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• 14 Feb 2022

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  Yes. Sixth form age means a young person under 19, or a young person who began a particular course of education before 19 and continues to attend that course.

  The LA must publish a “transport statement” specifying the arrangements for the provision of transport or otherwise that the LA consider necessary to make for facilitating persons of sixth form age receiving education or training at school at schools and other institutions: EA1996 s509AA.

  The transport statement must include the arrangements made for disabled persons and persons with learning difficulties and disabilities: EA1996 s509AB.

  The DfE’s statutory guidance (‘Post-16 transport to education and training’ (January 2019)) sets out: (1) the LA should consider the impact of a learning difficulty or disability on the young person’s ability to walk the distance (#29(c)), (2) the LA should take account of its duty to encourage, enable and assist the participation of young people with learning difficulties and disabilities up to the age of 25 in education and training pursuant to Education and Skills Act 2008 section 68 (#31), (3) it is good practice to account for the fact a learner with a learning difficulty or disability may take longer to complete a particular programme and should consider extending travel arrangements for that period (#35).

  The LA has a wide discretion as to what is “necessary” and some LAs implement an independent travel training scheme, which is lawful, and it is good practice to put this in the transport statement.

  School transport falls within the ambit of ECHR article 8 and article 2 protocol 1, such that any discrimination based on status (such as age) needs to be justified: R (Drexler) v Leicestershire CC [2019] EWHC 1934 (Admin) (upheld by the Court of Appeal). As in that case, a difference in transport policy based on age may be justified by the difference in statutory obligations between those of compulsory school age and of sixth form age (but will of course depend on the facts). 

  If the LA charges for transport, it must comply with the Equality Act 2010. Where there is a flat rate for travel, it will not be lawful to charge higher than the flat rate for those with SEN (for example paying a % of the cost). 

  Go to Glossary

  

  Noddy 'no-nonsense' Guide
  Authors: David Wolfe QC, Leon Glenister

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