Here you will find advice about entitlement to home to school transport, transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), information for parents, and information about bus services.
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This page contains advice about how to find out whether your child is eligible for free school/college transport and how to access school/college transport services. If your inquiry concerns paying for a place on a school bus or taxi please see our FAQ section.
You will also find our School Transport Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age which outlines the eligibility criteria that must be met to qualify for transport assistance. This policy applies to children of compulsory school age who attend mainstream and special schools.
Our Post 16 Transport Policy outlines the eligibility criteria that must be met by young people in Post 16 education to qualify for transport assistance. This policy applies to students, irrespective of whether they are in receipt of an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Please do familiarise yourself with the content of the relevant transport policy before considering applying for transport support as the eligibility criteria is strictly applied.
If you have any questions about school transport, our FAQ section may be helpful
We receive a very high volume of applications for school transport and Post 16 transport during the months of August and September and whilst we make every effort to process applications and get transport arrangements in place for qualifying children and young people as quickly as possible, this may take longer than the normal 10 working days.
Please choose the correct form and also ensure you have read and understood the relevant school transport policy and, in particular, the eligibility criteria before considering submitting an application.
Apply for pre-16 SEND transport: please fill in this form if your child has an EHCP, is of compulsory school age and is attending either a special school or a mainstream school.
Apply for pre-16 school transport: please fill out this form if your child is of compulsory school age and is attending a mainstream school.
Apply for post-16 SEND transport: please fill in this form if your child has an EHCP and is attending a further education college.
Apply for post-16 transport: please fill out this form if your child is starting at a high school sixth form (Year 12) or a further education college.
When we receive an application for transport assistance for a child or young person with special educational needs or disabilities it will be assessed by our colleagues in the Council's SEND team. This is because they are best placed to undertake such an assessment as they have access to your child's Educational, Health & Care Plan.
If your application for transport assistance for your child is declined, you will be sent an email explaining why. You have the right to ask for a review of this decision. The review is a two-stage process.
At stage one you can challenge a decision about:
You can also appeal when the provision of transport has been agreed by the county council, but you want the travel arrangements offered reviewed.
A request for a review must be made clearly, in writing, about why you believe that Northumberland County Council should reconsider their decision, including any information that might support your case.
More information about the appeals process can be found in section 17 of the School Transport Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age, and section 14 of the Post-16 Transport Policy.
Download the school/college transport appeals process here.
Whilst schools will promote appropriate standards of behaviour by children on their way to and from school, it is a parental responsibility to make sure that a child behaves appropriately on a school bus or taxi.
Children who misbehave on school transport may have their entitlement or pass removed. Depending on the nature of the offence, this could be for a temporary period of time, or even permanently.
You can read more in detail about the appropriate behaviour expected on school transport by reading section 16 of the School Transport Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age.
Download the school transport behaviour expectations leaflet here.
In addition, Northumberland County Council may also provide home to school travel support as a reasonable adjustment to a child's disability in cases where the child lives within the statutory walking distance of the school.
Further information can be found in section 3.8.1 of the School Transport Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age.
A copy of our SEND transport information handbook for parents and carers can be found here.
The booklet provides information in relation to transport arrangements we put in place to support children attending special schools
We have created a dedicated voicemail facility to make it easier for you to report any issues or concerns or any positive feedback you have with regard to the school transport service that your child uses. The phone line is 01670 629670. When you ring you will first hear a greeting message and then you'll be invited to leave a message. We will reply to you after we have looked into the matters you have reported.
An assessment of eligibility will be undertaken following receipt of the appropriate Post 16 transport application form.
Applications for travel support for learners who are not in receipt of an Education, Health and Care Plan must be accompanied by payment of a £50 administration fee (unless applying on low-income grounds) which is non-refundable even in cases where the application is declined, so we strongly advise you to familiarise yourself with the eligibility criteria in the Post 16 transport policy before considering applying for travel support.
By the 31 May each year we will write to parents of prospective Post 16 students to advise them of the application process. If you have not received this letter by the end of May please contact the school/college transport team.
When transport is arranged for children by Northumberland County Council, the appointed taxi or bus operator must only employ drivers and passenger assistants who are in receipt of an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
In addition they must also attend:
For more information about drivers and passenger transport assistants and how they are briefed and trained, please read section 15 of the School Transport Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age.
A copy of the drivers’ code of conduct can be downloaded here. A copy of the passenger transport assistants' code of conduct can be downloaded here.
Updates will be provided via the following:
In extreme cases, a school may close during the day due to severe weather and your child will be sent home early.
It's important to be prepared in the event of disruption to the school transport service:
Ensure your child is warmly dressed, just in case the school transport is running late, or the journey is slow.
During periods of severe weather, a child should wait 20 minutes after their normal pick-up time for school transport. After 20 minutes, it is advisable for the child to return home.
Let the school know that your child has returned home after waiting 20 minutes for transport to arrive. Make sure that you have the contact details of your transport providers and that they have emergency contact numbers for you.
If you take your child to school, it is your responsibility to collect them in the afternoon.
It’s important for parents to have a plan in place, if they are not home when a child returns. For example, a buddy scheme, or a family friend or relative who the child can go to until the parent or carer returns home.
For information about local bus services operating across Northumberland, including services that cross-border into Tyne and Wear, visit Nexus here.
Help with journey planning can also be found at Traveline North East.
You can also visit our Bus Travel webpage here.
The local bus service providers below will be able to provide further information on their ticket offers for students:
Arriva - post-16 school travel - zones and tickets
Stagecoach - post-16 school travel
Go North East - post-16 school travel
Glen Valley
Border Buses Ltd
If your query is in relation to transport for children of compulsory school age (4 to 16 years old) please email either schooltransport@northumberland.gov.uk or (if your child is in receipt of an Education, Health & Care Plan) SEN.Transport@northumberland.gov.uk
If your query relates to the travel arrangements for students in Post 16 education then please email either post16.transport@northumberland.gov.uk or (if your child is in receipt of an Education, Health & Care Plan) transport.referrals@northumberland.gov.uk
We also have a telephone "hunt group" number, 01670 624839 with different options for you to choose depending on your query.
How we handle your information provides details about what information we collect and what we use it for etc.
Council policy states that if a parent chooses to apply for a place at a school outside their child's transport priority area, they are wholly responsible for making home to school transport arrangements unless the preferred school is closest to the home address as measured by the county council’s approved GIS measuring system.
Information on transport priority areas used to determine eligibility for school transport assistance can be found using our school catchment and transport eligibility maps.
For more information on parental preference for a school, please read section 10 of the School Transport Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age.
In some cases, it may be possible for you to purchase unoccupied seats on vehicles deployed on school transport contracts in accordance with the terms of the county council’s Concessionary Travel Scheme.
Please click here to read the terms of the Concessionary Travel Scheme.
If you are interested in applying after reading the terms of the travel scheme, please contact the school transport team on 01670 624839. We will advise you if spare seats are available to purchase on a school bus or taxi in return for the concessionary fare.
The type of travel assistance offered will be determined by the council council, making the best use of public funds available and paying due regard to a child’s well-being.
This would normally be a place on a school bus or taxi service commissioned by the county council, but other options include:
In some cases, where it is agreed to provide travel support for a child living relatively close to school they may be provided with a passenger assistant to accompany them on the walk to and from school.
Further information is provided in sections 14 of the School Transport Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age.
Once you have received confirmation that your school transport application has been successful, transport arrangements will usually be put in place within 10 working days.
The exception to this is when you apply for school transport that is required from the start of a new academic year. In this case, you will be informed of your child’s new transport arrangements during the summer holidays.
Once your child’s place at their new school is confirmed we would strongly advise you to submit your application as early as possible. This should ensure school transport is in place for your child for the new school term beginning in September. If applications are received late into the summer holidays, we may not be able to have travel arrangements in place for your child. It will then become your responsibility to ensure children attend school until your transport application has been processed and travel arrangements confirmed.
If you submitted your application in good time and have not heard from us, then please call us on 0345 600 6400.
Alternative ways of contacting the school transport team are provided in section 19 of the School Transport Policy for Children of Compulsory School Age.
If your child has lost or damaged their bus pass, you will be required to replace it at your own cost.
There is a separate policy outlining travel assistance that is available for post-16 students. Eligibility criteria can be found in Annex 3 of the transport policy:
Please click here to view our Post-16 Transport Policy.
In general, for a student to qualify for travel support they will need to be:
An administration fee of £50 is payable at the point of submitting an application and is non-refundable. Please ensure you meet all the eligibility criteria before submitting an application for post-16 transport.
Northumberland College has arranged a number of its own bus services. If your child is attending Northumberland College and your application for post-16 transport has been declined by Northumberland County Council, you may be able to get travel assistance through Northumberland College.
You can contact Northumberland college via Student Infozones (available at Ashington and Kirkley Hall), or via telephone:
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