Home to school transport policy

Statutory guidance for local authorities relating to home to school travel and transport was published by the Department for Education (DfE) in July 2014. This means that local authorities are under a duty to have regard to it when carrying out their duties in relation to home to school travel and transport. The 'Home to School Transport Policy' for Stockton-on-Tees is based upon this statutory guidance.

This policy is also in accordance with the legislation regarding home to school travel and transport that is set out in Sections 444,508B, 508C, 508D, 509AD and Schedule 35B of the Education Act 1996. Other relevant legislation includes the School Admission Code, the Equality Act 2010 and Regulation 5 and Part 2 of Schedule 2 to The School Information (England) Regulations 2002, as amended.

It should be noted that it is the responsibility of the parents/carers of a pupil to ensure that he/she attends school. However, in certain circumstances, which are detailed in this policy, the Council will provide assistance to a pupil with transport from home to school.

This policy will apply to children and young people entering school or changing schools from September 2017. If you require a copy of the policy in place before 1 September 2017 you should contact the School Admissions Department of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

This policy applies only to those children resident within the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees who are of compulsory school age. Compulsory age is defined as 5 years of age to the day prior to the young person's sixteenth birthday. In practice, because children are admitted to school before their fifth birthday, transport assistance will not be refused because the child is under 5. Similarly, transport assistance will be provided to the end of the school year in which the young person attains 16 years of age subject to satisfactory attendance.

This policy does not apply to nursery and pre-school children, and neither does it apply to learners in the post 16 phase of their education with the exception of a small number of children and young people who are in the Education, Health and Care Planning process. The policy for post 16 transport is different from that for compulsory school aged children and is set out in a separate policy statement ('Stockton-on-Tees Post-16 Transport Policy').