School travel assistance

How to apply

If you fulfill all the eligibility:

Download the Application form (word 120KB).

To complete your application you will need to provide the following documentation:

• evidence that the young person cannot travel independently or in certain cases accompanied by an adult, such as a medical statement or letter from their GP
• the most recent copy of tax credits award notice from HMRC (including part 2), if you are in receipt of the maximum level of Working Tax credit
• name of the young person’s allocated social worker, if they are looked after by the local authority
• evidence of parent’s disability, such as a letter from a GP, if relevant to young person’s travel needs
• evidence that young person requires a passenger assistant, such as documentation from school/college or a medical professional
• statement of educational progress from the young person’s course tutor, if returning to college for further study

Send the documentation and completed form (if not applying online) to transport.eligibility@croydon.gov.uk.

By submitting the application form you agree to our code of conduct and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).You can download a full copy of our code of conduct from the downloads section below.

We expect all children to treat the bus driver and their fellow passengers with respect and listen to the drivers and escorts. Children are responsible for looking after their possessions and the vehicles (parents or carers will have to pay for any damage inflicted), and are requested to take any litter home with them. If you see someone behaving badly or bullying others always report it to the driver or your school.

All incidents that occur on the transport will be investigated. Where your child is involved, the passenger transport team and the school concerned will work with you with the aim of resolving the issue. For minor issues we will schedule a discussion with you to find a solution agreeable to all parties. For serious issues that cause a risk to the health and safety of your child or others, your child will be immediately suspended from transport for the duration of our investigation and you will be responsible for your child’s transport to and from school.

Examples of unacceptable behaviours that will result in suspension:

• physical violence towards staff and other passengers
• not remaining seated and wearing the appropriate seat belt
• distracting the driver (except in emergencies)
• bringing weapons (real or replica), knives, drugs or alcohol onto the vehicle
• exiting the vehicle at any point during the journey that is not the agreed drop off point
• failing to follow the requests or instructions of the escort or driver
• smoking (this is illegal on all vehicles
• eating and drinking
• shouting or swearing
• throwing things
• behaviour that causes distress to other passengers
• malicious damage to the vehicle

We expect parents and carers to have the child ready for collection at the specified time. Transport providers have been instructed to wait no more than 3 minutes. If your child misses the transport, you are responsible for ensuring that your child goes to school. If your child is unwell or is sent home at any other time than the regular time you must make your own arrangements for their transport home.

Make sure someone is at home to receive the child, if no one is at home and we cannot contact you, the child will be taken to a place of safety and social services will be informed. It will be your responsibility to collect your child from them.

The personal information contained within the application for travel assistance form is provided in order to arrange travel assistance for your child. We will keep information about you and your child and the services we provide for you on your record. In line with common practice, this data will be retained for 35 years following closure of records.

We have a duty to protect the information you have provided to us and ensure it is kept confidentially. The information may be stored securely, both on paper and electronically, and will only be shared for purposes relating to travel assistance for example with schools, colleges, contractors and communication based systems such as ‘Teachers to Parents’. The purpose of this data sharing is to enable Croydon Council to fulfil its statutory duty to provide travel assistance to eligible students. It will not be shared further with anyone else without your knowledge, unless we are required to do so by law.

By submitting your application for travel assistance you are giving us permission to share the information contained supplied in the application form for the purposes of considering and arranging your request for travel assistance.

By submitting the application form you agree to our code of conduct and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Both of which you can view in the downloads section at the foot of this page.

What happens after you apply

We will review your application and contact you within 30 working days to let you know whether travel assistance is suitable for the young person. If the application is approved, a personalised travel plan coordinator will make arrangements to meet and discuss travel options.

There is an appeal process if the young person does not qualify for travel assistance or you do no not agree with the proposed arrangement. For further details on the appeals process, see the travel assistance policy.