Home to school transport policy review and consultation

We wanted to let you know that, following a recent Committee meeting, approval has been given to start work on two new travel policies for children and young people:

• Home to School Transport for children aged 5 to 16
• Post-16 Transport for older children and young people

Right now, the transport service is facing some challenges:

• Cost: Home to School Transport cost £11.1 million for the 2024/25 financial year. Based on current projections, this cost is expected to rise further.
• Resources: There’s a shortage of transport providers, suitable vehicles and qualified drivers, which is putting pressure on the service.
• Environmental Impact: Most of the transport uses vehicles with combustion engines, which produce high carbon emissions.

The current policies have not been updated for several years. Creating new ones will help us modernize the service, better meet the needs of families, and look at ways to reduce costs and environmental impact.

It’s important that we hear from young people, parents/carers, schools, and transport providers during this process. Stakeholder engagement will help to shape smarter policies that work better for families and ensure the council continues to meet its statutory duty to make sure children and young people can access their education.

Work on producing the new policies is due to start soon. A public consultation will run for 12 weeks from 3rd September to 26th November 2025, giving everyone the chance to share their views on the proposed changes.