Purpose

Proposed updates to School Transport policy
(for compulsory school age children) following revisions to
Department for Education statutory guidance. The proposed changes
have been subject to a public consultation.

Content

Option 1 –
approve all recommendations
 
Recommendation 1 – To update the
policy (Appendix 1, paragraph 6.14) to reflect the following
proposal:  For Personal Transport
Budgets (PTB) to be available to families where a child’s
needs or circumstances mean that suitable transport is difficult to
find, or not available at all, in the local operator market.
 
Recommendation 2 - To update the policy
(Appendix 1, paragraph 5.12) to reflect the following proposal: To
allow for development and delivery of an Independent Travel
Training Service for children and young people with Special
Education Needs & Disabilities (SEND) who may be capable of
travelling independently to their place of education. 
 
Recommendation 3 - To update the policy
(Appendix 1, paragraph 9.1) to reflect the following proposal: The
regular review of the provision of Passenger Assistants.
 
Recommendation 4 (Part 1)  – To update the policy to
reflect the following proposal:increase the level of
parental contribution for Spare Seats on transport, with
inflation-linked increases applied in future years.
 
Recommendation 4 (Part
2) - To update the policy to reflect the following
proposal:introduce a parental contribution for
exceptions to policy, with inflation-linked increases applied in
future years
 
Recommendation 5: - To update the
policy to reflect the following proposal: The rewording and
updating of the Policy to ensure it reflects the latest Department
for Education statutory guidance (Travel to School for Children of
compulsory school age), issued June 2023[1], is
relevant to the service and is easy to understand.
 
Recommendation 6 - To update the policy
to reflect the following proposal: to remove discretionary
transport entitlement for Year 10 and Year 11 students who move out
of area and wish to remain at their current school.
 

[1]
Department for Education statutory
School Transport Statutory guidance was further updated in January
2024. Proposals within the report are compliant with the updated
guidance.