SEND post-16 school travel policy consultation
We're asking parents and carers to share their views on our SEND post-16 school travel policy for 16 to 25-year-olds. We want to hear your thoughts on how the service should be run in the future.
As part of our commitment to supporting young people, we have a responsibility to publish an annual post-16 travel policy. This year, we are taking the opportunity to review and consult on this policy to ensure it provides greater flexibility and promotes independence for young people.
Currently, we offer:
- free transport or
- a personal travel budget (PTB).
What is a PTB?
A PTB is where we make a regular payment (provided through a pre-paid card) to enable parents to arrange for their child(ren) to attend school or college. The card can be used in different ways, providing flexibility to make travel arrangements that suit your child's needs.
This could include:
- paying the cost of driving your child to school or college
- giving the card to a family member or friend so they can take your child to school or college
- arranging shared travel with other parents/carers
- paying a cycling allowance to enable a child to cycle to school or college
- providing someone to escort the child to school or college
- providing childcare facilities, such as breakfast and after school clubs for other brothers and sisters, to enable parents/carers to take their older child to school or college
- paying for anything else that works for your family.
Proposals
We are reviewing our SEND post-16 transport policy (PDF, 141 KB) and are considering:
- providing a PTB as a default offer to support flexibility and promote independence
- in exceptional cases where a PTB is not suitable for parents of sixth form students and transport is arranged directly by Home to School Transport, a contribution towards the cost may be required. This fee will be a small part of the total cost and will be charged whenever transport is provided.
These proposals will give families more independence and flexibility in arranging transport to meet their child's educational needs. If approved, we plan to implement changes to the current policy before publishing our next statement for the school year starting in September 2025, which will be published in the post-16 statement by Saturday 31 May.
Take part in our consultation
Your feedback is essential in helping us create a policy that meets the needs of our borough. Have your say by completing our online form by Friday 28 February.
If you or anyone you know would like a paper copy of this form, email schooltransport@hillingdon.gov.uk.