The millions being spent on providing free school transport for pupils in Wokingham has been revealed.

Wokingham Borough Council has confirmed that it spent £3.7 million on getting children to and from school for free in the 2020/21 financial year.

The financial year ended on Wednesday, March 31.

It means the amount was spent during the year of the coronavirus pandemic, when teaching in schools was disrupted.

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Mainstream schools were closed during the first lockdown on Monday, March 23, with most reopening by during the start of the academic year in September 2020.

Schools were closed again in January this year due to the third lockdown, only to reopen in March.

It is reasonable to assume spending on free school transport declined as the need for travel to and from schools was cut.

The council has set aside a larger amount for free school transport for the next financial year in 2022/23. Its provisional budget for the service is £4.1 million.

It is important to note that the academic year runs from September to July the following year, which runs over 10 months (excluding half term holidays).

Providing free school transport for eligible children is a legal requirement.

Although Government guidance on how to conduct school transport is given, it is up to the local authority itself to make its own school transport policy.

Last month, Wokingham Borough Council agreed to approve its school travel assistance policies ready for September 2022. The policies are split for those of statutory school age from five-16, and those who may be entitled to assistance from age 16 onwards.

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The policies were agreed after a lengthy consultation undertaken during the summer last year.

Publicly available documents introducing the school transport policy described its cost as ‘extremely high’.

In the consultation, the borough council suggested changes to its own school transport policy.

It proposed:

  • Stopping home to school transport for infant or primary school for children under the age of five.
  • Stopping home to school transport for children turning eight years old, if they lived more than two miles but less than three miles from their nearest school.

Members of the public who responded to the consultation disagreed with both of these suggestions. 64 per cent of respondents disagreed with the first suggestion, and 81 per cent of respondents disagreed with the second suggestion.

The consultation also asked whether the council should continue to provide travel assistance for those aged 17-18 who meet eligibility criteria, with 72 per cent of respondents agreeing that assistance for these students should continue.

There were 76 respondents to the consultation, which included members of SEND Voices Wokingham, a forum for parents of  Special Educational Needs and Disabled children.

Eligibility for free school transport and travel assistance depends on whether the child and their family meets certain criteria.

Your child is entitled to travel assistance if:

  • They are under the age of eight and of statutory school age, attends their designated area or nearest school and it is more than two miles away by a safe walking route
  • Your child is aged eight and up to age 16, their nearest available school is more than three miles away by a safe walking route and they attend a designated area school or the nearest school
  • They qualify for free school meals
  • You (parent or guardian) receive the maximum level of working tax credit

You can apply for travel assistance for your child using a form on the Wokingham Borough Council website in the link here. There are separate forms for mainstream pupils and SEND pupils.