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School transport for 16 to 19 year olds
Your child may be able to get assistance (with school transport) to go to sixth form or college in the form of a fixed term grant.
Eligibility and how to apply
Frequently asked questions on home to school transport for the 2020/21 academic year in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mainstream - Home to school/college transport policy 2021/22 Opens new window
Mainstream - Home to school/college transport policy 2022/23 Opens new window
Post 16 transport policy statement Opens new window
Post 16 fixed grant
Post 16 students applying for transport assistance for September 2021 may be entitled to a fixed grant of £150 per academic year.
Please note that the Council no longer provides Post 16 mainstream students with any of the following types of transport assistance:
- A Council provided school bus place
- A bus pass for a commercially provided school special bus service
- A bus or train pass for public transport, e.g. Arriva
- Taxi or minibus transport
- A mileage allowance (petrol refund)
Eligibility
Students will be entitled to a fixed grant if all of the following apply:
- they are 16, 17 or 18 years old when they start the course
- they are doing a full time course
- they live more than 3 miles from:
- their nearest school sixth form or freestanding further education / sixth form college
- their nearest freestanding Leicestershire further education / sixth form college
- their frozen Leicestershire school sixth form (the catchment school with a sixth form in areas where there have been no changes to catchments or age range since May 2012) – see the policy document for a list
The grant will only be provided for those students eligible according to the criteria above and:
- Are from a qualifying low income family (students entitled to free school meals or whose parents are in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits or their maximum level of Working Tax Credit)
And/or
- Are ‘rurally isolated’ which means they live more than a total of 75 minutes away (one way, measured in the morning) from their qualifying school, measured door to door using public transport.
Please note that we don't take availability or location of courses into account. We will only provide assistance to the student’s nearest educational establishment as described above and if the qualifying criteria are met.
For further information regarding the scheme, eligibility and how journey times are measured, please read the FAQs contained in our Home to School / College Transport Policy above.
How to apply
You have to apply each academic year for the school/college transport grant if your child is over 16 years old.
Complete the online application form and note that we will ask you to provide evidence of low-income status. We will also check that your child is attending the stated college before arranging any payment.
You should submit your transport application form by 13 July 2021. We will then check your eligibility and aim to inform you of our decision by the end of August 2021.
On confirmation of attendance, the grant will be paid by cheque for the full yearly amount by October half-term, for those that applied by the July deadline. If you apply part way through the year, the grant will be reduced by a pro-rata amount at each half term (£50 per term). There will be no grant available for applications received after the summer half term (May 2022) in respect of 2021/2022 academic year.
If you’re not eligible
If your child doesn't qualify for transport assistance, you can:
- ask us to check again if you think we’ve made a mistake
- make an appeal
Please note that you can only appeal if you believe we have misinterpreted the policy and not purely because you disagree with the policy itself.
Many academies now operate their own buses. Similarly, a number of bus companies are providing commercial ‘school special’ bus services – the school can provide information on these options.
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