For children with EHC plans, issues around transport can become relevant in an appeal about the school named in Section I of an EHC plan and transport costs are relevant to the costs of a particular school placement. It is possible to appeal Section I of an EHC plan to have a sentence about responsibility for transport removed, but the SEND Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to deal with disputes about transport alone.

All local authorities (LAs) have a procedure for handling complaints about the services they provide. You can complain about the service you or your child has received in relation to travel to school. You can also appeal a decision taken by your LA about travel to school.

Typically, matters such as whether your child is eligible for free travel, or whether the travel your LA has arranged is suitable for your child’s needs will be handled as appeals. Matters such as the punctuality of a school bus, or a delay in replying to correspondence from parents will be handled as complaints. If you disagree with a decision made about transport, you will need to start by making an appeal through your LA’s own internal appeals procedures.

LAs can decide how their appeals process will operate. The statutory Travel to school for children of compulsory school age 2024 Guidance recommends LAs adopt a two-stage process set out in that Guidance, stage one being a review by a senior officer and stage 2 being a review by an independent appeal panel.

If you are unhappy with your LA’s decision about your child’s transport to school, write to the transport section of your LA to ask for a copy of the policy and appeal procedures. Remember, your LA is required to publish this information and make it readily available to you as part of its Local Offer.

If you consider that there has been a failure to comply with the procedural rules of an appeal or if there are any other irregularities in the way the appeal was handled you may have a right to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). Your LA should also make you aware that you may complain to the LGSCO if you think the LA has made a mistake in the way it has handled your case.

However, if the matter is urgent and serious and cannot be resolved by making a complaint (for example, because it would take too long) you should get advice from a solicitor on a process called judicial review. This process can look at decisions made by public bodies to decide whether they were made in a lawful, fair and reasonable manner.

If you can’t find the answer to your question in this section, you can book an appointment to speak with us.

You may also be interested to read a news article co-written by Cerebra, IPSEA, SOS!SEN and Contact, which sets out some of the implications of the 2024 Home to school travel guidance for parents of disabled children and those with special educational needs as well as a short survey.