Have your say on post 16-travel assistance
We are asking for feedback on our draft Post-16 Travel Assistance Policy Statement. The groups we are targeting for this feedback are young people around sixth form age, their parents and carers and other stakeholders.
The Post-16 Travel Assistance Policy Statement outlines the support available through the Council, schools, colleges, other education settings, and transport operators. This is to assist young people of sixth form age, and adult learners aged 19+ with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), in getting to school and college. It includes information about:
- the Council's home-to-school/college transport policy for learners with an EHCP
- contributions and concessions
- contact details for schools and colleges
If you are a young person, parent, carer, school or other interested party, we want to give you the opportunity to voice your opinion. We want you to help us shape this policy before it is finalised.
There is no statutory requirement to provide free or subsidised post-16 travel support. However, as a Local Authority, we do have a duty to review, prepare and publish an annual transport policy by the 31 May each year.
The core elements of the Council's draft support policy for young people remain consistent with the previous version. Moving forward, we are proposing the introduction of some updates to the process. These would include:
- adjustments to travel costs for the 2025/26 academic year (in line with national inflation rates)
- revised and updated contact details
- a requirement for pupils to reapply for discretionary travel assistance each year
We want to make sure that children and young people in Surrey who are most in need of travel support get the help they need to access their education settings. To ensure this, we have proposed these changes to support our continued commitment.
The policy statement's revised wording also aims to make the information needed clearer. This ensures the application process is as smooth as possible for parents and carers when you are applying for Home to School Travel Assistance.
Find out more
You can read the draft policy statement and submit your response to the consultation on our Post-16 Travel Assistance Policy Statement Consultation page. The consultation starts on Monday 10 March and runs until 23:59pm on Wednesday 16 April.
