Help with transport for children with special educational needs (SEN)

If your child had a Statement of Special Educational Needs or is undergoing a formal assessment which includes trips to the proposed school(s) we will consider assisting you with your child's school transport. Each case is considered on an individual basis. The need for transport will also be reviewed regularly and provision may change as a result.

If your child attends a Special School or Unit, he or she may travel several miles from your home in order to get there.

The following explains the circumstances when we may be able to help with your child's travel arrangements and how you can play an important role in ensuring that your child's journeys to and from school are as carefree as possible.

When we give help with transport

Children up the age of 16

Many pupils with Special Educational Needs are required to attend special schools or units some distance from their homes.

We will provide help with travel arrangements for children up to the age of 16 who live more than three miles' walking distance (two miles for 4 to 7 year olds), from the nearest suitable school.

We will also consider assisting you with your child's transport, regardless of how far you live from the school, if your child's Special Educational Needs are such that he or she is unable to walk to school (accompanied by you or another adult if needed), or use public transport services.

Transport requirements will be considered at the time that your child's Statement of Special Educational Needs is being finalised.

We may ask you questions about your own availability to escort your child to school, and/or about how the journey to school has previously been made to help us decide if help can be given.

If you express a preference for your child to attend a special school or unit that is not the nearest appropriate special school or unit to your home, we are not required to provide assistance with transport. You will need to make your own arrangements for transporting your child to and from school.

Young people aged 16 to 19 attending Special Schools and Resource Bases

When a young person remains at a special school or resource base beyond the age of 16, we will normally continue providing the same help with transport previously provided up to 16, if this is still appropriate. We will then review this annually.

It may, in some cases, be appropriate for older pupils to begin to travel by bus as part of their learning programme.

Young People attending Further Education Colleges

We may provide transport for students with Special Educational Needs if they attend the nearest appropriate further education college and, in our view, the student cannot use public transport or a college-organised coach because of the length of the journey, or because of some other exceptional circumstance (such as physical disability).

In these cases, parents and the staff at the college will together complete a transport assessment, which may then recommend the use of transport, and describe the reasons why it is necessary.

Transport we can provide

If your child is placed in a Special School or a Resource Base for special needs in a mainstream school; is assessed as being unable to walk to school or use public transport services; and you are unable to transport your child to school yourself we will provide transport. This will be provided in the most cost-effective way possible, using both our own and/or private hire transport.

When we have assessed that we need to provide transport for your child, it takes up to two weeks to make the necessary arrangements. If your child specifically requires a tail-lift vehicle, and/or one which can accommodate wheelchairs, it may take slightly longer to acquire a seat on a safe and appropriate vehicle.

Shortly before the transport arrangements start you will be notified of the:

time your child will be picked up in the morning and dropped off in the afternoon and
transport operator's name and telephone number

If the school has a place available for your child before transport can be arranged, you may be asked to transport your child to and from school on a temporary basis, if you wish the placement to commence immediately.

Assistance is provided primarily for journeys between home and school. If your child is transported to school by us and you require your child to be picked up or set down on a regular basis at a venue that is not your home, such as a childminder's house or at a trusted neighbour's address, you should contact the Pupil Services Team using the contact details at the bottom of this page. You need to give five working days' notice of the change. If the diversion is possible within the routes used we may charge you for any additional transport costs.

Journeys for which we are unable to provide assistance

Unless it is required to meet assessed educational needs, assistance cannot be provided for journeys to:

work experience placements
dental or hospital appointments
clinical, psychiatric or speech therapy appointments
leisure or extra-curricular activities organised
outside of school hours
respite care
arrangements which would involve additional or diverted journeys, and
in the event of sickness where your child has to be collected early from school (or returned to school mid-week if they are at a residential school)

Assisting you to transport your child by car

If your child is unable to walk to school, or to use public transport services and is assessed as needing transport help to get to school, you may be able to transport your child to school yourself, by car, in the usual way.

Where this is possible and the school is further from your home than the nearest local school, but no taxi or other vehicle space is currently available or set aside for your child, we will reimburse your petrol costs (at a current pre-set rate which is revised annually) to take account of the additional length of journey involved.

If you transport your child to and from school yourself, you are advised to make contingency arrangements (for example, arrange for a friend or relative to transport your child to school), should your transport suddenly become unavailable.

We are unable to provide alternative transport on a ‘one-off’ or temporary basis.
If your own transport becomes permanently unavailable, you should contact Pupil Services Team using the contact details at the bottom of this page, to discuss alternative travel arrangements for your child. It may take up to five working days to set up alternative transport in approved cases.

Help for students who need to travel to a course that is outside of Wolverhampton

For students with learning difficulties or disabilities transport will be provided if it is the nearest college/school which meets their needs or subject to assessment.

Help for students who attend a further education institution which is beyond daily travelling distance so they have to stay away

For students with learning difficulties or disabilities transport will be provided if it is the nearest specialist college/school which meets their needs or subject to assessment.

Further Education Residential Support Scheme

Support towards living costs may be available under the Further Education Residential Support Scheme. Students are eligible to benefit from the residential support scheme if they:

are students aged from 16 or over on a full-time Level 3 course or above (or equivalent) of at least 10 week' duration or, exceptionally, a course with Level 2 content for a further education qualification that meets a specific job requirement
are on a LSC funded course
attend a course where similar provision is not available locally
need to attend one of the 10 pilot specialist colleges and are ordinarily resident in England

Students may apply for support if they need to attend a course that is not available within reasonable daily travelling distance and if similar courses, of the same standard, are not available nearer the student's home.

Students in receipt of an unconditional offer of a place at the college should advise the learning provider that they need residential support and complete the appropriate form. For further information see dcsf website.

Contact us

For more information about transport for school contact us using our online contact form or by using the contact details below:

e-mail: hometoschooltravel@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Telephone: 01902 554139, 01902 554202, 01902 554154, 01902 551219
Fax: 01902 550323
Minicom: 01902 555554

Write or visit:

Wolverhampton City Council
Pupil and Student Services Team
Children and Young People Services
Civic Centre
St.Peter's Square
Wolverhampton
WV1 1RR

Location map of Pupil and Student Services.