Why everyone is entitled to school transport

Social media and popular press is currently full of opinions about comments made by Katie Price in the Celebrity Big Brother House.

Part of the issue seems to be a significant objection to the fact that Ms Price’s son, Harvey, receives free transport to school. Substantial social media output suggests that people consider this to be unreasonable, given Ms Price’s presumed wealth.

What is not being explained is that that transport is given because of legal duties owed to all children, coupled with additional duties to children with special educational needs.

What are special educational needs?

Special educational needs are any form of learning difficulty or disability which makes learning more difficult for that child as compared to their peers.

Children with the most challenging special educational needs are support by a Statement of Special Educational Needs. They are slowly being replaced with Education, Health and Care Plans. What both documents do is to set out an enforceable list of the provision, and school placement, the child can expect to receive.

Transport

Education law creates an obligation for all local authorities to provide transport, free of charge, for a child if their nearest suitable school is beyond the “statutory walking distance”. This distance depends on the age of the child. This applies to all children, not only those with special educational needs.

Where a child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs / EHCP an appropriate schools is named. A local authority will only name a school in a Statement of Special Educational Needs / EHCP that they believe can provide ‘adequate’ support for a child’s special educational needs.

When a child has particularly challenging special educational needs, their nearest suitable school may well be a significant distance from their home which means that the local authority will more likely be responsible for providing transport. This is because the child may require a school with a particular specialism or expertise.

The combination of transport law and special educational needs law means that children with the most significant disabilities are more likely to qualify for free transport. This is because there are likely to be fewer local authority schools that can meet the child’s needs, meaning that the closest appropriate school is likely to be further away.

Conclusion

I am not trying to advance any particular argument about the comments that have been made about Katie Price’s situation.

What has been missed by much commentary however is the understanding that all children with special educational needs have a right to a suitable full-time education. If the only placement that they can access is beyond the statutory walking distance, they are entitled to state-funded transport. It is not means tested and is accessible for all people.