Councils are required to provide travel assistance between Home and School for children and young people residing in their area who meet the eligibility criteria.

Parents living in North Northamptonshire are asked to be aware that the criteria for admission to any school (including “linked” schools) differs from the criteria for travel assistance. With effect from the academic year starting in September 2024, linked schools are no longer treated as the nearest suitable school for new applicants for transport, unless the school is actually the nearest suitable school with places available to their home address.

The offer of a place at any particular school does not automatically guarantee the provision of travel assistance. If parents intend to apply for Home to School Travel Assistance for their child, they are advised to read the Council’s Home to School Transport policy before applying.

 North Northamptonshire Council supports the right of parents to express preferences for schools. However, in order to be eligible for free home to school travel assistance, (subject to meeting the other eligibility criteria) the child or young person must be attending their nearest suitable school which has places available, or the special school named in the child’s Education Health and Care Plan if they have one. Where a parent has opted for their child to attend a school or special school that is not their named or nearest suitable provision with places, it is likely that transport will not be provided.

 There is no automatic entitlement to assistance with travel between home and school. Parents requiring home to school transport or other travel assistance will need to make an application to their Local Authority. Each application will be assessed on its own merits against the published policy.

 For further information about Home to School transport, including details of who might be eligible, you should read the Home to School Transport Policy relevant to the area in which you live.

• Families resident in North Northamptonshire should use this link:

School travel assistance | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)

(Or search www.northnorthants.gov.uk/school-travel-assistance)

Applications should be made online at www.northamptonshire.gov.uk clicking on schools & education and following the instructions shown on the screen.

Contact the Local Authority School Travel team

Contact our School Travel team by phoning 0300 126 3000 (options 5,4,1) or by emailing us:

• Free, paid and Post-16 school travel assistance, safer routes and passes -schooltransport.nnc@northnorthants.gov.uk
• Special educational needs travel assistance - sentransport.nnc@northnorthants.gov.uk

 

CHANGES TO THE DISCRETIONARY TRANSPORT FARES FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 25/26

The charge for discretionary transport, for those children who are not entitled to free travel assistance from North Northamptonshire Council, is currently £760 (for the academic year that started in September 2024).

After our normal annual review we have decided to keep the increase for the next academic year inline with CPI and therefore, the cost will be rising to £795 from September 2025.

Where a household has more than one child travelling to the same school, the first child will be charged at the new cost of £795 and any other children will be charged at a cost of £397.50 per child i.e. a 50% discount per child.

Discounts for Post 16 applications may also be available for those on certain benefits.

More information about Home to School Transport can be found here: Home to School Travel Assistance. Our web pages and fee book have been updated accordingly.