How can you obtain help with travel to school in England?

Katerina Galkina · EN · 07/10/2026

If school is far from home, make a separate application for home-to-school travel assistance to your council. A school offer does not itself confirm transport. In England, eligibility depends on age, the suitable school, the route and individual circumstances. GOV.UK: free school transport ↗.

Check the main eligibility grounds

For a child of compulsory school age attending their nearest suitable school, the main distances are more than two miles for children under eight and more than three miles from age eight. Separate grounds apply where there is no safe walking route or the child cannot walk because of SEND or a mobility problem. Additional criteria cover some low-income families. GOV.UK: eligibility ↗.

Do not assume free school meals automatically establish transport eligibility: request assessment under the current travel criteria. Children below compulsory school age and young people aged 16 or over have separate arrangements and local support policies.

Establish the nearest suitable school

If the nearest school is full, the nearest one with a vacancy may be the nearest suitable school for travel assessment. Keep refusal letters and the council's offer. A family choosing a more distant school when a nearer suitable place was available may receive a different decision. Check the local policy for the measurement method. DfE: travel to school, paragraphs 39–47 ↗.

Submit relevant evidence

Find your council through the postcode finder ↗, then its school-travel service. Provide the offer, address, age, route information and relevant evidence of additional needs. For SEND, explain the actual difficulty with the journey: distance, walking ability, safety or need for an escort. A diagnosis alone does not explain every travel requirement.

Ask when a decision is expected, what interim arrangements apply and how to report changes. Do not assume privately booked taxis will be reimbursed without prior agreement.

Agree the assistance and review any refusal

Assistance may be a travel pass, school bus, taxi or agreed alternative. Eligibility does not automatically entitle a family to choose an individual car. Council arrangements for an eligible child must be free to the parent. DfE: forms of travel assistance ↗.

If refused, request written reasons, the distance calculation and the appeal procedure. DfE guidance describes a two-stage review: follow the council's stated deadlines and supply missing evidence. Arrange a safe journey while the decision is reviewed.

This article covers England; check separate rules elsewhere in the UK. Sources checked on 7 October 2026, including guidance updated on 26 May 2026.