Naming preferred school and transport for children with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
Southend-on-Sea City Council provides home to school transport assistance for eligible children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This is in accordance with legislation in the Education Act 1996.
To access the service, children must:
- attend the nearest school to their home address that meets their needs
- meet the distance criteria
Under Section 39(4) of the Children and Families Act 2014, the local authority (LA) must name the parent/carer's preferred school subject to certain conditions. One of these conditions is the efficient use of the LA's resources. It would not be an efficient use of resources to provide school transport if the child does not attend the nearest suitable school.
If a parent carer chooses to send their child to a school or college that is not their nearest school (or for secondary pupils of low income families, 1 of the nearest 3 schools), free transport to that school will not be available, even if they later become an eligible low income family. And the parent carers are required to make their own arrangements for transport.
Free transport will only be provided to secondary pupils from low income families, if they attend 1 of their nearest 3 schools.
The parent carers preferred school/setting can be named in the EHCP if parents accept continual responsibility for arranging and funding home to school transport. Parent carers willing to accept these terms must sign a transport disclaimer.