In This Article

  • Understanding Your Child’s Transport Entitlement
  • The New Funding Formula: What’s Changed
  • Why Costs Have Risen So Much
  • Gaps the Reform Doesn’t Address
  • What This Means for London Families

Understanding Your Child’s Transport Entitlement

Home-to-school transport in England is governed by the Education Act 1996, alongside statutory Department for Education guidance. Local authorities must provide free transport for children of compulsory school age in several circumstances: when the nearest suitable school is more than two miles away for under-8s, more than three miles for over-8s, when there’s no safe walking route, or when a child cannot walk to school because of special educational needs, a disability, or a mobility problem.

Families receiving certain benefits, such as those linked to free school meals, may also qualify for support under separate distance thresholds. Local authorities can additionally offer discretionary or paid-for transport to families who don’t meet the statutory criteria, and some councils extend help to young people aged 16 and over who remain in education.

The New Funding Formula: What’s Changed

Historically, transport funding hasn’t been ring-fenced in the way core school funding is. It’s instead drawn from councils’ wider general funding allocations rather than the Dedicated Schools Grant, which has made it harder for local authorities to plan around rising demand.

That’s changing from the 2026/27 financial year. Following an announcement in mid-2025, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has now published the technical detail behind a new bespoke formula for calculating transport funding. Rather than relying on broad population figures, the formula estimates need using pupil-level data, factoring in which children are likely to qualify for free transport and how far they travel to school. Crucially, it recognises that SEND transport is substantially more expensive to deliver than mainstream provision, reflecting the specialist vehicles, escorts, and individually tailored routes many SEND journeys require.

It’s worth noting the formula only covers pre-16 transport. Post-16 SEND transport, an area many families and providers have flagged as under-resourced, sits outside its scope for now.

Why Costs Have Risen So Much

The numbers explain why this reform has become a priority. Local authority spending on home-to-school transport across England grew from around £1 billion in 2015/16 to roughly £2.5 billion in 2024/25, with SEND-related spending alone rising from about £650 million to nearly £2 billion over that period.



Source: Department for Education, Financial year 2024-25, LA and school expenditure, published December 2025

Research published by the Local Government Association in mid-2025 pointed to several drivers behind this growth: an increase in children holding Education, Health and Care Plans, more children being placed in schools further from home, and growing complexity of need that often calls for individualised transport arrangements rather than shared services. A National Audit Office report from October 2025 confirmed this trend, finding that councils have consistently spent more on transport than they originally budgeted for.

Gaps the Reform Doesn’t Address

A Public Accounts Committee report published in March 2026 welcomed the new formula as a step forward but flagged unresolved questions. The Committee noted that post-16 SEND transport remains outside its scope, and called on the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to explain more clearly how it will judge whether the new approach genuinely reflects local needs on the ground. It also asked for greater clarity on how wider reforms to SEND provision are expected to affect transport budgets over time.

What This Means for London Families

For families across London boroughs, the practical impact of these funding changes will likely become clearer as councils work through their 2026/27 budget planning. What’s already evident is that demand for SEND transport, and recognition of its true cost, is only growing. Whatever shape local commissioning takes as this formula beds in, families will continue to need transport providers who understand the individual needs of each child and can offer consistency and care on every journey.

Find out more details here.

Let Jimac Cars provide safe and reliable transport for families and young people with SEND needs, making every journey easier and stress-free.