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The SEN Home to School Transport Team is based in Newton Road Depot, L13 3HS. Direct telephone numbers to the team are 233 6511 and 233 6513. The team has a general email address for contact:

Superlambanana on a bus

 SEN.Transport@liverpool.gov.uk

Home to School Transport For Pupils with Special Educational Needs

Liverpool City Council has strict criteria which determine a pupil’s eligibility for Home to School Transport.  The criteria are available in the document ‘Home to School Transport Policy’.  The policy applies to pupils with special educational needs who are up to 16 years old on 1st September of the applicable academic year.  Separate arrangements apply to students who are aged 16 - 18 and 19 - 25 who hold an Education Health Care Plan and are remaining in education.

Please refer to our pre-application checklist below to determine if your Child or Young person may be eligible for assistance:

Eligibility Criteria Yes    No   
They have an EHCP
The school/college in the EHCP is the nearest suitable school, as determined by the Local Authority
They are attending their nearest suitable school, and they have a short/long term disability where they cannot reasonably be expected to walk (medical evidence required)
Either you or your partner are disabled, such that you are unable to accompany your child to school

If the answer to any of the above is no, then you may not be eligible for travel support

Transport arrangements for eligible students aged 16 – 18 years are set out in the document LCC Post 16 Transport Statement.

Transport  arrangements for eligible Students aged 19-25 are made through Adult Services and will be discussed either at the Transition Review held as the student moves to Adult Services, or through a Social Work Assessment.  For Further information, please see the document ‘Adult Services and Health.  Transport Eligibility Criteria Policy’ or telephone the Adult Careline on 233 3019. 

Referrals for an assessment of eligibility for Home to School Transport aged 18 or under may be made via the completion of the Application Form for Home to School Transport.  All referrals should be made to the Transport Team using the above contact details.

We will assess all applications within 5 working days of receipt.  If you are eligible and a further travel assessment is required, this will be completed within fifteen days following the initial assessment.  You will be contacted by the travel support team, who will arrange to complete a further assessment to determine the most suitable type of travel support for your child/young person.  Parents and carers are responsible for ensuring children and young people get to their educational setting safely and on time, until the assessment outcome has been determined.

Should an application for transport be declined, a parent/carer may appeal this decision. Details of how to appeal are contained in the documents section on this page under "Home to School Transport Appeals Process".     

Pupils deemed eligible for Home to School Transport will be offered one planned journey to and from school at normal school opening and closing times.  Transport will be in the form of:

  • a bus pass - only if a free Merseytravel pass cannot be used to get to and from school or college
  • Walking route with support (from an escort/travel buddy)
  • Independent Travel Training
  • a personal transport budget paid to the parent or carer of £3 per day, plus 45p per mile for up to two journeys a day within Liverpool: Personal Transport Budgets
  • If none of above is appropriate then minibus, dedicated school transport or taxi would be considered

Passenger Assistants are allocated to vehicles where it has been identified that pupils require supervision during the journeys to and from school.  All passenger assistants and drivers working on the Home to School Transport Contract are required to have a satisfactory Disclosure Check at enhanced level. 

Further information on the Home to School Transport Service is available in the Handbook ‘Home to School Transport for Children with Special Educational or Other Needs’. 

Home to School Transport For Non SEN Pupils With Temporary Disabilities

Short term transport may be considered where a pupil has a short term medical incapacity which prevents the pupil from either walking to school or using public transport.  Medical evidence must be provided to confirm that the pupil is unable to travel independently and in these cases the provision will not normally be agreed to exceed one school term unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Home to School Transport For Non SEN Pupils with Long Term Disabilities

Applications for home to school transport for pupils who may not have special educational needs, but who may be unable to complete the journey to and from school by walking or using public transport through a long term medical incapacity, will be considered as a stage 1 appeal by the Travel Support Review Panel. Parents / Carers will be required to produce medical evidence to support the application. To apply for a referral to the panel, the parent / carer should complete an Appeal Form and submit this to the Principal Officer in the Transport Office. The parent / carer will be notified of the panel's decision in writing and the relevant extract from the minutes of the panel will be included in the letter. Should the parent / carer disagree with the decision, details on how to progress to a stage 2 appeal are contained in "Home to School Transport Appeals Process" in the documents section of this page.

Concessionary Travel Passes Issued by Merseytravel

In certain circumstances, pupils and students with special educational needs may be eligible to receive a concessionary travel pass from Merseytravel.  For further information on these passes and to make an application, please contact Merseytravel on 0151 236 6056 or call into your nearest Merseytravel Centre.

Additional Information Documents/Forms

Additional documents and forms referred to in the general information on home to school transport are available to view in the links and lists on the left of this page.