Councils are required to make suitable free travel arrangements for eligible children to enable them to attend school/college.
Hounslow Council only provide travel assistance to children of compulsory school age (reception upwards).
Free travel for eligible children does not mean that the transport must be arranged by the Council if “suitable” transport has already been arranged by others. It is expected that the provision of free bus services by Transport for London (TfL) will meet the need for travel assistance in almost all cases.
The council’s approach to providing travel assistance is to promote independence and allow children and young people to reach their full potential and Independent Travel Training (ITT) contributes toward this.
Within the London area pupils under the age of 19 in full time education are entitled to free travel on buses operated by Transport for London (TfL). Hounslow considers that this is sufficient to meet the travel needs of most children and young people.
Travel training video for Hounslow
Travel Training gives young people with additional needs the skills to get to and from school college by public transport! Something most of us take for granted.
View our policies
Our Travel Assistance Policies set out the arrangements for meeting our statutory duty for eligible children and young people.
It is important that you have read through the relevant Travel Assistance policy which applies to your circumstances before you complete an application for an assessment for travel assistance. If after reading through the relevant policy you feel that you may be eligible for Council provided assistance, please complete our on-line application form.
Please note having an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) does not automatically mean that a child/young person is eligible for borough provided travel assistance. Assessments for eligibility of borough provided travel assistance are made on the needs of the child/young person only.
In circumstances where parents/carers have decided to send their child/young person to a school that is further away than the school/college(s) that the Council has deemed suitable and available to meet the needs of the child, parents/carers will be expected to fund and make their own travel arrangements.
