We have a duty to provide support with travel to and from school for children and young people with a special educational need or disability based on their individual needs.
The type of support is based on your child’s individual needs with a view to supporting their independence and getting them to school happy and ready to learn. Support can include a travel pass, independent travel training, personal travel budget or a place on commissioned transport.
Applying for Travel Support
School age pupils are eligible for travel support if they:
- Are attending their nearest qualifying school and meet the eligible distance criteria relevant to their age group; or
- Are from a low-income family and are attending a qualifying school and meet the eligible distance criteria; or
- Attend their nearest qualifying school and unable to walk or access public transport because of their Special Educational Need Disability (SEND) or mobility.
You can apply for travel support using this online form
Contact Us
For more information on Independent Travel Training or Personal Travel Budgets please contact Travel Support Team Travel.Support@sefton.gov.uk
Further Information
You can find out more about Travel Support at our dedicated SEND Support website
Travel Support Review 2025
There is currently a review taking place of the Travel Support Service for eligible children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The review is not looking to change the Travel Support Policy or the current entitlement to Travel Support. The purpose of the review is:
- to provide more options for families to fit around their individual circumstances;
- to provide better support for eligible students, especially those making the transition into adulthood;
- to ensure we are getting the most from our resources and best value for money.
We remain fully committed to always provide quality travel support that meets the needs of eligible SEND children and young people. We have recognised that we need to improve how we work to make sure we can continue to best meet student’s needs and aspirations, especially in the light of the challenges all councils face with rising demand and costs for travel support.
Working With You
The review is being co-produced with the Sefton Parent Carer Forum (SPCF) and working in partnership with them a number of ‘Early Ideas’ for improvements have been developed. We are keen to get from parents, carers and children and young people themselves, feedback, and input to further develop improvement plans.
We know that if improvements are to work well, we need the views of those who use the service day to day. That is why we would like to invite you to input to and help shape our ‘Early Ideas’ and provide any other ideas you may have for how the service could be improved. Therefore, the SPCF and the Council have arranged a series of face-to-face sessions to discuss the ideas with parents and carers and are organising a number of dedicated evets for children and young people themselves to have their say.
Face to Face ‘Drop-in’ events starting 09:30am
27/01/25: Cambridge Road Family Wellbeing Centre, Bootle
03/02/25: Linaker Family Wellbeing Centre, Southport
04/02/25: Zoom evening call (7pm)
05/02/25: Crosby Library
12/2/25: Bootle Library
26/2/25: Formby Library
Future events – details to follow (see SPCF/Sefton websites & info at Family Wellbeing Centres)
A Sefton Young Advisors event for Children and Young People
Voice of Young People Conferences (in March) [to be confirmed]
We Want Your Feedback
We will soon be sending all parent and carers or children and young people in receipt of SEND travel support further information on our proposed improvements and a ‘Feedback Form’ that you can use to provide input to the review, especially if you are unable to attend face-to-face events or provide input on-line.
If you are able to go on-line, then you can find out about opportunities to get involved and get regular updates on the progress of the review at the SPCF or Council websites and social media:
- SPCF Website: seftonpcf.org; Facebook – search for Sefton Parent Carers Information online or in Facebook; Instagram: search for Seftonpcf; X (Twitter): @SeftonPcfNew
- Sefton Council Website: sefton.gov.uk/travelsupport; Facebook – search for Sefton Council online or in Facebook; X (Twitter): @seftoncouncil; Email: travelsupportreview@sefton.gov.u