To qualify for travel assistance, your child must:​

• Live within the area where Cambridgeshire is the Local Children’s Services Authority; and  ​

• Have an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP)​

• Be attending the school that is the nearest suitable school/the school designated by the Council as able to meet their needs - the only exception will be where a different school has been ordered by the SEND tribunal.​

• Live more than two miles from their nearest suitable primary school or three miles from their nearest suitable secondary school and/or not be able to walk those distances, accompanied by an adult as necessary (this needs to be supported by appropriate medical evidence)

Once a school placement has been decided on, the Statutory Assessment Team will create a transport request which will be sent through to the Education Transport Officers (ETOs) in the Social and Education Transport Team (SETT). ​

​Based on information held within a child's EHCP, and information from those who know the child (including their parents and the school), the needs of the child will be assessed, and type of transport needed will be allocated. ​

​SETT aim to provide transport for your child within 15 working days of receiving a transport request and completed Risk and Medical form. 

Most children in Cambridgeshire with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) attend mainstream schools, and do not require travel assistance which differs from mainstream arrangements. If your child's application for home to school travel assistance has been approved, the Social and Education Transport Team will assess which method of transport best meets the child's individual needs and is most cost effective to the Council. This could be any of the following: ​​

• A place on an existing vehicle: school bus; minibus; or taxi​

• A personal transport budget, giving families flexibility about how to get their child to school or college​

• In exceptional circumstances, individual transport may be arranged for those children and young people with the most complex needs.

You are entitled to challenge the local authority's decision to refuse to provide assistance with transport for your child to school.  A two-stage home school transport review/appeals process is available for parents who wish to challenge a decision about:​

• The transport arrangements offered​

• Your child’s eligibility​

• The distance measurement​

• The safety of the route​

In the event of an appeal being unsuccessful, you may only request a further appeal if there has been a significant change to the circumstances already considered, such as a house or school move.​

Full details of the appeals process are available on the Cambridge County Council website. Please follow this link for more information : Home to school transport reviews and appeals - Cambridgeshire County Council 

A Personal Travel Budget (PTB) is a transport option available to parents or carers of children/young people with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), who are eligible for travel support and where the contractor is unable to provide transport at a lower cost. ​

It is funding to help you arrange your own transport to school/college and allows you to make flexible travel arrangements rather than travelling in a vehicle provided by the council.​

What Personal Transport Budget can be used for​

You can use the PTB payments in any way you wish, to aid your child to get to school or college:​

• Towards fuel costs and wear and tear on your vehicle​

• Paying for a shared taxi with other children​

• Paying for another person to take your other children to school to free you up to transport your child with SEND​

• Buying travel passes for your other children so they can travel to and from school, allowing you to transport your child with SEND​

How Personal Transport Budgets are calculated​

Personal Transport Budgets are calculated on a price per mile, from the distance from your home address and the school. We measure these distances on a digital mapping system.

If you have a query about your young person’s eligibility for transport or any other queries relating to transport, please contact the team via these addresses. ​

Passenger Transport Team

ALC2649

New Shire Hall

Emery Crescent

Enterprise Campus

Alconbury Weald

Huntingdon

PE28 4YE

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Email: edtransport@cambridgeshire.gov.uk​

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Tel: 01223 706 123​