Annex B Special pupil cases
The county council will consider all circumstances which are relevant for the purpose of facilitating the attendance of a child at school and assistance with transport/travel costs may be given at the discretion of the director for children's service in exceptional cases.
Additional assistance may be granted in the following circumstance:
- Medical Needs of the Pupil
1.1 Long term cases
Where pupils live within the statutory walking distance between home and their nearest suitable school and where it is apparent that a pupil is physically unable to walk to school, transport provision may be initially considered. Substantial medical evidence will need to be provided. Provision of transport will not usually be offered where a pupil does not attend their nearest school, unless the medical incapacity arises where the pupil is in Year 10 and Year 11 in secondary school or in Year 6 in primary school. The County Council will however consider cases in other year groups where there has been a significant change in circumstances relating to a child’s medical condition.
Assistance will normally take the form of public transport provision unless the pupil is physically unable to access public transport.
The provision may also vary dependent on the time of the year.
If the County Council determine that discretionary transport support is no longer required, parents can submit an appeal to the Student Support Appeal Committee if they consider it should continue, subject to a further officer review.
1.2 Short term cases (up to 12 weeks)
Short term taxi transport may be considered where a child has a short term medical incapacity. Medical evidence will be sought to confirm that the pupil will not be able to access public transport. In these cases, the provision will normally be made for a maximum of 12 weeks. In these circumstances, the Council will consider the provision of transport even if the pupil is not attending their nearest school.
If transport is likely to be required in excess of twelve weeks, the case will be reviewed by the County Transport Policy Officer. If it is decided not to extend the transport support, the parents have the option of appeal to the Student Support Appeal Committee.
2 Looked after children (LAC)
Pupils who are ‘Looked After’ by the County Council, who are placed in short term foster care and who do not meet the statutory criteria for transport assistance, will not be considered for transport assistance under this policy.
A separate policy is administered by the Children’s Integrated Services Group to provide short term transport for LAC pupils who are not statutorily entitled to travel assistance.
For eligibility for transport assistance for children looked after, the nearest suitable school would be that identified by the social worker.
3 Emergency transport arrangements for non LAC children
In cases where children have been temporarily re-housed due to unforeseen emergency circumstances, transport assistance may be considered to a school other than the nearest provided the distance criteria is met. Assistance would be offered on this basis where it was considered that a pupil would be unable to attend school without support from the County Council. Assistance will initially be provided up to a maximum of twelve weeks. Confirmation of the family circumstances will need to be provided by the local council or other agencies.
Transport assistance will normally take the form of provision on public transport unless the journey times exceed the County guidelines.
If transport is required beyond twelve weeks, then a review of the case by the County Transport Policy Officer will be undertaken.
4 Managed transfers and in year fair access protocol pupils
Pupils, who are admitted to schools under these arrangements, may receive assistance with public transport costs if the distance criterion is met irrespective of whether they are attending their nearest suitable school. Short term taxi transport pending receipt of a bus pass may also be provided to aid the smooth transition into the new school during the trial period.
Transport assistance will only be provided for pupils subject to a 'managed move' if the pupil meets the criteria as a low income family, as stated in Section 6 of this policy.
- Children whose Parents due to their Medical Condition are unable to accompany their children to school
In exceptional circumstances where it is not possible due to the medical condition of one or both of the parents or carer for them to accompany a child to school and it is not possible to make suitable arrangements for a family member or friend to accompany a child to school, transport assistance will be considered. Assistance may be provided where it is felt by the County Council that some assistance should be given to ensure that the pupil travels to school safely and attends the school. Any such assistance is subject to satisfactory medical evidence being provided indicating the parental incapacity.
This assistance will only be provided for pupils who meet the low income criteria, as outlined in Section 6 of this policy.
This might include instances where the pupil resides within the statutory walking distance or the pupil does not attend their nearest school.
The County Council will not consider assistance where one parent is unable to accompany the child to school due to work commitments nor will it usually consider it necessary to provide assistance to secondary school aged pupils, as they will usually be deemed to be capable of walking to school unaccompanied.
In the above cases, transport will be provided for up to a maximum of 12 weeks. Any extension of transport will be subject to a central review process by the County Transport Policy Officer.
- Pupils under the jurisdiction of the Traveller Education Service
Where pupils under this category live within the statutory walking distance from their nearest suitable school, short term transport provision may be made to ease the integration into a new school. This provision will be provided for a maximum of four weeks.
- Pupils with special educational needs
A separate policy applies to pupils in this category.
In all other cases the County Council will consider requests from parents who feel that their child requires transport to their nearest school and they are not statutorily entitled to any assistance in cases of significant non-financial exceptional circumstances.