SEND school transport

We will provide free school transport if your child:

Has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that says they need help to attend school
Meets the entitlement criteria. Learn more about the entitlement criteria on our Who can get free school transport webpage.

Your child must go to the school that is identified in their EHCP, as the nearest one that can meet their needs.

If you choose for your child to go to a different school, then you will take full responsibility for transport.

Specialist provision

We may offer children with Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND) a place at specialist provision.

Types of specialist provision include:

Download the SEND Transport Information (PDF, 582 KB) to learn more about how home to school transport works for children who are offered a place at specialist provision.

Parental responsibility

Parents are responsible for their children before they board the vehicle and after they get off at the end of the day. This includes ensuring they have a pass to travel, if using a service which requires one.

Children with SEND should be collected from school transport by an appropriate adult, such as a parent/guardian.

Parents must ensure that someone can be at the drop-off point to collect the child. If there is no adult present at the drop-off point, we will not leave the child. This may mean that the school transport continues its route with the child on board, whilst the parent/guardian is contacted.

Travel passport

The travel passport for children/young people with SEND will help us meet each child's individual needs and preferences. This ensures that their journeys to school are as happy and seamless as possible.

The passport is a personal profile of the child who is travelling to school.

Parents/carers and children/young people can fill this in together. You can highlight important areas and include prompts such as:

'I like to be called...',
'Equipment I take to school...',
'On the journey I like to...'
'If I'm anxious or stressed, I might...'.

You can give the passport to school transport drivers and members of staff. It will allow them to learn more about your child. It will help them make sure your child is as comfortable and content as possible when travelling to and from school.

The passport also ensures that information can be passed between colleagues. This means that all drivers and staff members have access to the same key information about your child.

Download the Travel passport for children/young people with SEND (PDF, 188 KB).

Next steps for college/sixth form

As your child reaches the end of their time at school, they may have the potential to travel independently. During Year 11, our Travel Independence Training Across Norfolk (TITAN) team will work with the current school to understand more about your child's travel needs.

TITAN will then assess your child to see what type of college/sixth form travel assistance is suitable for them.

Learn more about Special educational needs college or sixth form transport.

Further information

For further information about home to school transport, view our home to school and college transport policy.

Contact the Norfolk County Council school and college transport team.