Free school transport (for families on extended rights)

1 Overview

Free transport is arranged for pupils entitled to free school meals or whose parents receive the maximum level of Working Tax Credit*

*You can find out if you are in receipt of the maximum Working Tax Credit (WTC) from your tax credit award notice issued by HM Revenue and Customs. Part 2 entitled ‘How we work out your tax credits’ includes details of WTC elements other than childcare. It then lists ‘any reduction due to your income’. You are in receipt of the maximum where the reduction shows as £0. Alternatively, you will be on the maximum if your assessed income is below the £7955 threshold (2024 to 2025).

If you receive the following benefits, you may also be eligible:

Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
The Guarantee Element of the State Pension Credit
Support from National Asylum Support Service (NASS) under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Child Tax Credit (with no working tax credit) with an annual income of no more than £16,190
Working Tax Credit run-on
Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,499

2 Eligibility

As well as qualifying under extended rights, there are distance criteria to meet.

Primary school children

Help is available when all of the following apply:

your child is aged 8 and over
the school attended is the catchment or nearest primary school to your child's home address
the home-to-school walking distance is 2 miles or more, measured by the shortest available walking route

Secondary school children

Help is available when all of the following apply:

your child is of secondary school age
the secondary school attended is one of the 3 suitable secondary schools nearest to your child's home
the home-to-school walking distance is 2 miles or more, measured by the shortest available walking route
the school attended is less than 6 miles from your child's home, measured by the shortest road route

Additionally, help is available for secondary school children from families on extended rights, as specified above, when all of the following apply:

your child attends a school for reasons of religion or belief
the school is 2 miles or more from your child's home, measured by the shortest available walking route
the school is not more than 15 miles from your child's home, measured by the shortest road route
there is no suitable alternative school nearer to your child's home

Evidence to support grounds of religion or belief will be required and we will be guided by the Equality Act 2006 with regard to definitions.

3 Apply

If you believe you meet the extended rights and distance criteria you must complete the online application form below.

You will need to provide evidence of your family income with your application. We accept scanned documents or clear photos of your supporting evidence.

Apply for help with school transport

Applications for the next academic year (starting September) must be made after 1 July or your application will not be processed. If you are applying for the current year, you can apply now.

If your child qualified for extended rights transport (known as low income) on or before 31 March 2025, you will not need to reapply each academic year unless your address changes or your child moves school. Should there be a change of circumstances please contact us so a new eligibility assessment can be undertaken.

If your child already receives free school transport and you are in receipt of a qualifying benefit, an application for extended rights transport would have to be made each academic year. We will write to you to remind you to apply.

4 When you'll hear

It can take up to 4 weeks for us to respond to your application.

If your application is successful, we'll write to you with more information about your child's free travel. Help is agreed until the end of the school year and you will need to reapply in the summer holidays for the next school year.

If your application is unsuccessful, we'll write to you explaining why.

5 Collecting and using the pass

If your child is eligible for travel assistance, then the bus or train pass will be sent to your home address.

The pass can only be used:

by the child named on the pass
to travel to and from the address and school named on the pass
on school days
at the beginning and end of normal school hours, including after school activities
for the school session times

The leaflet below provides further guidance about travelling.

Home to school travel leaflet (PDF, 930KB)