Derbyshire County Council proposes school transport shake-up

Changes to home-to-school transport policies affecting thousands of Derbyshire families are set to be considered by Derbyshire County Council later this week.

The council’s Cabinet will be asked to approve a series of proposed updates to its travel policies for eligible schoolchildren aged five to 16, post-16 learners and students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The proposals follow a public consultation in which around 450 people shared their views on plans aimed at making the policies clearer, fairer and more sustainable in the face of rising demand and increasing operational costs.

A report due to be discussed on Thursday, May 21, says the proposed changes would modernise the way school transport is delivered, while promoting independence, improving flexibility for families and ensuring the council continues to meet its legal obligations around safe and sustainable travel to school.

The council currently supports up to 10,000 eligible children and young people travelling to school each day, involving more than 1,140 transport routes and 145 different transport providers across Derbyshire.

Under existing rules, pupils aged five to 16 qualify for free school transport if they are under the age of eight and live more than two miles from their nearest suitable or normal area school, or more than three miles away if they are over eight. Eligibility can also apply where walking routes are considered unsafe, where pupils have SEND or mobility needs, or where families receive qualifying benefits.

Alongside free transport for eligible pupils, the council also operates discretionary schemes where parents can pay towards the cost of transport.

Councillor Simon Mabbott, Cabinet Member for SEND and Education, said feedback from the consultation had been carefully considered. “We’ve listened to people’s feedback as part of the consultation and taken this into account when considering how to bring our policies up to date,” he said.

“We’re committed to providing efficient and safe transport in line with our legal obligations to support parents in getting their children to school, but the current policies are outdated and do not reflect how the service is delivered.

“The proposed changes would bring them in line with updated government guidance and ensure they are fair in supporting all children and young people to get the education they deserve.”

Councillor Mabbott said the council also needed to ensure transport services remained financially sustainable amid rising demand and increasing costs, but stressed proposed charge increases would only rise in line with inflation.

“Although we need to ensure the service remains sustainable amid rising demand, we recognise that the cost of living continues to affect many families which is why we are only proposing to raise charges in line with inflation so they keep more of their money in their pocket,” he said.

“It would mean the cost of a journey to and from school each day works out at around £2.62 - or £1.77 for low-income families - which is cheaper than one standard single fare on a public bus.”

Among the proposals being considered are:

• Renaming the Home to School Travel Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age to the “Travel to School for Children of Compulsory School Age”.

• Renaming the Post 16 Transport Policy Statement to the “Post 16 Travel Support Policy Statement”.

• Introducing personal travel budgets, giving some families direct payments to arrange their child’s travel themselves instead of relying solely on council-organised transport.

• Expanding independent travel training for secondary school pupils and extending it to post-16 learners with SEND to help young people travel safely and confidently on their own where appropriate.

• Extending the timeframe for arranging specialist travel assistance to 30 days after an application is made to help ensure transport arrangements are safe and reliable.

• Introducing pick-up points instead of specialist door-to-door transport in suitable cases, based on individual assessments and consultation with families.

• Increasing charges for pupils using spare seats on school buses through discretionary schemes in line with inflation from September 2027.

• Changing how the council determines a child’s home address when they split their time equally between two parental homes.

Additional proposed changes to compulsory school-age transport policies include:

• Providing clearer information on how walking distances are measured.

• Clarifying how discretion may be used when families move during a child’s final years at school.

• Providing more information on support where a parent’s disability affects their ability to get a child to school.

• Updating low-income eligibility criteria following the expansion of free school meals to families receiving Universal Credit.

The council is also proposing several changes specifically affecting post-16 transport support, including increases to parental contribution charges from September 2026.

If approved, annual contributions would rise:

• From £483 to £499 for standard post-16 transport support.

• From £326 to £337 for low-income families.

The council noted these charges have not increased for the past three years.

Another proposed change would ensure that walking route safety assessments are carried out by qualified officers.

If approved by Cabinet, most policy changes would come into effect from September 2027, while revised post-16 contribution charges would begin from September 2026.