Under 16 Education travel policy

Staffordshire’s Under-16 travel policy explains who qualifies for free or assisted school transport based on distance, needs, and income.

Contents

Income Assessed Travel Assistance

Children of secondary school age (School Years 7 to 11) from low-income families also have an additional entitlement to income assessed travel assistance to either:

  • one of the three nearest suitable schools to where they live when it is more than 2 miles, but less than 6 miles from home using the shortest available walking route using the school and road network held at that time (please note that this can change over time as schools open or close and our road network is updated)  

or

  • the nearest suitable school that is more than 2 miles, but less than 15 miles from home, preferred on the grounds of the parent's religious or philosophical beliefs. 

Low-income groups are defined as those who are entitled to, and registered for, free school meals or where a parent (who the child lives with) is in receipt of the maximum level of Working Tax Credit. The maximum amount of working tax credit would be shown as ‘deduction due to income £0.00’ within the calculation section of your TC602 award notice. 

If you wish to claim under Working Tax Credit grounds, proof of receipt of maximum Working Tax Credit must accompany your application form (a copy of all pages of your most recent Tax Credit Award Notice form TC602 - you can request one from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). If you wish to claim under free school meals grounds, we will check our records to confirm that you are registered as eligible for free school meals. Information about eligibility for free school meals and the free school meals online application form can be found online at free school meals webpage or contact the Free School Meals Entitlement Team on 0300 111 8007. 

If you wish to apply for assistance to a school preferred on religious or philosophical grounds, we need evidence on how and why a school meets your philosophical or religious beliefs. You must be able to prove evidence of adherence to faith if it is a denominational school (for example for a Catholic school, a copy of your child's Catholic Certificate of Baptism or Certificate of Reception).

The term 'belief' must be more than an opinion or idea held by the parent. The law requires that a belief must be genuinely held, and attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance. The following examples are unlikely to meet the requirements for the provision of travel on faith or philosophical grounds –

  • the wish to have a child educated at a particular category of school (for example an academy school or grammar school)
  • the wish for a child to be taught in a particular language
  • a belief that a child should be privately educated
  • objections to rules requiring that a school uniform must be worn
  • the belief that a particular school will provide a better level of education 

Please note for income assessed travel assistance:

  • An annual re-assessment of eligibility will be made. This will be a re-assessment of both the distance to the school (using our orad network held at that time) and if the financial criteria are still being met). If claiming on the basis of receiving the maximum amount of Working Tax Credit, a copy of your TC602 must be provided. If you have received a TC603 form as your Tax Credit renewal notice, you must request a TC602 award notice from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to provide as ongoing proof
  • If your child no longer meets the eligibility criteria above, travel assistance will be withdrawn at the end of the academic year. Parents would then become responsible for making their own arrangements to ensure their child attends school if their child is not eligible under other grounds.
  • Where a child on income assessed travel assistance no longer qualifies under the mileage criteria due to a change of address, travel assistance may be withdrawn immediately. Parents would then become responsible for making their own arrangements to ensure their child attends school.
  • Parents should note that if their circumstances and road network can change there is no guarantee that free travel assistance will be provided throughout their child’s secondary education.