Entitlement to School Travel Assistance
We provide free school transport to pupils between the ages 4 and 16 who:
- attend the nearest, or designated transport area school for their home address
- live over the statutory walking distance from that school – 2 miles for children under 8 and 3 miles for children aged 8 and over
If you live within the statutory walking distance of the school it is your parental responsibility to make sure your child attends school.
The school ‘designated transport area’ and the school catchment area can sometimes be different so please don’t automatically assume there will be entitlement to travel assistance to your catchment school. Please check by emailing schooladmissions@somerset.gov.uk if you are not sure.
The schools that currently have different catchment and designated transport areas are:
If a place is allocated at a school which is parentally preferred and which is beyond the statutory walking distance but this school is neither the nearest nor the designated transport area school and at either of which places would have been available at the time of application, then you will be responsible for making your own travel arrangements and for all travel costs in getting your children to school.
For starting and transferring school applications for the year of entry the following applies:
- If you made an on-time application and did not include either the nearest or designated transport area school as a preference, there is no entitlement to travel assistance to any other school including in cases where a school place has been allocated which was not included as a preference. This is because had a preference been made for the nearest or the transport area school a place would have been offered.
- If you have not moved house but made a late application and did not include either the nearest or designated transport area school as a preference or these schools were already full from the first round, there is no entitlement to travel assistance to any other school. This includes in cases where a school place has been allocated which was not included as a preference. This is because had an on time preference been made for the nearest or the designated transport area school a place would have been offered.
School transport entitlement to a particular school can change, depending on the year group the pupil is in and where the nearest school for that year group is in relation to their home address.
If a pupil is not eligible for free school transport, it is the parent’s responsibility to re-apply for transport in a subsequent year group if they think entitlement may have changed. Parents will not be told about a change in entitlement.
If your child is over 16 years old, you can find information about transport on our Over 16 student transport page.
Low-income families
For pupils from low-income families, free school transport is available under certain circumstances:
- pupils aged between 8 and 11 whose nearest school is between 2 and 3 miles from their home
- pupils aged between 11 and 16 who live between 2 and 6 miles from their school and attend one of their three nearest schools
- pupils aged 11 and over to the nearest qualifying school preferred by reason of a parent’s religion or belief between 2 and 15 miles from the home address.
Low income is defined as any child who qualifies for free school meals or families receiving the maximum level of Working Tax Credit.
Entitlement to free school meals is based on:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit, provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue and Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
- Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’ paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit
We regularly review benefit information to make sure your child still qualifies for a reduced rate or free transport.
Transport in exceptional circumstances
There are very specific limited circumstances under which free travel assistance can be offered under exceptional circumstances. The categories are as follows and the school travel policy with further information on the eligibility criteria for each category can be found in the downloads section at the bottom of this page:
- Critical stage
- Home based issues – death, incapacity, serious illness of a parent
- Exceptional home based issues
- Severe and sustained bullying
- Temporary medical need
Please apply using the free school travel assistance application form below, stating your exceptional circumstances in relation to one of the categories above in the notes section. Evidence may be required to support your application. For details of the evidence required or for clarification on any section of the exceptional circumstances policy, please email schooladmissions@somerset.gov.uk. Please read the relevant section of the School Travel Policy before applying.
Pupil referral unit
Travel assistance is provided to pupils attending a pupil referral unit if they live over the statutory walking distance from the unit. In some exceptional cases travel assistance is provided to a unit under the statutory walking distance, if there is evidence that the pupil cannot walk to school, even if appropriately supervised.
Transport on religious grounds
As of September 2018, there is no longer statutory assistance to support children attending a denominational church or faith aided school for reasons of religion or faith alone.
If you are applying for low-income travel assistance on religious grounds, you will be requested to provide proof that the child regularly attends church in the same religion or faith as the school you have chosen. This must be evidenced by a declaration signed by the parish priest or minister, or another local official of the named religion. The minimum attendance at services is at least once a month for a period of no less than 6 months.
SEND information - part of our Local Offer
School travel assistance and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Find information about transport on our Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) school travel assistance eligibility page.
You may also be able to get Travel help if you have an Education, Health and Care Plan.
How to apply
Please use the online forms below to apply for free school travel assistance or for school travel on a paying basis (pay seat). The Admissions and Entitlements Team deal with applications for free travel assistance and the Transport Team deal with pay seat applications.
If you wish to apply for free travel assistance for school age pupils (age 5 to 16) including beyond statutory walking distance, route safety, low income, SEND, temporary medical needs, and exceptional circumstances please use the online form below.
Before you apply for free travel assistance, we recommend that you read the information above about who can apply for school travel assistance.
This form has 7 to 9 pages (depending on your selections) and will take about 10 minutes to complete.
If you wish to apply for school travel on a paying basis (paid seat), please fill in the online form below. This form is for pupils not eligible for free travel assistance but applying to pay to use a seat on the contracted school bus where there is space available.
The form has 7 pages and will take about 8 minutes to complete.
Please see our Home to school transport for more information about school transport.
What happens next
We will assess your application once we have received confirmation from the school that your child has been granted a place. This can take up to 10 working days.
When your application has been assessed, we will let you know if your child is eligible. We will tell you about the transport arrangements and send you a bus pass for your child, if applicable.
The raising of the participation age
The Government requires young people to participate in education and training once they have finished their compulsory secondary education. This is a ‘quick guide’. The law does not increase the statutory school leaving age. Our policy says that only pupils of statutory school age are eligible for free school transport.
For more information about transport to school or college for pupils in year 12 or 13, visit our Over 16 student transport page.
