SEND Transport

When a child or young person is about to start school for the first time, or is moving to a new school, as a parent you will need to consider how they will get there. Parents have ultimate responsibility to ensure that their children attend school. However, Newcastle City Council have a statutory duty to make travel arrangements to support them with children and young people aged 5 to 16 where:

• The young person is accessing a specialist educational setting that has been agreed by the Local Authority as the closest setting to meet the young person’s needs.
• The young person has a physical disability that would prevent them from making the usual type of accompanied journey.
• The young person has a disability leading to significant social and/or emotional immaturity. This may be that their behaviour leaves them extremely vulnerable in social settings and prevents them from making the usual type of accompanied journey.

We also provide discretionary travel support for:

• children under 5 with special educational needs or disabilities travelling to nurseries or primary schools.
• young people over the age of 16 with special education needs accessing further education.

The support could be provided in one of the following ways:

• Personal Travel Budget (PTB)
• A travel permit for public transport.
• Transport to and from school in a mini-bus, people carrier or taxi. All vehicles will have the necessary adaptations for the specific needs of the child.

Parents have a right in law to state a preference for a school for their children, but that does not carry with it a right to free transport. It is important to understand that if your child is not attending their nearest suitable school, then you are not entitled to free transport from the local authority. 

Post-16 SEN Transport

There is no automatic entitlement to free home to school/college transport once a student is over compulsory school age. Compulsory school age ceases on the last Friday in June in the school year in which a young person reaches the age of 16. This is usually at the end of year 11. 

Some students aged 16 to 25 years with SEND may be eligible for travel assistance if they study full time on an approved course. Support will usually be in the form of a travel permit unless exceptional circumstances apply. 

When assessing eligibility for transport assistance, only the individual child’s specific needs will be considered, the circumstances of the family do not influence eligibility.   

Students with SEND aged 16 to 25 years who attend a Further Education College currently have the same entitlement to travel assistance as those attending a school setting, except for the following:

• Escorts may be provided to a further education establishment if a student's disability or medical condition requires this.
• Assistance required to alight from transportation must be organised by prior arrangement with the college staff.
• Support is only available for attendance at establishments in the Newcastle area, except in exceptional circumstances.

Please note, the post-16 transport offer is currently under review. The information provided here will be updated when we are able to do so.

Contact us:

Email: SENDtransportservice@newcastle.gov.uk                               

Telephone: 0191 2774646