Assisted Travel Review

Wirral Council is committed to making sure all children and young people have a great start in life, are safe and healthy, and have access to high quality education so they can achieve their full potential.

Many of them attend local schools or colleges. In most cases, this means pupils can walk or cycle to school with their parents or carers, but some children and young people need help.

The Department for Education (DfE) sets out the statutory responsibilities for Local Authorities (LA) and their duties in supporting children and young people with travel assistance. As an LA, we must fulfil these statutory responsibilities.

We have two travel policies which cover this. The policies can be found in the documents section of this page and are:

  • Assisted travel policy for children and young people aged 0-16 2026-27
  • Post-16 assisted travel statement 2026-27


Both policies are due for review, having not been refreshed for a number of years. While there is a need to make savings and reduce the environmental impact of the service, the council is also looking at how it can utilise some of the savings to help more children and young people travel independently.

Currently around 2,200 children and young people get to school using transport provided by the council. This includes approximately 1,900 children up to age 16 and 230 aged 16 and over.

We want to make sure we provide modern services that help our children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) develop and grow in the future. To do this we need to ensure we have a stable financial footing with sustainable costs – while offering a service that supports the young people who need it the most.

A key aim of changing the assisted travel policies is to enable the council to fund more Independent Travel Training. This is one-to-one travel support to teach young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) the skills, knowledge and confidence to use public transport on their own. As part of this increased independence, the consultation survey will also ask for views on the introduction of pick up points, where young people who have the capability, and support, could be collected for their transport from central points such as bus stops.

Home to School Transport will cost the council £12.5 million for the 2024/25 financial year, and based on current projections, this is expected to rise. We’re also hearing that, like us, councils across the country are struggling with a shortage of transport providers, suitable vehicles, and qualified drivers. Given these challenges, we asked key stakeholders to help us review the policies and we now need input from local people to shape how we move forward.

The proposed new policy and statement can be found in the documents section of this page. A summary document of the proposed changes is also available in the documents section. A summary of key changes is included in the table below.

Proposal One

The policy that covered compulsory school aged transport has been changed to include the age range 0-4. Previously, the policy made no comment in relation to this age group, and it is vital that parents/carers are able to know what support is available. This change will mean this policy covers the age range 0-16, the policy will differentiate between 0-4 and 5-16 due to the different statutory responsibilities for the LA.

A specific section in the policy outlines the statutory responsibilities for the 0-4 age group and what options are available for parents/carers.

The 5-16 age group is separate due to the specific legislation from the DfE regarding the LA’s statutory responsibilities and the offer the LA must make for compulsory school attendance.

In addition, the policy will now refer to Assisted Travel for 0-16 age group.

Proposal Two

The previous policy offered a Personal Transport Budget of 45p per mile for a return journey to the education setting. The new Personal Transport Budget will include a supplementary amount of £3 per day for parents/carers accessing this support.

The supplementary £3 is to reflect the additional fixed costs of transport that would be provided by parents/carers, if they take responsibility to transport their child to school where the LA deems it appropriate based on the needs of the child as set out in the policy.

The Personal Transport Budget will now offer £3 per day and 45p per mile for two journeys each day. This is to support journeys within the Wirral LA boundary. For journeys that go beyond Wirral, a discussion in relation to the Personal Transport Budget will be required with the Assisted Travel Team.

Proposal Three

It is proposed that the Post-16 Statement be updated with the introduction of a Learner Contribution of £680. If you qualify for free school meals, are a Child Looked After (CLA) or a Care Leaver, you will not need to make a contribution.


We are seeking feedback on the proposals and it’s important that we hear from young people, parents/ carers, schools, and transport providers. All the feedback received will be collected and reviewed by the Children, Young People and Education Committee in March 2026 and used to inform decisions on policy and statement changes.

To have your say please complete the online survey below or contact us for further information or assistance in completing the survey.

Wirral Council is committed to making sure all children and young people have a great start in life, are safe and healthy, and have access to high quality education so they can achieve their full potential.

Many of them attend local schools or colleges. In most cases, this means pupils can walk or cycle to school with their parents or carers, but some children and young people need help.

The Department for Education (DfE) sets out the statutory responsibilities for Local Authorities (LA) and their duties in supporting children and young people with travel assistance. As an LA, we must fulfil these statutory responsibilities.

We have two travel policies which cover this. The policies can be found in the documents section of this page and are:

  • Assisted travel policy for children and young people aged 0-16 2026-27
  • Post-16 assisted travel statement 2026-27


Both policies are due for review, having not been refreshed for a number of years. While there is a need to make savings and reduce the environmental impact of the service, the council is also looking at how it can utilise some of the savings to help more children and young people travel independently.

Currently around 2,200 children and young people get to school using transport provided by the council. This includes approximately 1,900 children up to age 16 and 230 aged 16 and over.

We want to make sure we provide modern services that help our children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) develop and grow in the future. To do this we need to ensure we have a stable financial footing with sustainable costs – while offering a service that supports the young people who need it the most.

A key aim of changing the assisted travel policies is to enable the council to fund more Independent Travel Training. This is one-to-one travel support to teach young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) the skills, knowledge and confidence to use public transport on their own. As part of this increased independence, the consultation survey will also ask for views on the introduction of pick up points, where young people who have the capability, and support, could be collected for their transport from central points such as bus stops.

Home to School Transport will cost the council £12.5 million for the 2024/25 financial year, and based on current projections, this is expected to rise. We’re also hearing that, like us, councils across the country are struggling with a shortage of transport providers, suitable vehicles, and qualified drivers. Given these challenges, we asked key stakeholders to help us review the policies and we now need input from local people to shape how we move forward.

The proposed new policy and statement can be found in the documents section of this page. A summary document of the proposed changes is also available in the documents section. A summary of key changes is included in the table below.

Proposal One

The policy that covered compulsory school aged transport has been changed to include the age range 0-4. Previously, the policy made no comment in relation to this age group, and it is vital that parents/carers are able to know what support is available. This change will mean this policy covers the age range 0-16, the policy will differentiate between 0-4 and 5-16 due to the different statutory responsibilities for the LA.

A specific section in the policy outlines the statutory responsibilities for the 0-4 age group and what options are available for parents/carers.

The 5-16 age group is separate due to the specific legislation from the DfE regarding the LA’s statutory responsibilities and the offer the LA must make for compulsory school attendance.

In addition, the policy will now refer to Assisted Travel for 0-16 age group.

Proposal Two

The previous policy offered a Personal Transport Budget of 45p per mile for a return journey to the education setting. The new Personal Transport Budget will include a supplementary amount of £3 per day for parents/carers accessing this support.

The supplementary £3 is to reflect the additional fixed costs of transport that would be provided by parents/carers, if they take responsibility to transport their child to school where the LA deems it appropriate based on the needs of the child as set out in the policy.

The Personal Transport Budget will now offer £3 per day and 45p per mile for two journeys each day. This is to support journeys within the Wirral LA boundary. For journeys that go beyond Wirral, a discussion in relation to the Personal Transport Budget will be required with the Assisted Travel Team.

Proposal Three

It is proposed that the Post-16 Statement be updated with the introduction of a Learner Contribution of £680. If you qualify for free school meals, are a Child Looked After (CLA) or a Care Leaver, you will not need to make a contribution.


We are seeking feedback on the proposals and it’s important that we hear from young people, parents/ carers, schools, and transport providers. All the feedback received will be collected and reviewed by the Children, Young People and Education Committee in March 2026 and used to inform decisions on policy and statement changes.

To have your say please complete the online survey below or contact us for further information or assistance in completing the survey.
Page last updated: 13 Oct 2025, 11:33 AM