A faith school is one which is voluntary aided, or a school that is financially supported by a particular religious group, usually for children from that religion.
Parents are required to make their own arrangements where the child is starting school and is attending part time
Please note that there are different polices if you are applying for travel in:
Policy for 2011/12 academic year
Essex County Council will provide transport for children attending their designated faith school if they meet the qualifying distance criteria:
- two miles or more for children below the age of eight (school years R - 3)
- three miles or more for children aged eight and above (school years 4 - 6)
The child must be baptised into the faith of the school and evidence of this supplied at the time of application.
How to apply
We require one completed form per child. Due to the requirement for documentation to be supplied with an application for a faith school, applications cannot currently be completed online.
If you require a printed copy of the application form, please contact us.
Please ensure that your application is fully completed before submitting. When applying for transport to a primary faith school, it is important that you provide us with evidence of your child’s faith. This can be a copy of your child’s baptism certificate or a signature on the application form from your parish priest, vicar, rabbi or equivalent. Incomplete forms will be rejected.
Policy from September 2012
Following extensive consultation, Essex County Council has recently taken the decision to amend the home to school transport policy to remove the subsidy for travel to faith schools, while retaining it for low income families. The subsidy will be removed for new entrants to primary and secondary schools with effect from September 2012. In order to qualify for transport to a faith primary school, the following must apply:
- your family must be eligible for free school meals, maximum level Working Tax Credit or have a gross annual household income of less than £16,190 and live at least two miles from your designated or nearer faith school
- The child must be baptised into the faith of the school or a member of the Jewish faith. A baptism certificate, or written confirmation from your priest or Rabbi must be submitted with the application.
Some Church of England Schools are also the catchment school or the nearest available school for the child’s home address, for admission on a non-faith basis. Where this applies, the child will be eligible for free transport under the standard policy, i.e. provided they reside at least two miles for children aged under 8 and three miles for children aged over 8.
The qualifying distance will be measured by the nearest available route. That is a route between the home address and the designated school that can be walked by a child, accompanied as necessary by an adult, in reasonable safety.
The route and its availability will be determined by Essex County Council.
This policy applies only to children who are resident in the area administered by Essex County Council. Free transport may take the form of a seat on a contract bus or in some circumstances the reimbursement of fuel costs for the use of a car.
The designated Catholic faith school for the home address of the child will be determined by Essex County Council in liaison with the Catholic diocese. For Church of England, Jewish and Muslim schools, it is the nearest school of that faith to the home address. Contact the Education Transport and Awards team if you require further clarification.
Essex County Council is able to offer parents/carers a payment in advance in order for them to take their children to school, when the cost of the payment is less than the cost of Essex County Council providing transport.
The mileage rate is paid at 45p to cover fuel costs for return journeys at the start and end of the standard school day. Please tick the box on the application form if you would like to be considered for advance fuel reimbursement.
How to apply
We require one completed form per child. Due to the requirement for documentation to be supplied with an application for a faith school, applications cannot currently be completed online.
If you require a printed copy of the application form, please contact us.
Please ensure that your application is fully completed before submitting. When applying for transport to a primary faith school, it is important that you provide us with evidence of your child’s faith. This can be a copy of your child’s baptism certificate or a signature on the application form from your parish priest, vicar, rabbi or equivalent. Incomplete forms will be rejected.
Please call ContactEssex on 0845 6032200 and ask to speak to the Education Transport and Awards Team for further information.