Home to school transport consultation

Home to school travel is an important part of the school system. It helps to make sure that no child is unable to access education because of the lack of, or cost of transport.

Transport is provided for free to all pupils from aged 5 to 16 who are eligible under the Home to School Transport policy.

The Council must also provide transport for eligible post 16 learners with special educational needs (SEN), learning difficulties or disabilities. We currently provide this entirely free of charge although there is no requirement to do so.

The cost of delivering free home to school travel has increased significantly and we want to make sure that the service is available to those who need it while also being aware of costs.

To make sure the service continues to be available to those who need it, we're proposing to make changes to:

1. Post 16 home to college and sixth form transport
2. Pick up points

Post 16 transport for college and sixth form

We're proposing a contribution from families towards post 16 transport which will be based on household income.

For those paying the charge, this would be based on the cost of a Network One annual student travel pass.

The average cost to the Council of transport for a post 16 student is £6,100 per year. We are asking for a contribution of £1,069 which is the current cost of an annual student travel pass.

In July 2024, 24.6% of the school population in South Tyneside claimed free school meals. Pupils who are eligible for free school meals will automatically be exempt from a making a contribution towards the cost of post 16 transport. For information on other support available, see Other financial support available.

If approved, the charge will apply to all those eligible in year 12 and above in September 2025.

Introducing charges for post 16 pupils will not remove any entitlement to help with transport. Taxi or minibus transport will be still offered if eligibility criteria is met.

We will continue to review all cases regularly. If your circumstances change, then the support available may change.

Pick up points

Currently, all children and young people who use home to School transport are picked up in the morning and dropped off after school from their home address.

We are proposing to introduce a number of pick up points across the borough in instances where lots of young people are travelling to the same school or college from the same area who can be collected together.

We would make sure that:

• all pick up points are in safe and well lit areas, after discussions with road safety, schools and parents or carers
• all pick up points are no more than 1 mile walking distance from home
• where appropriate, parents or carers would be requested to accompany children and young people to / from the pick up point

For those young people who are able to travel alone, we will also have Independant Travel Trainers who can:

• assess whether children are able to travel alone
• assess the safety and risks of pick up points
• teach road safety
• teach how to read timetables
• teach money use and problem solving 

We're eager to get your views on the contribution charge and pick up point proposals.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email them to transport.team@southtyneside.gov.uk.

We would appreciate comments on:

• If the proposal is clear and easy to understand
• If the proposal is fair and reasonable, and if not, how we could improve
• How the proposal will impact students in your own family or other families

You can respond up until the end of the consultation period on Friday 1 November 2024.

What happens next

Your comments will help us to review and update the Home to School Transport Policy. All responses we receive will be considered.

The updated policy will be presented to Cabinet in early 2025 for approval before adoption. Any agreed changes will be implemented for the start of the 2025 / 26 academic year.

There is other support available for low income families and vulnerable post-16 students.

These bursaries funded by the Education Funding Agency (ESFA) and are managed by sixth forms and colleges.

The 16 to 19 bursary fund has two parts, a discretionary bursary and a vulnerable bursary.

To be eligible for the vulnerable bursary, students must fall into one of these categories:

• In, or recently left care provided by the local council 
• Getting income support or universal credit in their own name
• Disabled and getting both Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and either Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in their own name

If they do not fall into one of the above categories, they could apply for a discretionary bursary.

Student services can tell students about their criteria and any evidence needed.

What we mean by low-income family

We use the same criteria as for free school meals for younger students, where the parent / carer receive of any of the following benefits:

• Income support
• Income-based jobseekers allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance 
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of state pension credit
• Child tax credit only, provided your annual household income (as assessed by HM Revenue and Customs) does not exceed £16,190
• Universal credit