New school travel policy approved
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Our Executive Committee has approved a change to our Home to School Transport Policy.
From September 2026, we will only provide mainstream home to school transport to a child's nearest suitable school. The decision follows an extensive public consultation which ran earlier this year.
Parents are advised to check eligibility for free home to school transport when applying for a school place for September 2026. Parents will still have a choice of school depending on the school’s catchment area, but the change will mean that the child may not be eligible for free school transport.
We've recognised the importance of supporting families and will make an exception for siblings. Where a younger child joins the same school as an older sibling and their time at the school overlaps, they will continue to receive school transport for their entire time there (or up to year 11).
The decision means that our Home to School Transport Policy is now in line with national guidance and neighbouring authorities.
Home to school transport is one of our 4 largest areas of expenditure, alongside adult social care, children's social care and waste management. The decision to change the policy aims to protect frontline services.
Councillor Steve Owen, our Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:
Today’s decision makes the policy fairer to all families, and makes the best use of public money whilst meeting our statutory duty. I would like to stress that parents and carers in Central Bedfordshire still have a choice about where to send their children to school, but it is important for them to factor in travel costs if they chose a school that’s not the nearest to their home.
We are very grateful to everyone who shared their views during the consultation. We heard strong feedback from parents and schools, and while fewer responses came from the wider public, we must balance the views of service users with our duty to all taxpayers.
We have taken into consideration the impact of the policy change on families, which is why the new policy includes an exception for siblings. This means younger children can continue to access school transport if their time at a school overlaps with an older sibling.
We’ve been open about the financial pressures we are facing, and the change to the policy will help us manage the rising costs of providing home to school transport. We can no longer afford to transport children past perfectly good schools to those further away.
Improving educational performance is very important to us, and we were clear today that our intention is to use some of the money saved, for just this purpose.