School transport

School transport for your foster child is discussed at the placement planning meeting and agreed in the placement plan.

You will usually be responsible for getting your foster child to school. This could be:

• Walking or cycling to school with them, if it is safe to do so
• Driving them to school
• Paying for transport to school

In exceptional circumstances, the fostering service may be able to provide extra support to get your foster child to school.

If your foster child is disabled, their school transport might be provided by Norfolk County Council. In this case, we will discuss this with you at the placement planning meeting and agree times for pick-up and drop-off.

Where your foster child goes to school

Your foster child will usually attend a school local to you. They might attend a school that's not local to you if:

• They are placed with you within term-time. In this case, they will attend their current school until the end of term. They will usually transfer to a school local to you from the beginning of the next school term.
• It is agreed that they should not transfer to a school local to you due to exceptional circumstances

School transport costs

You are expected to cover the full cost of transport to school if:

• Your foster child is under 8 years old, and you live up to 2 miles walking distance from their school
• Your foster child is 8 years or older, and you live up to 3 miles walking distance from their school

Your basic maintenance allowance is designed to cover this cost.

Exceptional school transport costs

You can claim expenses for exceptional school transport costs if:

• Your foster child is under 8 years old, and you live over 2 miles walking distance from their school
• Your foster child is 8 years or over, and you live over 3 miles walking distance from their school

This means that:

• If your child is under 8 years old:
  • You will use your basic maintenance allowance to pay for the first 2 miles of their journey to/from school (up to 20 miles a week)
  • You can claim expenses for the rest of their journey to/from school
• If your child is 8 years or older:
  • You will use your basic maintenance allowance to pay for the first 3 miles of their journey to/from school (up to 30 miles a week)
  • You can claim expenses for the rest of their journey to/from school

How to claim

To claim exceptional school transport costs:

• The costs must have been agreed as part of the child's placement plan, and
• You should submit your claim to your supervising social worker on the Children's Provider Portal (ContrOCC)