In this guide, you'll find information for families in England about home to school travel arrangements at the start and end of the school day. 

This subject can be quite complex. If you would like more information about transport between home and school, please contact our Education Rights Service.  

The information in this guide does not apply to travel arrangements between educational institutions during the school day. 
 

Local authority duties 

All local authorities have a legal duty to make suitable travel arrangements free of charge for some children, where it is needed, so that they can attend school. To find out if this may be the case for your child, please see the section called 'Eligible children' below. 

However, local authorities can choose to make travel arrangements for any pupil, so your child may still be able to get transport even if they don't meet the criteria mentioned in the 'Eligible children' section below.  Please see our section called 'Discretionary arrangements' for more details. 
 

Statutory walking distance 

Whether your child may be entitled to free home to school transport can depend on the distance from your home to the nearest suitable school. 

Transport may be available if: 

• your child is under eight years of age and lives two miles or more away from your nearest suitable school 
• your child is eight years of age or more and lives three miles or more away from your nearest suitable school. 

The two distances mentioned above are measured along a route which a child can walk with reasonable safety. This is explained in more detail below. 
 

Is my child eligible for free home to school transport? 

Your local authority must provide free home to school transport for your child if they: 

• are of compulsory school age and 
• attend one of the establishments listed under 'Types of schools' (below) and 
• fall into one of the groups listed in the 'Eligible children' section. 

Types of schools 

• Maintained (or community) schools 

• Maintained nursery schools 

• Non-maintained special schools 

• Pupil referral units 

• City technology colleges, academies and free schools 

• For a child with an education, health and care (EHC) plan any independent school if it is named in the plan 

Eligible children 

• Children with special educational needs (SEN), disabilities or mobility problems who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to their school (even though it is within the statutory walking distance), and no suitable arrangements have been made by the local authority for them to attend a school nearer to their home. 

• Children who attend a school beyond the statutory walking distance, as long as your local authority hasn't made suitable arrangements for your child to board at school, or to attend a school nearer to your home. 

• Children who are unable to walk safely to school because of the nature of the route. This applies even if your child lives within the statutory walking distance. Your local authority must assess any risks your child might come across on their route. The risk assessment should take place at the times of the day that your child would use the route. Your local authority should also take into account: 

  • your child's age 

  • whether an adult can accompany your child the width of road and whether there is a pavement 

  • the volume and speed of traffic 

  • street lighting 

  • different conditions at different times of the year 

• Children from low income families. This includes children: 

  • who are entitled to free school meals or 

  • whose families receive the maximum level of Working Tax Credit 

Primary age: children from low income families who are aged eight, but under 11, must have home to school transport arrangements made if they live more than two miles from the nearest qualifying school. 

Secondary age: children from low income families who are aged 11 or over must have home to school transport arrangements made to one of their three nearest qualifying schools, where they live more than two miles, but not more than six miles, from that school. Where you have expressed a preference for your child to attend a particular school on the grounds of religion or belief, home to school transport arrangements must be made if the school is over two miles, but not more than 15 miles, from your home. 
 

Suitable arrangements 

Your local authority has a duty to make sure that travel arrangements are suitable. This term is not fully explained in law. However, case law (R v Hereford and Worcester CC ex parte P (1992)) has judged that home to school transport should not cause a child undue stress, strain or difficulty that would prevent them from benefiting from the education a school has to offer. 

Suitable transport arrangements may therefore depend on a number of things: 

• your child must reach school without such stress, strain, or difficulty that would prevent them from being able to benefit from the education being provided 
• your child must also travel in reasonable safety and in reasonable comfort 

Guidance issued by the Department of Education states that it would not be considered suitable for a child to make several changes of public transport which results in an unreasonably long journey. 

Best practice suggests that the maximum each way length of journey might be: 

• 45 minutes each way if your child is primary-age 
• 75 minutes each way if your child is secondary-age child 
• even shorter for a child if your child has special educational needs and/or a disability. 

There is no duty to offer a door-to-door service but if your child needs to walk an unreasonably long distance to catch a bus, that is unlikely to be thought suitable. The maximum walking distance would depend on a number of things, including: 

• your child's age 
• your child's individual needs 
• the nature of the route to and from pick-up and drop-off points 
   

Drivers and escorts 

Your local authority is responsible for ensuring its employees, and any contractors and their employees, have the required safeguarding checks.  This will usually require a Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check. 
 

Discretionary arrangements 

If your child is not eligible for free home to school transport, your local authority may still make transport arrangements for them. Such arrangements do not have to be free of charge.  

However, if there is a chance that your local authority will make a charge, this should be made clear in their school travel policy. Good practice suggests that low income families should not be charged.
 

Policy 

Your local authority must publish its general arrangements and policies on home to school transport. This should include its arrangements for children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. Your local authority should consult widely on any changes to such policies.
 

How to challenge decisions about transport 

If you have a complaint or disagreement about the eligibility of your child for home to school travel support, there may be action you can take. Guidance from the Department for Education suggests that your local authority should have an appeals procedure in place for you to follow. This should be published alongside the authority's home to school travel policy. 
 

If your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan 

Your local authority may also provide transport for children with EHC plans whose parents have not made suitable arrangements themselves. This may be because the school is difficult to access by public transport and parents don't drive. Department for Education guidance advises that any decisions about transport should be based on your child’s individual needs. 

You can make a request for your child to attend a particular school. Your local authority does not have to name your preferred school on your child's EHC plan if they believe that another (nearer) school would be able to meet your child's needs. Sometimes your local authority will name your preferred school on the condition that you meet all or part of the transport costs. This arrangement should be written into your child's EHC plan. 

Under certain circumstances, if you do not agree with your local authority about the school that they have named in your child's EHC plan, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). 

The courts have said that in some cases, your local authority can name two schools (or one school and at least one other type of school) in an EHC plan to allow you the option of appeal. This will usually happen when your local authority agrees to name your preferred school but still believes that a school closer to your home could meet your child's needs. The EHC plan will say that you are therefore responsible for arranging transport for your child. 

If your local authority names your choice of school in the EHC plan and the distance from your home is over the statutory walking distance, your local authority must pay transport costs, unless an agreement is reached that you should pay. 

If an agreement is reached that you will pay for transport, this agreement does not have to last for the whole time your child attends that school. The courts have said that if the family circumstances change and parents are no longer able to make suitable arrangements, your local authority must use their discretion to decide whether to offer assistance.
 

Residential schools 

If your local authority names a residential school in your child's EHC plan, which is some distance from your home, they should provide transport or transport assistance. 

The authority should also talk to you and make arrangements for you to visit your child and attend any important meetings, such as annual reviews. 
 

Links to further information and support 

• Find out about our Education Rights Service 

• Department for Education guidance on school transport