Naming preferred school and transport for children with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
Naming parents preferred school and transport implications
In accordance with legislation in the Education Act 1996, Southend-on-Sea City Council provides home to school transport assistance to children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who attend the nearest school to their home address that meets their needs, providing the distance criterion is met.
Under the provisions of Section 39(4) of the Children and Families Act 2014 the local authority must name the parent carer's preferred school subject to certain conditions, one of which is the efficient use of local authority's resources.
If a parent carer chooses to send their child to a school or college that is not their nearest school (or in the case of secondary pupils of low income families one of the nearest three schools) then free transport to that school will not be available, even if they later become an eligible low income family.
In these cases it would not be an efficient use of the local authority's resources to fund home to school transport and the local authority is obliged to make arrangements for the child or young person's to be registered at a nearer school.
Naming preferred school and transport for children with an EHCP
Southend-on-Sea City Council provides home to school transport for eligible children with an EHCP. This provision falls within the Education Act 1996.
To access the service, children must:
- attend the nearest school to their home address that meets their needs
- meet the distance criteria
Under Section 39(4) of the Children and Families Act 2014, the Council must name the parent/carer's preferred school subject to certain conditions. One condition is the efficient use of local authority's resources. It would not be an efficient use of resources to provide school transport if the child does not attend the nearest suitable school.
Free transport will only be provided to secondary pupils from low income families, if they attend one of their nearest three schools.
If a parent carer wishes to send their child to a school or college that is not their nearest suitable, they are required to make their own arrangements for transport.
The parent carers preferred school/setting can be named in the EHCP if parents accept continual responsibility for arranging and funding home to school transport.
Parent carers willing to accept these terms must sign a transport disclaimer.