Transport for post-16 students with SEND

You can apply for a Personal Transport Budget (PTB) if:

1. The young person has had an assessment and is eligible for travel assistance
2. You'd like the choice and flexibility to make your own travel arrangements

PTBs are a popular choice for families of post-16 students with SEND. They offer many benefits over the traditional transport services the Council provides. Once agreed, PTB payments are made monthly. This means the money is available throughout the school year, as you need it.

If you would prefer not to apply for a PTB, the council can arrange transport if you pay an annual fee.

To qualify for transport assistance from us, the student must:

• be 16 to 19 years old (sixth form age), or have started their current college course before their 19th birthday
• have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, which names the school or college they go to
• go to the school or college nearest their home that offers the full-time course they want to take
• live more than 3 miles from their school or college, as measured by us. Or they cannot walk there because of their SEND or mobility difficulty
• be unable to travel on public transport due to their SEND or mobility difficulty

Read more in section 5 of the Post-16 Transport Policy Statement.

If the student receives transport arranged by us, you’ll need to pay an annual fee.

The annual fee is based on the number of days that the student will be attending their setting at the start of the academic year.

The annual fees are:

When you apply for transport you can apply for a reduced annual fee if you can demonstrate financial hardship.

To qualify for the reduced annual fee, you’ll need to provide evidence:

• of receiving Income Support or Universal Credit
• that your household income is less than £21,000 before any deductions

To apply for the reduced fee, you’ll need to provide supporting evidence of the financial circumstances of your household. You must provide this when completing the online transport application form.

This could be:

• bank statement (one full month)
• P60 certificate or last three payslips
• benefits award statement

After you have applied, we’ll review your evidence. We may contact you to request more evidence.

If you qualify for the reduced annual fee, the cost will be:

To find out if you’re eligible for transport assistance, you’ll need to speak with your EHCP coordinator, who will:

• assess the student’s eligibility
• pass the eligible student’s details to the client transport team who will send you a link to the online SEND transport application form

You will need to complete the online application form by the deadline stated.

Only eligible students can apply using the online application form. If you need help to complete the application form please contact us.

If your application for post-16 SEND council arranged transport for a fee has been successful we will:

• write to you to confirm your annual fee amount
• provide details of the different payment options (payment for the whole year, on a termly basis, or by eight monthly card payments)

You can pay with an online card payment or by calling us.

Please note: If you wish to pay by monthly card payment, you will need to telephone the School Transport Finance team on 01296 382071 to set this up.

Find out what to expect if your child receives SEND school transport.

Families experiencing severe financial hardship can apply to our Post-16 Severe Financial Hardship Transport Exceptions Panel (TEP) review process.

If your application for review is successful, we can either:

• delay or extend the payment period for the reduced annual transport
• reduce the annual fee further
• waive the annual fee completely

We will not withdraw the student’s transport while the severe financial hardship panel review process is ongoing.

To be eligible for consideration, you must provide evidence that you:

• were accepted for the reduced annual transport fee in your original application
• have applied to the students educational setting for one of the two bursary schemes (and received an outcome decision)
• would not be able to afford your essential living needs and pay the reduced annual transport fee

In making a decision, we'll consider whether sufficient evidence of severe financial hardship has been demonstrated.

Receiving benefits or being in a single-parent household are not reasons for awarding transport. However, we will consider requests if other reasons represent severe financial hardship.

If you meet the criteria for a review of the fee payable for Post-16 arranged transport due to severe financial hardship, you should contact us.

All applications must include all the required evidence to enable us to make a decision. The requirements are detailed on the application form and include:

• evidence of applying for a bursary to contribute to transport costs and the outcome decision
• proof of any benefits received
• proof of household income
• payslips and bank statements

After we review all your evidence we will write to you within 28 days of making our decision to confirm the outcome.

You can apply for financial support through bursary schemes that are managed by:

• schools
• other educational settings

Any bursary awards granted by the school or setting will be paid directly to you.

To find out if you are eligible and to apply, contact your educational setting directly for more information.

Find out more below or view the guidance about the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund on GOV UK.

The criteria for this bursary are set by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). It is applicable to students who are:

• in care
• care leavers
• receiving Income Support, or Universal Credit because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them such as a child or partner
• receiving Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments in their own right as well as Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit in their own right

Maximum amount: £1200.

The criteria for this bursary are set by:

• individual schools
• Colleges
• Other educational settings.

The educational setting also decides on how much is paid. Contact your educational setting directly for guidance on how to apply.

Your school or college will make the decision and let you know within about 3 weeks if your application has been successful.

If your application is not successful you can appeal the decision.

Your school or college can provide the paperwork for your appeal and they will let you know their decision within 3 weeks.