17th December 2024
From January 1st 2025 there will be a new way to request home to school transport for any child/young person with an EHCP - instead of the request going through your keyworker there will be an online form to complete. (this is a separate form for post-16 applications)
We have been asked to share the following information from the transport team - please note the form will not be available until January 1st
"From January 2025 we will be launching the application form for all new applications for compulsory school-aged children with an EHCP. This means that parents and carers can apply to us directly via our online application form for transport rather than requesting this via their SEND key worker. This will only apply to new applications for transport – those who are already in receipt of travel assistance will not need to complete a new application unless there is a change of placement, a change of circumstances such as a house-move, or unless it is a transition year from September 2025.
Parents and carers will be able to apply for home-to-school travel support at any time throughout the year using the “apply for school transport for under-16s with an EHCP” button, which will appear on our home-to-school transport page from 1 January 2025. The form should take around 5 minutes to complete and will enable us to assess a child’s eligibility for home-to-school travel with as much information from parents and carers as possible. These applications will then be reviewed at our regular Travel Assistance Panel with members of the Education Transport Team and the SEND team.
If parents and carers are applying for September 2025 as part of a child’s transition into a new phase of education, we would advise them to complete an application as soon as possible once a setting has been named in Section I, but by the end of April 2025 at the latest. This will enable us to inform parents and carers of our decision as early as possible and enable us to plan arrangements for the new academic year. We aim to confirm any travel arrangements and issue travel passes in August at the latest.
If parents/carers have any issues with completing the online application or require any assistance in completing the new application form, or if parents/carers have any queries about the new application form, you can contact the Education Travel Policies team on educationtravelpolicies@cheshireeast.gov.uk .
The application form for children with an EHCP will be similar to the existing one, only additional information will be requested in order to ensure that we have captured important details about each child and their needs."
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