Summary: There was some fault in the way the Council publicised its new home to school transport policy but this did not cause Mrs X a significant injustice. There was no evidence of fault in the way the appeals committee considered Mrs X’s appeal against the Council’s decision not to provide free transport.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision not to provide her child Y with free transport to his catchment secondary school following a change in the Council’s home to school transport policy. Mrs X complained the Council provided misleading information about the policy change, which included a link to the Council’s old transport policy and the committee failed to properly consider this and the family’s exceptional circumstances. This has caused them frustration and uncertainty.
2. Mrs X also complained the Council’s route mapping used the incorrect start and end points which were not in line with the policy. She says this casts doubt over the distance measurements.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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)
5. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
6. 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(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. I gave Mrs X and the Council an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

9. Local authorities must make suitable home to school travel arrangements as they consider necessary for ‘eligible children’ of compulsory school age to attend their ‘qualifying school’. The travel arrangements must be made and provided free of charge. The relevant qualifying school is the nearest school with places available that provides education appropriate to the age, ability and aptitude of the child, and any special educational needs the child may have. ‘Eligible children’ includes children living outside ‘statutory walking distance’ from the school (two miles for children under eight, three miles for children aged eight and above).
10. Councils should have an appeals process in place for parents who wish to appeal about the eligibility of their child for travel support.
11. The statutory guidance recommends councils adopt the following appeals process:

• Stage 1: review by a senior officer. Within 20 working days of receiving a parent’s written request to appeal the decision, a senior officer reviews the original decision and sends the parent a detailed written notification of the outcome of the review setting out the nature of the decision, how the review was conducted, what was taken into account, the rationale for the decision reached, and how to escalate their case to stage 2; and
• Stage 2: review by independent appeal panel. Within 40 working days of receipt of the parent’s request to escalate to stage 2, an independent appeal panel considers written and verbal representations. Within five working days following this, a detailed decision is sent setting out: the nature of the decision reached; how the review was conducted; what factors were considered; the rationale for the decision reached; and information about appealing to us. (Department of Education, Travel to school for children of compulsory school age statutory guidance 2023, Part 5)

12. The statutory code of guidance sets out that:
• The statutory walking distances are used to determine whether a child is eligible for free travel to school. This is not necessarily the shortest distance by road. The route may include footpaths, bridleways, other pathways and alternative entrances to the school.
• Where the schools are beyond walking distance, councils may consider it more appropriate to measure the shortest road route or the straight line distance. It should be made clear in the council’s school travel policy how the route will be measured.
• It should be clear to parents how they can find out which is their nearest school for admissions purposes and which is the nearest for school free transport purposes.
• Councils must publish their travel policy on their website and include information about their school travel policy in their composite prospectus for school admissions.
13. The guidance says an effective school travel policy will:
• Be easy for parents to find on the council’s website;
• Be clearly written so that parents may easily understand it;
• Enable parents to understand the circumstances in which a child is eligible for free travel to school;
• Tell parents how and when they should apply for free travel to school; and
• Tell parents how they may appeal against the council’s decision in relation to travel to school for their child.

The Council’s home to school travel policy

14. The Council operates catchment areas for admission to some of the schools in its area. This means those living in a certain geographical area get priority if a school is oversubscribed. Until 2024 the Council provided school transport to the catchment area school for those living over three miles away.
15. In September 2024 the Council implemented a new Home To School Travel Policy. Under the new policy the Council only provides free transport to new applicants attending the nearest qualifying school to home. This meant certain towns and villages no longer qualified for transport to a catchment school and the nearest qualifying school may be in another council’s area.
16. The policy explained the nearest suitable school for school travel purposes may not be the catchment school used for admissions purposes. It said:
• ‘When deciding on eligibility for assistance with transport, the measurement from home to school will be taken from the fixed point within the property to the nearest entrance point (not always the main entrance) to the school following the nearest available walked route, as defined by the Council’s Geographical Information System (GIS)’.
• ‘The distance is not the shortest distance by road and the route may include footpaths, public rights of way, bridleways and other pathways identified on the GIS’.
• ‘Parents have the right to preference any school of their choice when applying for a school place, they do not however have a right to free-of-charge travel arrangements to that school. Travel eligibility will be assessed in line with the eligibility criteria in this policy. If the nearest school is undersubscribed with places available, then it will be the nearest suitable school for travel purposes, and free travel would not be provided to an alternative school that is further away’.
• ‘If the nearest school is fully subscribed without places available, then the Council will need to assess if the child could have secured a place had one been applied for. This will be done by comparing the child with the last child to be offered a place at the school and determining which of them would have higher priority. This will often be a straightforward matter of determining which child lives closest to the school’.
17. The Council operates a two stage appeal procedure: a stage one review by a senior officer and a stage two appeal heard by the Council’s school transport appeals committee (a small group of elected councillors). The policy states that the committee considers the policy guidelines but may recommend departure from those guidelines in exceptional cases.

Publication of the new home to school transport policy

18. The Council carried out consultation regarding the new policy in early 2024 including webinars and face to face events in March 2024. The Council agreed the policy at its executive meeting in July 2024.
19. In early September 2024, the Council sent an email to schools with a request that it be forwarded to parents of those due to start secondary school in September 2025 about the secondary school admission process. The email included one line which said ‘there have been some changes in eligibility to home to school transport, so if this is an important factor when choosing a school please go to: [weblink]. Here you can use the online tool to find your nearest school to your home address’.
20. The link went to the Council’s School Transport page which contained two separate links to the policy, one of which linked to the 2019 policy instead of the new policy. The Council corrected this error in March 2025. The Council’s school transport page also included a distance calculator which would list the nearest schools to home.
21. In September 2024 the Council also sent schools via its weekly email under the ‘information, updates and guidance’ section ‘a request that the information attached is made available to parents as part of secondary open evenings’. The attached information was a slide presentation which set out that the revised home to school travel policy was being implemented and ‘the main eligibility criteria for eligible pupils is for travel to their nearest suitable school with places available’.
22. The Council’s website for starting secondary school included a link to the September 2024 home to school transport policy. A line on the website page said, ‘we provide free school transport to the nearest school to your home if it is over the required walking distance’.
23. The application disclaimer also said, ‘Please note if you apply for and are allocated a school which is not your nearest suitable school with places available you will be responsible for getting your child to school’.

The Council’s scrutiny committee

24. The Council’s Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee met in February 2026 to discuss the home to school transport policy. Members of the public pre-submitted questions. At the meeting parents raised a concern about the maps the Council had produced for the school transport appeals. They said the coordinates used by the GIS mapping system related to points inside the school grounds and inside the family’s home rather than at a school gate or boundary of the home, calling into question the measured distances.
25. The Council said these coordinates were the unique reference points for the properties used by the system to find addresses. However, the coordinates used for the distance calculations measured from the property address to the nearest school entrance and the maps shared with parents showed the correct distances. The Council said it was collating information to provide a comprehensive response to all enquiries about its mapping system as part of the post implementation review of the policy.
26. The committee resolved to engage in the post implementation review process and to take no further action on the issues raised.

What happened

27. In the normal admissions round Mrs X successfully applied for her child to attend the local catchment area school, school A, from September 2025. In May 2025 she received a letter advising her that Y did not qualify for free home to school transport as school A was not the nearest suitable school.
28. Mrs X submitted an appeal to the Council. She said she already had a child at school A and it was in the family’s best interests to have both children at the school. She said neither the primary nor secondary school were aware of the changes before the secondary school application deadline. This left them unable to make an informed decision. Although it may be a nearer school, the journey to the nearest school, in another council’s area, would take longer.
29. The Council responded at stage one of the appeals procedure in July 2025. It did not uphold the appeal. It said the Council made the decision in line with its policy and Y was not attending the nearest school. If they had applied to the nearest school, Y would have received a place.
30. Mrs X submitted a request to go to the second stage of the appeals procedure in August 2025. She complained the policy was not properly communicated to parents or primary schools. Her decision to apply to the catchment school was made without access to the up to date policy. Mrs X said the admissions guidance directed parents to apply to the catchment school in order to get free school transport and the website about school transport linked to the outdated policy.
31. The Council’s school transport appeals committee heard Mrs X’s appeal in September 2025. The Council’s report to the committee explained school A was the only school the family applied for and was 8.497 miles from the home address. Y would have received a place at the nearest school if they had applied which was 7.841 miles from the home address. The report explained how the Council consulted on the policy. It referred to the red bag communication with schools and the letter sent to parents via the primary schools.
32. The report explained there was an error on the website which linked to the old transport policy. It said it corrected this in March 2025. It said ‘our legal team do not consider that this led to misleading information that has had a wide impact and there was sufficient information on the website and on the application form in order for parents to make an informed decision when preferencing schools’.
33. At the hearing Mrs X said she did not use the distance calculator as she believed they would get transport to the catchment school as they had with their older child. Given the scale of the change, she could not understand why the Council left it until two weeks before admissions opened to communicate the policy change. The Council’s presenting officer explained the school bus to school A was full so Y could not get a paid permit. The school had provided transport as an interim measure but could not continue to fund this.
34. Mrs X explained Y’s exceptional circumstances and the extra-curricular activity at school A which was not available at the nearest school. She said this meant there were exceptional reasons why Y should attend the catchment school.
35. The appeal committee considered Y’s circumstances but did not uphold the appeal by majority decision. Its views included that even if Mrs X had known about the policy it considered she would still have applied for the catchment school, and that the nearest school would have been able to meet Y’s educational needs although not their extra-curricular interests.
36. In her complaint to us Mrs X raised her concern that the distances on the maps provided at the appeal were wrong as the coordinates did not equate to an entrance but to the centre of the buildings. Mrs X says the lack of school transport has had a significant impact as there is no paid bus available and families, on a rota basis, were transporting Y and other children from their area to school A.

Findings

37. We expect councils to explain their policies clearly to enable parents to make informed decisions when applying for schools about whether their child might be eligible for school transport. The evidence shows the Council consulted widely on the new policy but there was fault in the way it was communicated. The Council’s website wrongly linked to the old policy which was fault.
38. The Council’s new policy is a significant change from its previous one. In particular, free transport is no longer automatically provided to catchment area schools over three miles away. The Council’s website referred to transport being provided to the nearest suitable school, but we would not expect parents to be experts in the subtlety of language used in Government guidance and what is meant by suitable school. A parent may wrongly assume the catchment school is the nearest suitable school. It is only within the transport policy itself that the Council states ‘the nearest qualifying school for school travel purposes may not be the catchment school used for admissions purposes’. The Council did not clearly spell out on its website or admissions form that transport would not automatically be provided to the catchment school if it was over three miles away.
39. Although the Council circulated information to all schools, this was in the ‘information, updates and guidance’ section and not in the ‘for action’ section of the email. It asked secondary schools to make parents aware there were policy changes but did not ask primary schools to highlight the changes to year 6 parents who would be applying for secondary school. The attached presentation slides emphasised free transport would be provided to the nearest suitable school but as set out above did not clearly set out that this was not necessarily the catchment school.
40. In her stage two appeal, Mrs X also referenced the inaccuracy in the Council’s admissions policy for 2025/26. The Council agreed the admission arrangements for 2025/26 in January 2024, before the Council agreed the new home to school transport policy. The admissions policy, as published on the Council’s website stated at paragraph nine that ‘if the parents name a school other than their catchment area school, they will be responsible for transport under the terms of the home to school transport policy’. At the time the Council agreed the new admissions arrangements in January 2024, the transport policy had yet to change so this was not factually inaccurate. However, the Council failed to take action to highlight the change when the new home to transport was introduced in September 2024. This was fault and added to the confusion, given it is unlikely parents would have waited until the online application window opened in September 2024 to start considering the options for secondary schools for their children.
41. This poor communication is fault and meant Mrs X could not make a fully informed decision about which secondary school to apply for. The appeal panel went on to consider her reasons for only applying for school A and her concerns about the admissions policy and communication of the transport policy.

Mrs X’s appeal

42. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a council’s decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes it followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, the law says we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision it made.
43. In the notes of the appeal committee’s deliberations a member said that if the policy was communicated correctly their view was that Mrs X would still have applied for the same school. The committee also considered Mrs X’s exceptional circumstances and took the view these were not sufficient to award free school transport. The records show the committee considered the communication issues but took the view that these were not significant enough to have impacted Mrs X’s choice of school. That was a decision it was entitled to take. The committee was satisfied the distance to the two schools was correctly calculated in line with the policy and the policy was correctly applied. The records show the committee took into account Mrs X’s personal circumstances and decided not to uphold the appeal. There was no fault in the way it reached this decision.
44. Mrs X has since raised with us her concerns about the coordinates used in the mapping system. These issues were also considered at the Council’s Scrutiny Committee. However, it did not reach a view on whether it was satisfied with the Council’s explanation of how the distances were calculated. This is new information that has not been considered by the appeal committee. It is open to Mrs X to approach the Council and ask it to consider a new appeal given this new information if she believes the distance calculation would have made school A her nearest school.

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Decision

45. I find fault not causing significant injustice

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman