Summary: Miss T complained the Council did not properly consider her application for transport support for her child who attends an out of borough post-16 college. Miss T said as a result, the Council refused to award her child with transport support. The Council was not at fault in the way it considered and made its decision in Miss T’s case.

The complaint

1. Miss T complained the Council did not properly consider her application for transport support for her child, Y, who attends an out of borough post-16 college because their local sixth form college does not provide the choice of Y’s A-levels subjects.
2. Miss T said as a result, the Council refused to award Y with transport support to attend her out of borough post-16 college and Miss T said the matter caused her financial strain and loss.

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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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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have investigated matters from August 2024 to November 2024. This covers the period from when Miss T submitted a school transport support application to the Council to when she made a complaint to the Ombudsman.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Miss T and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Miss T and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and guidance

8. Councils have a duty to publish a transport policy statement setting out the transport arrangements they consider necessary to make to facilitate attendance at education or training and the financial help available for learners of sixth form age (aged 16-19 if they started the course before their 19th birthday).
9. The overall intention of the sixth form age transport duty is to ensure that:

• learners of sixth form age can access the education and training of their choice; and
• if support for access is requested, this will be assessed and provided where necessary.

10. Councils have discretion to set their own arrangements, but they must have regard to various factors including:
1. the needs of those for whom it would not be reasonably practicable to access education or training if no arrangements were made (this should include those at risk of becoming not being in education, employment or training, and those living in particularly rural areas where the transport infrastructure can be more limited);
2. the need for young people to have reasonable opportunities to choose between learning establishments and courses;
3. the distance and journey time of the place of learning from the home;
4. the cost of transport to the learning establishment and of any alternative means of facilitating attendance; and
5. preferences based on religion.

(Section 509AB(3) of the Education Act 1996)

11. If a council decides transport is not necessary, we expect it to be able to demonstrate, in line with statutory guidance, that there is a safe, affordable way for the learner to attend sixth form / college and to have choice in what they study.
12. Councils must publish a complaints or appeals procedure as part of the transport policy statement for young persons or parents who may disagree with the council’s decision. Guidance recommends a two-stage appeal process.

Council’s post-16 transport policy

13. Students will not be eligible for any assistance with transport costs if they choose to attend a particular learning provider which is not the closest to their home address.
14. The nearest appropriate learning provider includes:

• the educational establishment students want to attend post-16 is the nearest learning provider to their home address measured using the County Council’s approved GIS system
• the educational establishment students want to attend post-16 is not the nearest establishment to their home address but it is the nearest that offers the course they wish to study in accordance with the following:
1. For a student wishing to study one or more A-levels, this will be the nearest educational establishment that offers 9 or more different A-levels. For the avoidance of doubt, all high school sixth forms will offer at least 9 or more A-levels. The student’s choice of A-levels, A-level subject combination, timetable clashes etc. will not be taken into account when determining eligibility.
2. For a student wishing to undertake a vocational course, this will be the nearest education provider that offers a course in the relevant vocational area of study at the appropriate level. There is one exception to this: A bespoke transport offer is available for students ….. who are undertaking vocational study. It does not apply to students studying A-Levels. It is in place due to the excessive journey time….

Transport will only be provided for students who study at their nearest education provider that offers a course under their chosen vocational area at the appropriate level of study….. For the avoidance of doubt, the student’s precise choice of course within each of these areas of vocational study will not be taken into account when determining eligibility.

15. Normally, the only exception in applying these criteria will be where an individual has applied to the appropriate provider at the appropriate time but has been refused admission by the school/college due to GCSE exam results, the course being oversubscribed or cancelled due to low enrolment, in which case that establishment will be ignored when considering eligibility. In such cases, written evidence of refusal will be required.
16. If a parent/carer is refused transport assistance for their child following an application, they will be advised via an auto-generated email of the reason for the refusal. The email will also inform them that they have the right to appeal this decision. The appeal process is a two-stage procedure.

Key events

17. Miss T has a child, Y, who attends an out of borough post-16 college.
18. Miss T submitted a transport support application for Y to attend her college.
19. The Council refused Miss T’s application because it found Y was not attending the nearest sixth form college to their home address.
20. Miss T appealed the Council’s refusal decision. She explained that Y attended an out of borough college because her choice of A-levels subjects was not offered by their local sixth form college. Miss T said because no local college offered Y’s choice of subjects, Y should therefore be eligible to receive transport support to continue her education at the out of borough post-16 college. Miss T said the Council’s refusal of transport support would negatively affect Y’s educational needs and academic progression.
21. In its stages 1 and 2 appeal responses, the Council maintained its refusal to award Y transport support to attend her post-16 college. The Council said this was because:
1. Y does not attend a post-16 college which is nearest to her home address.
2. it considered the local sixth form colleges offer a reasonable choice of A-levels and that a student’s choice of A-levels will not be considered to determine eligibility for transport support if their chosen college is not the nearest to the student’s home address in line with its policy.
3. students are not entitled to transport support to attend a post-16 college which is not the closest to their home address except where they study vocational courses.
22. Miss T remained dissatisfied with how the Council considered her transport support application/appeal and she made a complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

23. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body and as such it is not our role to take a second look at if a Council’s home to school transport support decision was right or wrong. Instead, we look at the processes a Council followed to make its decision. If we consider the Council followed those processes correctly in line with the relevant law and guidance, we cannot question its decision.
24. In this case, I find the Council followed the correct procedure when it considered Miss T’s application and appeal for school transport support for Y in line with its post-16 transport policy and statutory guidance. The Council explained Y was not eligible for travel assistance because of the reasons set out in paragraph 21 above. This was not fault.
25. The Council’s policy is clear in setting out the criteria for when support will be provided and how it works out an applicant’s nearest appropriate learning provider. The policy also clearly stipulates that for A-levels, the nearest educational establishment that offers 9 or more different A-levels will be considered the nearest appropriate learning provider and that the student’s choice of A-levels will not be taken into account when determining eligibility. I find the Council’s policy meets the requirement of the statutory guidance as it gives clear information about what support is available and to who.
26. Also, the statutory guidance makes it clear that councils have discretion and flexibility in how they set their own school transport policies and arrangements. However, councils must have ‘regard’ to the need to ensure young people have ‘reasonable’ opportunities to choose between different establishments at which education and training is provided. ‘Reasonable’ is not defined or specified within the guidance, therefore, it is essentially open to councils’ interpretation and professional judgement.
27. The Council’s policy sets out a different approach for vocational courses which demonstrates it has given regard to ensure students have a reasonable opportunity to choose between different establishments. The Council in its policy has made the distinction between ‘A-levels’ and ‘vocational study’ and this is why there is different support available for these different choices. I find this meets the requirements of the statutory guidance.
28. The Council’s refusal decision was one it was entitled to make, and the Ombudsman cannot question the merits of a decision which has been properly reached. I do not therefore find fault by the Council in the way it considered and reached its decision that Y was not eligible for post-16 school transport support.

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Decision

29. I find no fault by the Council in the way it considered and made its decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman