Free school bus pass

wickedchef123

Hi

Iam just wondering if anyone can give me any help, I have just been laid off work 6 weeks ago. I get Job seekers allowance contribution based, My wife is disabled and get DLA High rate and SDA. I have two children who attend secondary school, We are now receiving full child tax credits and the children get free school meals. I have applied for a free school pass for them both, To have it turned down because they did not attend the nearest 3 high schools. The school they attend is 3.8 miles away, We pay £1.60 a day for each child, that is £16.00 a week. Something that we are struggling to find. I have since appealed against the decision to have it turned down again. Should the children get free school bus pass?
Thankyou

londonirish_3

sorry I dont know the answer to your question, but in kent we get a freedom pass for £50 a year. does your area maybe have something like this that you could join? I appreciate its going to be hard to find 3 x 50 but should work out cheaper in long run, . your local council would have the info on the buss passes for kids x

silvercar

It depends on the local authority's policy. The limit set by government would not give you a free school bus pass as you have chosen not to send them to one of the nearest schools. You therefore have no automatic entitlement to free passes. Had you been in receipt of certain benefits AND had chosen one of your nearest schools AND it was more than 3 miles away you would have been eligible.
In choosing schools it is assumed that transport needs would have formed part of your choice.

(Incidentally had you not been on a low income/ in receipt of certain benefits, to be eligible for school transport you would have to have chosen the nearest school AND it be over 3 miles away. The extra relaxing of the qualification to one of three schools is designed to allow those on low incomes some real choice in education.)

That said, some local authorities do have a more generous transport policy and may allow passes for those on low incomes who are over 3 miles away.

One word of warning is that school transport is one of the areas being cut in an effort to ease the countries financial problems!

It may be that your council offers subsidised bus passes for those on low income - you could ask.

Otherwise its a question of looking at options - could you drive them to and from school while you are not working? Could you rota with another family or pay a petrol contribution to someone already making that journey?

Mupette

I moved in the spring and it worked out DS school was a good 5 miles away,

Am on ESA income based and DLA high mobility, middle care.

Was told that the council will provide to low income families from 2 miles onwards.

They did ask DS age / what year he was in, he was at the time in year 10, they agreed to bus pass because this was an important year for him building up to his final year.

So it may also depend on how old your children are, because when DS started there i was led to believe i was entitled to claim bus pass for him as school was just over 3 miles, but i had a snotty woman tell me no, that i should of chosen the nearest school. Working out the distances his was the 3 nearest, but easiest to get to bus wise.

kingfisherblue

My son starts at secondary school next year. According to the council website, low income families can get a bus pass for journeys of over two miles (the school is 2.7 miles as the crow flies, further if you measure by road). I don't know if that is just our council though.

I could have sent my son to a school that is closer, but I preferred a catholic school to the local school. As he attends catholic primary, and it is a feeder for the catholic high school, my application should be accepted. Other schools feed the local school. If there is a reason such as religious beliefs for your children to attend that particular school, it might help your case for free passes.