2023 milestones and actual performance
Section A: Strategy – clear and understood strategic plan and SEND arrangements
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Appropriate adult | A parent or other person nominated by the parent to accompany the child to and from school. |
| Boarding | Where the LA arranges for a child or young person to board at a school or college, transport will be provided in accordance with the boarding arrangements where the usual distance criteria are also met: weekly boarders will be provided with journeys from school on Friday afternoons and to school on Monday mornings termly boarders will be provided with journeys from school at the end of each term and half-term and to school at the beginning of each term and half-term termly borders will be provided with transport for exeat weekends only when the school’s residential facility is closed1 unused journeys will not be carried forward Where a parent has decided to educate the child at a boarding school, no assistance for transport will be available from the LA except where there is eligibility otherwise. |
| Catchment school | The LA will recognise one primary and one secondary school for discretionary entitlement to free transport on catchment school grounds. Where catchment areas overlap, the LA will recognise one school. For the avoidance of doubt, appendix 4 sets out the recognised catchment schools for transport entitlement purposes. Where a new school is opened or a school extends its catchment area, the LA may review over the following academic years the impact on parental preference before making any change to the catchment area school recognised for transport purposes. Where an address has more than one catchment school for admissions purposes due to inaccuracy in online mapping, (for example, the boundary line runs through a residential property) that inaccuracy will be corrected at the earliest opportunity. |
| Children of passengers | Where a child is entitled to transport and is the parent of a child, the LA will exercise its discretion to provide transport on the same basis for the younger child as for the parent. The LA will consider the safety and suitability of the parent and child and others on the vehicle. No charge will be made where parent-child has a concessionary seat unless an additional seat is required. |
| Code of conduct | The school transport Codes of Conduct details the standards of behaviour required of passengers. This is in the interests of the health and safety of all passengers, drivers and other road users. A child who persistently misbehaves on school transport will be deemed not to be abiding to the Code of Conduct. A potential consequence of this is a ban from travelling, either for a temporary or indefinite period. Transport will not be provided for eligible children or concessionary passengers until an application has been approved by the LA (or the LA has contacted the parent to advise that the child is eligible), a photograph and payment provided as necessary and the Code of Conduct agreed to by the child or young person and or the parent. |
| Compulsory School Age | Children are of compulsory or statutory school age from the beginning of the term following their fifth birthday (or from the fifth birthday if it falls on 1 January, 1 April or 1 September) until the last Friday in the June of the academic year when he or she reaches 16 years of age. This does not mean they must attend a state-funded school or, indeed, any school. During this period, however, a child must receive full-time education. |
| Concessionary seats | These seats are available on vehicles contracted by the LA where a child is not entitled to free transport and a seat is not required by a child that is entitled. Concessionary seats are not available on vehicles that could be considered as competition to a public service route. They are not allocated until the first half term in autumn and will be withdrawn if an entitled child requires a seat or if the route is reorganised with a smaller vehicle. Concessionary seats require a financial contribution from the parent in advance. Further information on concessionary seats see concessionary seats |
| Contract vehicle | These seats are available on vehicles contracted by the LA where a child is not entitled to free transport and a seat is not required by a child that is entitled. Concessionary seats are not available on vehicles that could be considered as competition to a public service route. They are not allocated until the first half term in autumn and will be withdrawn if an entitled child requires a seat or if the route is reorganised with a smaller vehicle. Concessionary seats require a financial contribution from the parent in advance. Further information on concessionary seats see concessionary seats |
| Distance measurement | Children must live beyond the maximum walking distance for their age to be eligible for school transport unless: Distance measurement children must live beyond the maximum walking distance for their age to be eligible for school transport unless: unless the route is deemed by the LA to be unavailable or unless the child cannot reasonably be expected to walk that distance to school, accompanied as necessary Measurements of distance for transport purposes are made between the nearest public access point to the child’s property and the nearest official entrance to the school grounds. Transport is not provided on private property. Eligibility is determined solely by measurements using Devon’s electronic mapping system. |
| Education other than at school | Free transport will not be provided by the LA where a child is taught at an Alternative Provision setting or at an unregistered educational setting, unless it is by arrangement of the LA. Parents will be responsible for transport if the placement is by their arrangement. The child’s school will be responsible for transport where it arranges for education off-site, without the support of the LA. |
| Educational continuity | Where a child moves address after the October half-term in Year 101, the LA will exercise discretion to provide free transport where the child has already undertaken half a term of study leading to public examinations to continue to attend a school that is no longer an eligible school. The LA will consider: • whether the school was an eligible school before the move; • the existing transport network; • the ease of resuming study at a new school; • whether the house move was voluntary or involuntary; • parental ability to provide or fund transport. The LA will not exercise its discretion to provide free transport on educational continuity grounds for children in primary school. See appendix 3 – upper cost limits. |
| Eligible school | A school to which there is an entitlement to free school transport, subject to distance criteria. This would be the nearest school, the catchment school recognised for transport purposes, and the closest good or outstanding school for a Looked After Child or Previously looked After Child. |
| Equal cost | Transport arrangements will be varied from the beginning and end of the school day for late or extended schools where there is no additional cost. That may be the case where a dedicated vehicle is used. The variation will be terminated if another child requires a place on the vehicle at the beginning or end of the school day. |
| Transport will not be provided to a non-eligible school where it appears the costs would be the same as for an eligible school: where two schools are close together or at similar distances from home. To provide free transport in these circumstances may lead to an additional cost later where, for example, a shared vehicle is not longer required by an entitled child. | |
| Escorts | There is no legal duty on the LA to provide escorts for children carried on education transport. However, fulfilling a duty of care to passengers and others may involve the provision of a passenger escort.For further information on the provision of escorts and their duties. |
| Exceptional need | The LA will exercise discretion to provide free transport to a non-eligible school where necessary to meet the needs of a child whose safety or wellbeing would otherwise be at risk of significant harm. This may be on any of the following grounds: • Medical • Social • Educational • Safeguarding and wellbeing Each case for support will be considered in its own circumstances with an expectation that evidence (for example, of bullying or discrimination) will be provided and that appropriate attempts to address those concerns have been made. |
| Faith schools | The LA has a duty1 to have regard to the preference of a parent to have a child attend a school or institution on the grounds of the parent’s religion or belief. This is in addition to the low-income extended entitlement to a faith school. The duty to have regard is not a requirement on the LA to provide transport assistance. |
| Feeder routes | Journeys may involve a change of vehicle at a specified point along the route. Drivers are instructed not to depart from these points until the connecting vehicle has arrived and the driver is certain that all children have been transferred safely. This will not apply to public service vehicles which will not wait for connecting public service vehicles. |
| Fee-paying schools | The LA will not provide free transport to an independent, fee-paying school unless it has arranged the place there. |
| Home address | The LA when considering eligibility to transport support will not accept more than one address as the child’s home address. The terms of a child arrangements order may clarify the home address. Where necessary to determine which address to recognise and in the absence of a child arrangements order, the LA will consider the home address to be with the parent with primary day to day care and control of the child. In reaching this decision, evidence may be requested to show the address to which any Child Benefit1 is paid and from which the child is registered with a medical GP. Any other evidence provided by parents will also be considered by the LA in reaching a decision on the home address for transport purposes. This may be necessary for instance where parents do not agree on the child’s home address. Parents are urged to reach agreement or seek a Specific Issues Order from a court to decide which parent should or should not pursue an application. Where they do not, the LA will determine the home address. In reaching this decision, the LA will seek the views of those schools for which it is the admission authority. Where the LA asks for evidence of the address from which a child would attend school, this would usually be written confirmation of a house purchase or a formal tenancy agreement. It is recognised that some families may be unable to provide this – for example, where a house move is at very short notice or where a family is escaping domestic violence. Applicants who cannot provide this evidence should contact the LA. There is no intention to penalise families where there is a genuine reason why the usual evidence cannot be provided. |
| Independent Travel Training (ITT) | Some children need help getting to and from school or using the transport that is available. This may be because of their individual special educational needs. The LA offers additional help through ITT. This may enable a young person to walk to and from school and to cope better with traffic; it may enable the child to manage the public service vehicles on the route to and from school. Find further information on Independent Travel Training here. |
| Journey times | The LA will not normally provide transport which requires a journey time greater than: • 45 minutes for primary phase children. • 75 minutes for secondary phase children. The length of a journey will include the time taken to get to and from pick up and set down points. Journey times may exceed these limits for exceptions such as: • exceptional traffic or weather conditions; • attendance at a special school; • attendance at a remote boarding school; • attendance at Alternative Provision; • attendance at a remote school to maintain educational continuity |
| Low-income extended entitlement | A family is a low-income family for school transport purposes if it is in receipt of the maximum level of Working Tax Credit or is eligible for Free School Meals or has eligibility through the Universal Credit. This confers extended statutory entitlement to free school transport to the one of the three nearest secondary schools to the home address offering an appropriate education for the child’s age and gender, provided it is between 2 and 6 miles from the home address. A selective school will be included in this assessment if the child is eligible to attend the school. All other state-funded mainstream schools will be included in the assessment. Low-income entitlement will be reassessed annually. |
| Low-income extended entitlement to a faith school | A family is a low-income family for school transport purposes if it is in receipt of the maximum level of Working Tax Credit or is eligible for Free School Meals or has eligibility through the Universal Credit. This confers extended statutory entitlement to free school transport to the nearest secondary school to the home address preferred by the parent on the grounds of religion or faith, offering an appropriate education for the child’s age and gender, provided it is between 2 and 15 miles from the home address. The application for admission must have indicated that it was preferred on the grounds of faith. Evidence may be requested from the admission authority for the school. Low-income entitlement will be reassessed annually. |
| Multiple sites | Where a school operates with more than one site, transport entitlement will be based on the distance to the site where the child is educated for all or most of the time. |
| My Devon Customer Service Centre | Helpline for information on services in Devon: 0345 155 1019 and mydevon@devon.gov.uk. The first point of contact at 0345 155 1019 for enquiries regarding school admissions and education transport. Queries which cannot be resolved at this stage will be passed on for specialist advice and assistance from the School Admissions Service or the Education Transport Team. |
| No Pass, No Travel | All passengers are required to carry a pass if issued. This policy is in place to ensure that entitled children can board their vehicle and so that vehicles are not overcrowded. Children who lose their Pass during the school day can be issued with a temporary pass by the school so that no eligible child will be unable to get home safely. Find out more information on no pass no travel here. . |
| Parental preference | There is no entitlement to free transport where a parent chooses a school that is not an eligible school. This applies where the parent could have made a timely application for admission to an eligible school at the normal round but chose not to do so. |
| Permanent exclusions | Where a child is subject to a permanent exclusion, alternative education provision must be in place from the 6th day. Transport to and from the alternative provision will be the responsibility of the LA. Where transport is required, normal eligibility criteria will apply. Transport will only be provided to an eligible school or Alternative Provision setting unless the LA agrees in advance that it is reasonable and necessary in the child’s circumstances. |
| Personal Transport Cost Allowance (PA) | Where a child is entitled to transport and there are difficulties in negotiating a suitable transport contract, parents who are able to convey their children to school may receive a PA instead of transport being provided.1 The PA is based upon a standard rate for mileage to and from the school twice a day . The requirements of the journey will be taken into account in determining the actual rate to be paid. Parking, subsistence, and other costs will not be met. (see appendix 3) No arrangements are in place to pay an allowance in lieu of transport where a child uses a bicycle as transport to and from education. |
| Pick up and set down points | Children may be required to get to and from pick up and set down points to use the transport provided. It is a parent’s responsibility to get the child to and from those points, accompanied as necessary. The distances to points will not normally be greater than: • 0.75 miles for a primary phase child. • 1.50 miles for a secondary phase child. Children should not be left unattended by parents at these points. They should remain with them until the vehicle arrives in the morning and be there when the vehicle arrives in the afternoon. Parents are advised about the times for vehicles to arrive. Passengers should arrive at least five minutes before the scheduled departure time to ensure that they do not miss their transport. Vehicle drivers will not wait for passengers and will seek to operate according to their published timetable except where a contract feeder vehicle links with another vehicle. |
| Provision on a parent’s medical grounds | The LA will exercise discretion to provide free transport under the child’s walking distance where necessary because a parent is unable to get a child to and from school because of his or her own medical condition. The LA will exercise discretion to provide free transport to a non-eligible school where necessary because a parent is unable to get a child to and from school because of his or her own temporary medical condition. This will be for up to 12 calendar weeks. It would be unreasonable for the child to transfer schools for this length of time. The provision may be extended in exceptional circumstances. Assistance on the grounds of a parent’s medical condition will not be provided where the child does not require his or her parent to accompany him or her to school. The parent will be required to provide evidence of the medical condition and that no other suitable arrangements could be made, such as the availability of assistance from family or friends and neighbours, a School Travel Plan, other agencies or otherwise. The LA will consider: • the existing transport network; • parental ability to provide or fund transport. See appendix 3 – upper cost limits |
| Residence eligibility | Devon County Council will not support school transport for children who live outside of the Devon administrative boundary. Support must be sought from the child’s home LA. Transport is provided from one home address. |
| Schools Organisation – closure, opening, reorganisation | Children who receive free transport to a school will continue to do so if a new school opens (or a school is reorganised and could admit them) that is nearer to home. They will do so for the remainder of their time at that school while living at the same address. |
| Transport Eligibility Officer Panel | A Panel consisting of LA officers. Responsible for hearing appeals against decisions of the Education Transport Team to refuse transport. A further appeal exists to elected Members of Devon County Council. |
| Transport Eligibility Team | A part of the Transport Co-ordination Service. Responsible for determining eligibility for education transport. |
| Transport in error | A part of the Transport Co-ordination Service. Responsible for determining eligibility for education transport. Transport provided because of an error assessing entitlement criteria will be removed with up to 6 calendar weeks’ notice. |
| Unavailable routes | Not all roads and pathways are safe for a child to walk to and from school, accompanied as necessary by an appropriate adult in reasonable safety. Where this is the case and there is no alternative route under the walking distance to an eligible school, free transport will be provided. The LA works with schools and local planners to reduce the number of unavailable routes. This could be achieved with a new cycle and footpath, a new footbridge or redesigning road furniture. Where a route is no longer unsafe as a result of remedial safety works, any transport previously provided but no longer required will be withdrawn. |
| Vehicles not arriving | Travel to School There will be occasions when a vehicle does not arrive to pick up a child who is entitled to a journey as an eligible passenger or as a concessionary passenger. This may be because of bad weather including flooding or icy conditions where it is not possible for the vehicle to travel safely. In these circumstances, a parent may decide to make alternative transport arrangements to school. This will be entirely at the parent’s discretion and own cost. The parent would also be responsible for the return journey should conditions not have improved sufficiently for education transport to be provided safely. For information on school closures due to bad weather Travel to Home In all circumstances, arrangements will be made to return children to home or a place of safety where they have been taken to school by education transport. |
| Waiting times | Waiting time on school premises before and after school will not normally exceed 10 minutes. Where the school is on a split site, the normal 10 minutes arrival or waiting times will be varied, as time will be required to enable the transport to serve each site. Although every effort is made to operate to timetables, where long or complicated journeys are undertaken, it is possible that there may be waiting time between connecting transport provision. Road and traffic conditions may cause these times to vary. |
| Walking distance | All children are expected to walk to and from school each day up to a maximum distance according to their age. Exceptions apply where the LA deems the route to be unsafe or agrees that the child is unable to walk to and from school, accompanied as necessary by a parent or other adult nominated by a parent. Children are not expected to walk to and from school alone. The walking distances are 2 miles for children up to the age of 8 and 3 miles for children from the start of the term after their 8th birthday. Devon has exercised its discretion to lower that distance to 2 miles for children aged above 8 who attend a primary school. Walking distances may include metalled roads, recognised by Ordnance Survey, footpaths and bridleways. Distances above the walking distance are measured by road for the entire route. This may mean that the shortest road route using a motorway or other unavailable route is less than the shortest walking route. |
*Figures may differ from previous published as they are now cumulative