Summary: Ms X complains the Council wrongly decided not to provide her child with transport to school. She says the Council’s decision caused unnecessary distress and impacted her physical health. We find no fault with the Council’s decision-making.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has wrongly decided not to provide her child with transport to school.
2. Ms X says she has to take her child to school which has caused her avoidable and unnecessary distress and impacted her physical health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information and documents provided by Ms X and the Council. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I have considered all comments received before making this final decision.
6. I also considered the relevant statutory guidance, and Council’s policy, as set out below.

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What I found

What should have happened

7. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.
8. A child will not normally be eligible for free travel to school on the grounds of their special educational needs, disability, or mobility problem, or on the grounds that the route is unsafe, if they would be able to walk to school if they were accompanied.
9. A child will not normally be eligible solely because their parent’s work commitments or caring responsibilities mean they are unable to accompany their child themselves. Councils must consider cases where the parent says there are good reasons why they are unable to accompany their child, or make other suitable arrangements for their journey, and make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of each case.
10. Where the local authority determines that a child would be able to walk if they were accompanied, the general expectation is that the parent will accompany them or make other suitable arrangements for their journey to and from school. (Department of Education, Travel to school for children of compulsory school age statutory guidance 2023, paragraphs 47 to 52)
11. The Council’s home to school travel assistance policy details its process of assessing applications. It says it will assess each application on its own merit, assessing the specific individual needs of each child against the policy. It says it is therefore important that families provide all the information and evidence requested during the application process.
12. It says when making a decision about a child’s eligibility to travel assistance it will ask the following questions:

1. Does the child attend their nearest ‘Qualifying School’?

2. What is the walking distance from the child’s home to school?

3. Does the child have any special educational needs or disabilities, which limit their mobility or ability to use public transport, even when accompanied?

4. Are there other exceptional circumstances relating to the child and family that the applicant wishes to be taken into consideration?

13. The statutory walking distance is defined in the Travel to School for Children of Compulsory School Age statutory guidance published in 2024, published by the Department for Education as:

• 2 miles if the child is aged between 5 (including “Rising 5s”) and 8 years old, or
• Over 3 miles if the child is 8 years old or older.

14. It says it measures the distance using the shortest walking route along which a child, accompanied as necessary, may walk with reasonable safety.
15. It says that in some circumstances a child with special educational needs or disability (SEND) may not meet the distance criteria but is unable to walk to school because of their needs. Where this is identified through the assessment process then travel assistance will be offered.
16. It says the council’s SEND transport team will assess whether a child is eligible for travel assistance in accordance with this policy. If the child is deemed eligible for some form of travel assistance, the Council will decide which form is most suitable. The decision will be based on careful consideration of the following:

• whether your child would have considerable difficulty in walking or using public transport due to their special educational needs or disability;
• whether your child has a physical or medical disability that rules out the use of free public transport, or suitable public transport is not conveniently available – for example wheelchair users, students who require specialist seating, harnesses, head restraints or other specialist facilities;
• whether your child has emotional/behavioural difficulties that severely affect their ability to use free public transport;
• the distance and complexity of the journey to and from school, and the public transport routes available;
• whether your child would be vulnerable and at risk of danger to themselves or the general public if they use public or other transport (accompanied as necessary);
• whether your child would be able to travel independently to school if suitably travel trained.

17. The Council’s policy also includes three exceptional circumstances it may consider; if a child has a temporary medical condition, if a child has a disabled parent or if the child has special educational needs or a disability and is in care.
18. The Council’s home to school travel assistance policy also details its appeals process. It says in a stage one appeal the original decision will be reviewed by a senior officer. It says a stage two appeal will be heard by a panel of senior officers. The panel have 20 working days to meet and consider the appeal in line with this policy.

What happened

19. Ms X’s child, B, has several health conditions and an EHC Plan.
20. In 2024, Ms X made an application for school transport for B. She said it was because her working pattern made it difficult to take B to school. The Council refused Ms X’s application.
21. Ms X raised a stage one appeal. She told the Council that B was not able to travel independently. She said her working hours meant she was unable to accompany B to school. Her family member was unable to help as they did not drive and could not safely walk B to school.
22. In late-June, the Council responded to Ms X’s stage one appeal. It told her its travel assistance panel had considered her appeal. It confirmed her application was still refused. It said this was because her application did not meet the requirement set out in its policy.
23. In mid-July, Ms X raised a stage two appeal. She included an additional letter from a children’s mental health service. The letter supported Ms X’s application for travel assistance for B. It said Ms X experiences difficulties taking B to school on public transport because of B’s challenging behaviour.
24. In late July, the Council responded to the stage two appeal. It told Ms X an Operational Director had considered her appeal. It refused her appeal. It told her this was because the school B attends is under the statutory walking distance and it considered B could travel to school using a suitable route. It also told Ms X her circumstances did not meet exceptional circumstances.

Analysis

25. B attends their local qualifying school, which is also within the statutory walking distance. B’s EHC Plan does not identify any health needs or mobility difficulties. It says B is a healthy child who can move about independently. Several SEND professionals considered B’s Plan and decided B can walk to school in reasonable safety if accompanied by a parent.
26. Ms X detailed her work commitments as the primary reason for her travel assistant application. The statutory guidance says a parent’s work commitments would not normally make a child eligible for travel assistance. It says councils should decide based on the circumstances of each individual case. I am satisfied the Council considered all information provided by Ms X in her application in its decision-making and therefore I cannot find fault with its decision not to award travel assistance.
27. In her stage one appeal, Ms X told the Council her family member was also unable to accompany B to school. The statutory guidance says it is reasonable for the parent to make suitable arrangements. Ms X’s stage one appeal was reviewed by a senior officer in line with its policy. The Council also considered professional opinions from two specialist SEND professionals. I am satisfied the Council considered Ms X’s stage one appeal in line with statutory guidance and its policy.
28. Ms X submitted a supporting medical letter in her stage two appeal. The supporting medical letter says B displays challenging behaviour on public transport. It does not detail any difficulties accompanying B to walk to school. The Council told Ms X her stage two appeal was reviewed by an Operational Director. The Council’s policy says stage two appeals should be reviewed by a travel assistance panel. The Council confirmed Ms X’s stage two appeal was reviewed by the Council’s travel assistance panel made up of two senior officers. The Council told her it had considered the routes from B’s home to school and considered B was able to travel to school. It considered Ms X and B did not meet its exceptional circumstances threshold. I am satisfied the Council properly considered all information Ms X provided, and its decision-making was in line with both statutory guidance and its policy.
29. Ms X told me she has a physical disability which limits her ability to walk long distances. She lives over a mile from B’s school. She said this means she is unable to accompany B to walk to school. She said her disability also means driving B to school causes her significant physical pain because of B’s challenging behaviour in the car. Ms X has not told the Council about her disability or the impact of taking B to school has on her health. I cannot find fault with the Council not considering this information because it was not made aware at the time it assessed her application or considered her appeals.

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Final decision

30. I have completed my investigation. I find no fault with the Council.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman