We may be able to provide school transport help for your child travelling from home to school and back if they qualify.

How do they qualify?

Age

We can offer help for primary, secondary school children and young people up to the age of 16.

Distance of travel to school

We can offer help when :

• a child under the age of 8 attends the nearest suitable school to their home address and the shortest walking distance from their home to that school is more than two miles
• a child aged 8 years or over attends the nearest suitable school to their home address and the shortest walking distance from their home to that school is more than three miles
• a child is unable to walk to their nearest suitable school because of the nature of the route and the route has been classified by the council as hazardous

Families on lower income

Children from low income families, those entitled to free school meals or parents who are in receipt of Universal Credit, may qualify if:

• the child or young person attends a suitable school which is one of the three nearest secondary schools and the shortest walking distance from home to that school is between two and six miles away
• the child or young person attends a school and the shortest walking distance from home to that school is between two and 15 miles away and is the nearest school preferred on the basis of the parent’s/carer’s religion or belief

Check what you need to provide before you apply

You will need to provide:

• a passport-style photograph of your child
• proof you qualify – For low incomes, if you receive working tax credit please provide all pages of your current award which must be dated within the last 12 months.

For both items, you will need to take a photo or scan them onto your computer, phone or tablet so you can upload them to your online application form.

If your child is receiving free school meals we will check your entitlement, you do not need to send proof of this.

If you cannot upload your documents to your application, please email them to: [email protected]

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or special educational needs or a disability, please use the SEND application form below for home to school transport help for children/post 16/adults.

Any SEND transport application which does not meet the eligibility criteria will automatically be considered on exceptional circumstances. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you have any queries about your application for SEND Transport, email [email protected] or call the SEND Team on 01925 442175.

If you want to discuss current transport arrangements email the Specialist Transport Team [email protected] or call 01925 444222.

What happens once we have received your application?

We look at applications in order as they arrive. When we have all the information you need to supply we will make a decision on your application. We will tell you if you do or do not qualify for travel assistance within 15 working days.

New or renewed bus passes awarded for the next academic school year will be issued in late August prior to the start of each new school year. If you apply during the school year and are approved you should receive it within 14 working days.

Appeals process

If your application is unsuccessful you can appeal the decision. You have 20 working days from when the application was refused to appeal. 

• If you applied for mainstream Home to School transport help, you can appeal by emailing [email protected] and give a full reason for your request.
• If you applied for SEND School transport, you can appeal by emailing [email protected] and give a full reason for your request.

Renewals, replacements and changes

Renew your child’s bus pass

You'll receive a renewal email if you have applied online before, this will have a unique reference number, you can use the number to renew your bus pass online.

Replace a lost or damaged school bus pass

Touch and Go tickets

Touch and Go tickets are issued by Warrington’s Own Buses, if you need to replace one please visit their website, call them on 01925 634296 or go to the Information Office in Warrington Bus Interchange.

Touch and Go tickets are a commercial product of Warrington’s Own Buses and not issued by us.

School bus passes

You can request a replacement to a lost or damaged bus pass for your child.

A replacement school bus pass costs £10. You’ll be asked to pay when you submit your application; please make sure you have a debit or credit card ready to make the payment. Card payments will appear on your bank statement as ‘WBC MV Internet’ followed by the amount paid.

Report a change in circumstances

If your application is successful, the child will be entitled to free transport help during their time at the school or until there is a material change of circumstances.

For example, if:

• the child moves house or changes school;
• the child has a change in their Special Educational Needs
• there is a change in the family financial situation

Any change of circumstance must be reported to the admissions, organisation and transport team straight away by emailing [email protected].

You may need to complete another application form so we can check the child will qualify for future help.

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