Information for social workers

Guidance for social workers seeking transport for children in care

The School Transport Service will provide transport for children in care where the transport arrangements are expected to last more than 6 weeks, and the child meets the eligibility criteria.

Where an application is made for transport starting in September, we aim to notify you about transport arrangements in August.

Transport for contact with family, respite arrangements and medical appointments are not within the scope of the School Transport Service.

School transport for children in long-term care placements

Where a child in care is in a long-term care placement (more than six weeks) attends a mainstream school because it is their catchment, or a nearer school, and they meet the eligibility criteria then the parent/carer should submit an application form .

If the child has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), and will be attending the nearest suitable provision (which is named in the EHCP), and meets the eligibility criteria then the parent/carer or social worker can submit an application form.

If the child does not meet the eligibility criteria then the transport request should instead be submitted by a social worker using the social care application form.

Additional flexibility is offered to children in care and the aim is to put transport arrangements in place within seven working days. For children who are not in care, our timescales are 10 working days to assess eligibility and a further 15 working days to arrange transport.

For social care applications, School Transport would not provide a Passenger Assistant. This would need to be arranged by the social care team.

For social care applications, the foster carer, school staff, respite staff or contact supervisor is responsible for the child at their pickup and drop-off point. The driver cannot accompany children outside of the car.

School transport for short-term care placements

The School Transport service does not provide transport for children in short-term care placements (lasting less than six weeks). Emergency short term transport should be arranged by the social worker.

If further support is required, we can provide social workers with a list of approved operators. To request this, you can contact us using the online enquiry form.

Further information

The School Transport Service does not arrange transport other than to and from school. We don’t usually accommodate for late pick-ups (such as after school clubs) but you can contact us to discuss any exceptional requirements using the online form.

If the child has had a change of address or school, this requires a new school transport application.

Social workers cannot ask the operator to change the child’s address for pick up and/or drop off. The social worker or foster carer can let the operator know if the child isn’t required to be collected that day.

You can use the online enquiry form to:

For any other enquiries, including eligibility for school transport, you can contact us using the online enquiry form.