Post-16 school transport provision

Introduction

There is no automatic eligibility for Hampshire County Council funded home to school transport after the age of 16.

There are a number of public transport service providers in Hampshire. Colleges and schools in Hampshire have their own transport arrangements but the situation does vary. Students should check with their establishment about the transport arrangements and ticketing prices that can apply to both bus and train travel.

HCC recognises that families may need a transport service to ensure that 16+ special needs or disabled students can access a place that is suitable for their needs and so do offer, under discretionary powers, a transport service that requires an annual parental contribution.

Transport will normally only be offered where the student has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which names their chosen college or post-16 unit as the nearest/most appropriate or where the student has a disability which means they require transport assistance to be provided.

When submitting a travel request form the parent or carer must provide evidence to show that without support from the Council the student would be unable to attend their educational placement.

Discretionary transport criteria

When assessing an application for post-16 transport assistance, the County Council considers the criteria as detailed in the relevant policy. A new application is needed for post-16 transport assistance every year as the policy statement is reviewed annually. You should pay due regard to the relevant policy when submitting an application form.

Travel assistance is not available to students in apprenticeships with employed status, students attending work placements or work experience or other bespoke arrangements including taster days.

Charge for discretionary travel assistance

From September 2024 the following policy statement applies: Post-16 Transport Policy Statement 2024.

The charges for the 2024/25 academic year are:

Distance to travel	Annual charge	Termly cost
Up to 5 miles	£808.25	£269.42
5.01 to 7.5 miles	£1,119.43	£373.15
7.51 to 10 miles	£1,568.01	£522.67
Over 10 miles	£1,791.62	£597.21

Submit a Travel Request Form

To ensure that your Post 16 transport application is on-time, submit it before 30 June 2024. All applications after this date will be treated as late applications.

You will need to submit an application for Post 16 transport on the Education Online Portal. You will need to register for an account if you do not have one already before being able to make a transport application.

Appeal our eligibility decision or the suitability of transport arrangements

Stage 1 Appeal

This provides an opportunity to request a senior officer review of the original decision made regarding eligibility for transport or the suitability of transport arrangements we have put in place.

Appeals will only be accepted on a formal appeal form. To obtain this email [email protected] including very brief details of the basis for the appeal. You must do this within 20 working days of receiving the eligibility decision.

Once you have received the formal appeal form you will be required to provide further information about why the decision should be reviewed and any additional evidence you want considered.

Once we have received your appeal and any supporting evidence, we will notify you in writing of the appeal outcome within 20 working days. This will include an explanation of:

• whether we have upheld the local authority’s original decision
• why we have reached that decision;
• how the review was conducted
• the factors considered in reaching their decision
• any other agencies or departments that were consulted as part of the review

Where we have upheld the original decision, you can choose to escalate your appeal to Stage 2 of the process.

Stage 2 Appeal

If you wish to escalate your appeal to Stage 2 then please email [email protected] to notify us. This information will also be outlined in your Stage 1 outcome letter.

You have 20 working days from receipt of the stage one written decision notification to make a written request, via email to escalate the matter to stage two.

Within 40 working days of receipt of the your request an independent appeal panel will consider written and verbal representations from both the parent and officers involved in the case and give a detailed written notification of the outcome (within 5 working days), setting out:

1. the nature of the decision reached;
2. how the review was conducted (including the standard followed e.g. Road Safety GB);
3. information about other departments and/or agencies that were consulted as part of the process;
4. what factors were considered;
5. the rationale for the decision reached; and
6. information about the parent’s right to put the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman

The independent appeal panel members will be independent of the original decision-making process (but are not required to be independent of the local authority) and suitably experienced (at the discretion of the local authority), to ensure a balance is achieved between meeting the needs of the parents and the local authority, and that road safety requirements are complied with and no child is placed at unnecessary risk.

As part of this process, you are also able to make a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman if you believe the local authority has made a mistake in the way it has handled your case. If you consider the decision of the independent appeals panel to be flawed on public law grounds, then you may apply for a judicial review.