Post-16 travel

The Council will exercise its discretion to provide travel assistance for students aged 16 to 19 (when continuing a course commenced before their 19th birthday) where it considers that travel assistance is necessary to enable the young person to reasonably access their education or training provision.

The Council is clear that as young people with SEND approach adulthood, where appropriate, travel assistance will be provided to support independence.

In assessing eligibility for students entering post- 16 education and training for travel assistance, particular attention will be paid to the following criteria.

• whether the student is currently in receipt (or has applied for) of any funding from the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund and to what value
• the location of the sixth form unit or college the student would like to attend (if this is not a local provision, the local authority would need to know that the course being taken is not available locally).
• whether the sixth form unit is an extension to the school previously attended by the student and named in their EHCP
• the distance from the student’s home to their education or training establishment and the journey time
• whether the young person has SEND and/or mobility difficulties which would impede their access to their educational placement, either independently or otherwise, for example, a wheelchair user
• whether the young person has SEND which would make it unsafe for them to travel independently
• whether the public transport journey to the nearest suitable placement is too complex for the young person to be expected to travel independently.

Applicants must also evidence why it is necessary for the Council and not the student/family to make suitable travel arrangements. To assess this and understand the individual circumstances the Council will need to know:

• what other arrangements have been considered or tried and why they are not suitable
• if there is a family member or carer who is willing and able to transport the student
• whether the student is in receipt of higher rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance, the purpose of which is to assist those who have mobility problems, with severe difficulty walking or who need help getting around outside. We would normally expect this benefit to be fully utilised and if there are any factors limiting its use details should be provided
• whether there is a ‘Motability’ vehicle for which the student may or may not be the driver
• any other needs or circumstances that might need to be taken into account

Each request will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Where an individual has been awarded assistance with travel this will be subject to payment of the appropriate contribution payment.