Home-to-school travel is one of the quietest statutory duties in education—and one of the most contested when a child has special educational needs, a disability, or a medical condition. The Department for Education’s statutory guidance “Travel to school for children of compulsory school age”, updated on 25 January 2024, sets out what local authorities in England must do when arranging free travel. For council transport teams, schools, and families, the guidance clarifies eligibility in ways that directly affect commissioning of escorted routes, taxis, and passenger assistants.
Who should read the guidance
Although addressed to local authorities, the document is explicitly relevant to schools, parent advisers, and transport operators. Any contractor writing council specifications should understand the statutory tests their client must apply, because “suitable” travel is judged against the child—not against fleet availability on a given Monday morning.
What the duty requires
Parents are responsible for getting their child to school in general, but local authorities must make free, suitable travel arrangements for eligible children. The guidance applies to compulsory school age pupils and is issued under sections 508A and 508D of the Education Act 1996. Authorities must have regard to it unless they have a very good reason not to—a high bar that makes the document the practical rulebook for SEND transport disputes as well as mainstream walking-distance cases.
The January 2024 refresh made minor clarifications, including how nearest suitable school is determined, how schools that arrange their own transport fit in, and how education, health and care plans (EHCPs) interact with travel decisions. It followed a June 2023 edition that already replaced 2014 guidance and reflected lessons from a fatal incident on school transport, placing greater emphasis on medical needs and duty of care.
SEND, disability, and mobility eligibility
A central message for SEND teams is that an EHCP is not required for a child to be eligible for travel support. If special educational needs, disability, or mobility problems mean the child could not reasonably be expected to walk to school—even with a parent accompanying them—the authority must assess eligibility case by case. That assessment should consider the individual child’s needs, not a blanket policy tied only to school type or diagnosis.
The guidance also stresses joint working between school travel and SEND teams when naming a school in an EHCP. Travel arrangements should be considered at placement stage so that late surprises do not force expensive taxi routes mid-year. For mainstream walking-distance rules, statutory distances still apply (two miles for pupils under eight, three miles for older children), but SEND eligibility can override the assumption that walking is reasonable.
Suitability, independence, and parental appeals
Arrangements must be “suitable” for the child’s needs, not merely the cheapest option. Part 3 of the guidance covers vehicle standards, journey length, and the role of passenger assistants where safeguarding or medical needs require adult support. Authorities also have discretionary powers for other children, but the statutory tests are where legal challenges concentrate.
Part 5 requires a fair, transparent appeals process. Policies should be easy to find and written in plain language—an area where many councils still receive complaints. When appeals succeed, the precedent often affects route planning for the whole cohort, so transport software that logs decisions and rationales helps defend consistency.
May 2026 update on the same publication
The GOV.UK publication page for home-to-school travel was updated again on 26 May 2026. That refresh does not replace the January 2024 statutory tests, but it adjusts supporting detail councils and schools rely on when interpreting the duty. The update introduces new terminology around free school meals for 2026 to 2027, removes references to Working Tax Credit in line with wider benefit changes, and clarifies how the School Travel Regulations 2007 and Disclosure and Barring Service checks apply in transport commissioning.
It also adds practical links—for example Active Travel England’s School Streets guidance and the Department for Transport Connectivity Tool—so transport planners can align route design with safer walking and cycling around the school gate. Contractors should check that council policy packs reference the current PDF edition, because eligibility arguments in appeals often turn on whether published policy matches the latest statutory guidance.
Active travel and policy transparency
Local authorities retain a duty to promote sustainable and active travel to school. That does not remove the SEND duty, but it shapes how councils communicate options such as travel training or personal transport budgets where appropriate. The SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan’s wider reforms add political pressure to keep children in local provision, which in turn influences how far children travel and how complex routes become.
Several councils consulted on policy changes through 2024 explicitly citing the January 2024 guidance as the driver for tightening documentation of medical needs and for separating SEND assessments from mainstream distance tests. Even where policies remain unchanged on paper, operational teams report more detailed evidence requests from parents’ groups.
Operational implications for transport providers
Providers contracted by councils should expect specifications to reference the statutory tests explicitly—particularly escort ratios, pick-up windows aligned with school hours, and communication with parents when drivers change. Digital parent and carer apps, now common in home-to-school transport platforms, align with the guidance’s emphasis on reassurance for families who cannot assume their child can report issues verbally.
Schools are expected to cooperate: sharing information about timetable changes, supporting behaviour policies on contracted vehicles, and flagging safeguarding concerns quickly. When schools and councils use different systems, the guidance effectively pushes them toward shared records for route and passenger data.
Links to wider SEND reform
The guidance sits alongside the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which expects clearer ordinary provision in mainstream schools and earlier identification of needs. Transport teams should expect placement reviews to ask whether a child could attend a nearer school if support were available locally—a question that only works if travel costs and journey times are visible at the point of decision.
Conclusion
The January 2024 guidance remains the core statutory reference for SEND eligibility without an EHCP and for integrated planning with SEND teams. The May 2026 publication update keeps peripheral but operational detail current for councils under budget pressure. Transport commissioners who map policies to both editions, document individual assessments rigorously, and publish route changes in plain language are better placed to sustain services when spending reviews intensify and when parents exercise their appeal rights.
