School transport for 16 to 19 year olds : Eligibility and how to apply

Eligibility and how to apply

If your child is eligible for a school travel pass or taxi place, you may have to pay for it if they’re attending a sixth form or a further education college.

Changes to school transport rules

The following changes to school transport rules may affect any pupil using transport from September 2018 who will still require transport in September 2019 onwards.

The council’s cabinet agreed on 9 March 2018 to change the school transport policy for pupils as listed below.

This will take effect from September 2019, irrespective of the transport and/or charges that may have applied to them up to that point, i.e. there will be no transitional arrangements. This means, for example, that you may have to pay charges from September 2019 where you currently receive free transport and/or your child will no longer receive taxi or council minibus transport. The changes are:

For all eligible SEN children aged between 16 and 18: stopping traditional transport methods (taxis or council fleet minibuses) and replacing them with a personal transport budget (PTB) direct payment (although there may be some exceptions to this that would be considered on a case by case basis). The rules for students aged 19-25 are different so transport has to be free of charge when deemed necessary by the Council, but a PTB will still remain the standard offer for those students.
For low income families using SEN transport aged between 16 and 18: families will need to make an annual contribution of £330 (currently free). This is 50% of the full charge for non-low income families and may change based on budget updates in future. As above there is no charge for eligible students aged 19-25.
For eligible mainstream post 16 students: stopping traditional transport (mainly taxis and commercial bus passes) and instead providing an annual travel grant of £150 to assist with transport costs for those in isolated rural areas and/or from a low income background.

Mainstream post 16, home to school or college transport FAQs PDF, 59 kbOpens new window

Cost

The transport charge from 19 January is £330 for the remainder of the academic year. You can pay by debit or credit card in one lump sum or in up to 3 monthly instalments.

If you are eligible for transport and on a low income you may not have to pay.

You may be able to find cheaper transport through the school or commercial bus companies and public transport.

Who qualifies

Your child can get a school travel pass or taxi place if all of these apply. They:

are 16, 17 or 18 year old when they start the course
are doing a full-time course
live more than 3 miles from either their nearest:
- school sixth form or freestanding further education / sixth form college
- freestanding Leicestershire further education / sixth form college
- Leicestershire school sixth form / frozen-area school sixth form

Frozen-area school sixth forms

If your child lives in the catchment area of a school sixth form that has had its catchment area and age range frozen since 2012, we will only provide transport to:

that frozen-area sixth form,
their nearest school sixth form
their nearest freestanding further education / sixth form college or
their nearest freestanding Leicestershire further education / sixth form college

How to apply

You have to apply each academic year for transport to school or college if your child is over 16 years old.

The 2018/2019 application form is now available.

Complete the online application form:

Apply online

If you’re not eligible

If your child does not qualify for free school transport, you can:

ask us to check again if you think we’ve made a mistake
make an appeal