of the appeals process, and the stage one appeal form, can be found here: Appealing a travel assistance decision.
Parent guide to travel assistance
Family Voice Surrey, the Parent Carer Forum for Surrey, have collaborated with Surrey County Council to produce a guide to travel assistance for parents.
The guide contains information about the home to school travel service, the application process and how to enable your child to have a successful journey.
Surrey School Travel and Assessment Team contact information
You can contact the Surrey School Travel and Assessment Team by using the School travel and assessment online enquiry form.
You can also the Travel Assistance team via the Surrey County Contact Centre on 0300 200 1004 or find helpful information and guidance on the School transport pages on the Surrey County Council website.