In short
- The 30 October guidance applies to England. It is non-statutory and does not create a new free-travel entitlement.
- Ask how your child’s journey is considered alongside their education, health and care (EHC) plan, and how changes will be communicated.
- Check your council’s current policy, individual eligibility and appeal process; an EHC plan alone does not guarantee free travel.
Councils in England should consider a child’s journey alongside decisions about their school place and give parents good notice of transport changes where possible, under Department for Education guidance published on 30 October 2026. The document is non-statutory: it explains how councils can deliver travel assistance, rather than creating a new right to free transport.
Parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can ask who is considering the journey, how it will meet their child’s needs and what happens if arrangements change. This guide focuses on children of compulsory school age in England.
Start with your council’s school travel policy
Ask your council for its current school travel policy, application process and appeal procedure. The existing statutory guidance says councils must publish the policy online and make paper copies available on request. Information about SEND school travel must also appear in the council’s SEND Local Offer. Check the local application dates rather than assuming there is one national deadline.
The existing legal duty is to secure suitable free travel for eligible children where the statutory conditions apply. Under the school-age eligibility rules, distance from the nearest suitable school, an unsafe walking route, or an inability to walk because of SEND, disability or mobility problems can be relevant. Some children from low-income households have extended rights. An education, health and care (EHC) plan is not required for SEND-related eligibility, and having one does not automatically qualify a child: the assessment is individual.
Discuss the journey while the EHC plan is being decided
The new guidance says SEND caseworkers and council travel teams need to work together when considering school placements. If your child’s EHC plan is being prepared or reviewed, ask how the council has considered the journey to each proposed school, including its effect on your child’s wellbeing and readiness to learn.
The guidance says a school named unconditionally in a compulsory-school-age child’s EHC plan counts as their nearest suitable school for assessing travel eligibility. If the child is eligible, the council must provide assistance to that school, even if a nearer school could meet their needs. This is not automatic eligibility for every child with a plan.
A preferred school can sometimes be named on condition that parents arrange travel or meet some or all of its cost, where the total cost would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources. Ask the council to explain any proposed condition and what would happen if you could no longer manage it. The guidance says an EHC-plan review may follow; it does not promise that transport to the preferred school would then be funded.
Explain what your child needs on the journey
The council decides the form of assistance, but the new guidance says it must suit the child’s individual needs, support their wellbeing and enable them to arrive safely, on time and ready to learn, without creating barriers to attendance. It does not guarantee an individual taxi.
For journey length, the statutory guidance gives general guides of 45 minutes each way for primary-age children and 75 minutes for secondary-age children, including walking to a pick-up point. These are not absolute legal limits: there are exceptions, and some children may need shorter journeys. Describe the actual effect on your child and ask how the council has assessed suitability.
You could offer a short account of what helps your child travel and what makes a journey difficult, then ask how that information will reach the driver and passenger assistant. The new guidance describes one council’s one-page travel profile as an example; it is not a compulsory national form.
Ask how changes will be explained
DfE tells councils to give parents good notice of arrangements and, where possible, changes. It does not set a fixed notice period. Ask who will contact you if a route, operator, driver or passenger assistant changes, and how your child can prepare. The guidance gives a meet-and-greet as a local example, not a guaranteed service for every family.
If you disagree, check whether to appeal or complain
The statutory guidance says eligibility and suitability decisions are typically appeal matters; punctuality problems or delays answering letters are typically complaints. DfE recommends a senior-officer review followed by a panel independent of the original decision-making process. Its timings are recommended, not mandatory. Check your council’s published route and deadlines, and explain the decision or service problem you want addressed.
Post-16 support has separate rules
Do not assume school-age free-travel eligibility carries on into sixth form or college. Check the council’s post-16 transport policy and the separate government guidance for the support available. This article does not assess an individual child’s entitlement or a particular council’s policy.