If your council has refused home-to-school travel for a child with SEND, a personalised written challenge can identify the decision, the child's circumstances and evidence, the statutory eligibility framework and the review outcome you are requesting. It should be built around the actual refusal rather than a generic template.
Section 508B of the Education Act 1996 requires local authorities to make free travel arrangements for eligible children. Schedule 35B includes children who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because of their mobility problems or associated health and safety issues related to special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. The assessment is not simply a distance test and should consider the child’s individual circumstances, including whether they could reasonably be expected to walk if accompanied.
The Department for Education's statutory guidance says the assessment should be made on an individual basis and take account of the child's particular needs. Relevant considerations can include whether the child could reasonably be expected to walk if accompanied and whether the parent can reasonably be expected to accompany them. The authority should apply the statutory eligibility rules to the evidence rather than treating walking distance alone as determinative.
If you think the authority has applied the eligibility rules incorrectly or has not considered relevant evidence, you can use its review process. A written review request can identify the decision, the child's circumstances, the evidence you say was overlooked and the outcome you are seeking. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can consider complaints about administrative fault after the appropriate council process, but it is not a further merits appeal against the transport decision.
The Department for Education's statutory guidance describes a two-stage review process. It says parents should have 20 working days from the decision to request Stage 1, and the reviewing officer should respond within 20 working days. Parents should then have 20 working days to request Stage 2. The independent appeal panel should be arranged within 40 working days of that request, and the written outcome should follow within 5 working days of the appeal hearing. If their explanation is vague or relies on blanket policies, you can escalate further. A clear written challenge gives the authority the relevant circumstances and evidence to address and creates a record of the review request and outcome.
StatutoryLetters.co.uk can help structure a review request around the relevant legislation, statutory guidance, facts and evidence. The authority's own published school travel policy should also be checked, along with the decision letter and any review instructions it provides.