Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to Local Authorities on how SEND transport policies ought to reflect reasonable adjustments in arrangements for children of working parents.

​​The government wants all children to receive the right support to succeed in their education. The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport.

​

​Local authorities have a duty to make travel arrangements which enable eligible children to attend school. Those arrangements must be suitable for the needs of the child concerned. Authorities are expected to ensure transport arrangements enable a child to attend school at the start of the school day and return home at the end of it. There may be limited scope to tailor this around a parent’s working pattern. However, local authorities also have a discretionary power to provide free or subsidised home-to-school travel for other children and may choose to exercise that discretion depending on local circumstances and individual needs. The department's statutory guidance makes clear that authorities should not operate blanket policies and should consider requests on their individual merits.

​

​More broadly, local authorities are required to have regard to their duties towards children with special educational needs and disabilities and to ensure their travel policies are consistent with their responsibilities under the equality legislation.