Apply for school transport

Children transferring from primary to secondary school in September 2021

Last year we made a change to the process for determining eligibility for home to school transport for children transferring to secondary school. Your child will automatically have their eligibility assessed if you have applied for a secondary school place on time. You will be informed of the outcome by 1 June prior to your child starting secondary school (please note this does not apply to change in preference/late/in year applications).

If you are a resident of a neighbouring local authority wishing to attend a Cheshire West secondary school, you will need to make an application to your own local authority. You can find your local council using Gov.UK's website.

If your child is deemed not to be eligible for transport you will be advised of the appeal process in your outcome letter.

If your child is deemed to be eligible for transport your travel details will be sent out to you by mid August (please note this does not apply to change in preference/late/in year applications).

If you have not heard about your eligibility by 1 June 2021 or received a bus pass by mid August please contact us.

If you change your admissions school preference or you submit a late admissions application there will be a delay in when you will be notified of your transport eligibility.

You should still submit a transport application if:

• your application is for a child in primary school
• you have made an in-year school admissions application
• you have recently had a change of home address

Before you apply

You need to see if you will qualify before you make an application. You also need to make sure you have read our policy documents and privacy notice.

Please note for any applications for the next school year we will not be able to assess your transport eligibility until after you have been allocated a school place. For the 2021/22 school year the secondary school offer day is 1 March 2021 and primary is 16 April 2021. If you submit your transport application before you have been offered a school place we will not be able to consider it.

To assist with the transport planning process we ask that transport applications be submitted to us by 19 June 2021. Applications submitted after this date will be considered in the date order received. If you apply after 31 July 2021 transport will not be guaranteed for the start of the new school year.

For applications outside of the annual application process (the current academic year) we will try to provide this within 10 working days. Where this is not possible, we will advise families and make a transport offer as soon as possible.

Mainstream

If you'd like to know the nearest schools to your address for home to school transport purposes, please complete our enquiry form with your child's name, full address and date of birth. If you are applying for travel assistance for the 2021/22 academic year, the transport team will aim to respond to you within 10 working days.

Our peak workload is between June and September so during this time there may be delays in us responding to you. If your enquiry is for travel assistance for the following school year, 2022/23, we will not be able to respond to you until after September 2021.

This application is if your child is attending a mainstream school and does not have a disability that prevents them from accessing a mainstream school bus or public transport services, and they are aged between 4 and 16.

Special educational needs (SEN)/disability

If you would like to discuss the nearest suitable schools for your child who has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for transport purposes, please contact the SEN team using our SEN general enquiry form.

This application form is for those children and young people with an EHCP.

This application form is for those children and young people who have a disability which has a substantial long-term effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities but do not have an EHCP.

Medical needs

This application is if your child has a medical condition that presents a short term physical difficulty, for example, a broken bone.

Over 16

There is no legal duty for us to provide over 16 transport for mainstream students. However we will consider individual cases where the student is attending their local college and hardship or low income can be demonstrated.

You may also be able to access alternative sources of funding for your travelling. Examples of funding sources include the 16-19 Bursary Fund and Concessionary Travel. More information can be found on our benefits advice page.