Councillor Roz Chadd, Cabinet Lead Member for Children’s Services, and Councillor Steve Forster, Cabinet Member for Education, respectively agreed to consult on proposed changes to the authority’s current School Transport Policy and its Post-16 Transport Policy for 2026/27.
The policies cover transport for children of compulsory school age who meet national eligibility criteria, and a Post-16 service for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) travelling to further education or training. The School Transport service is required by law while the Post-16 service is chargeable and offered on a discretionary basis.
Councillor Chadd commented: “We know that these services are very important for many children, young people and their families. I encourage as many people as possible to share their views on the proposed changes to the two policies. We are particularly keen to hear from those who use the services directly and their families, as well as our schools, colleges, transport operators and Passenger Assistants.”
Most of the County Council’s proposed changes to the two policies are designed to make them easier to understand and to provide greater clarity around the way both services are delivered. Alongside these basic changes to policy wording, the County Council is also proposing to withdraw the formal offer of a Spare Capacity Seats Scheme in its School Transport Policy. This is a discretionary scheme which allows spare seats on contracted vehicles to be offered on a temporary, chargeable basis to children who are not eligible for free School Transport.
The current offer of a Spare Capacity Seats Scheme creates an expectation that spare seats can be provided. However, this cannot be fulfilled if the available seats on a given vehicle are all in use by eligible children. Even once allocated, spare seats may later be withdrawn if needed for an eligible child, or if the number of spare seats reduces due to an operational change. There is therefore a lack of clarity for parents on whether spare seats can be made available.
Following separate changes recently agreed by Cabinet, the County Council will seek to further maximise the use of vehicles to prioritise eligible children, making the future availability of spare seats even less likely.
Following Councillor Chadd’s decision today, the two consultations will be published on the County Council’s website on Monday, 3 November and run until Sunday, 7 December. Feedback from the consultations will be presented for consideration at a further Decision Day in early 2026, when a final decision will be made.
Should the policy changes ultimately be agreed, the County Council may still allocate spare seats to non-eligible children in exceptional circumstances and at its discretion. Regardless of any decisions, the authority will continue to meet its legal duties relating to School Transport.
Visit the County Council’s website for more information about the proposed consultations on the School Transport and Post-16 Transport Policies.