If your child has been allocated a place in a secondary faith school you may be entitled to assistance with home to school transport.
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.
Policy for the 2011/12 academic year
Essex County Council will provide transport for children attending their designated faith secondary school if they meet the qualifying distance criteria:
- Three miles or more for children attending secondary schools (school years 7 - 11)
The child must be baptised into the faith of the school and evidence of this supplied at the time of application.
Essex County Council will also provide transport for pupils who attend a school closer than the designated faith school for the home address, as measured by the nearest road route. The qualifying distance will, however, still need to be met.
There is a charge payable for the transport of entitled students attending faith secondary schools. The charge for the current academic year is £110 a term.
The charge for those of secondary school age will be payable termly and in advance at the rate determined by Essex County Council.
Families where more than two children travel will not be charged for the transport of more than two children at any one time.
The charge will be waived for families who receive Income Support, qualifying benefits or other income that is at or below the level that would qualify for the payment of Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based).
Free transport will be provided for those children for whom the faith school is the nearest secondary school to the home address or is closer to the home address than the designated mainstream non-faith secondary school. This is measured by the nearest road route for those who meet the qualifying distance criteria.
Transport may take the form of a seat on a contract bus, or a ticket for a public bus or train or in some circumstances the reimbursement of fuel costs for the use of a car.
Children of secondary school age who are entitled to transport will be provided with a travel pass. Failure to produce a valid pass will mean that your child is unable to travel.
This policy only applies to pupils who are resident in the area administered by Essex County Council.
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.
Low income families
Essex County Council provides home to school transport assistance to pupils aged 11-16 from low income families who are attending the nearest faith school to their home address, where it is more than two miles but less than 15 miles from their home.
Low income families are defined as those who are entitled to
free school meals (whether they are claiming these or not), or those who are in receipt of their maximum level of Working Tax Credit (i.e. no reductions due to income).
If you wish to apply on this basis, your application should be accompanied by a written statement giving your reasons for choosing a faith school.
How to apply for the 2011/12 academic year
Below you can find applications for:
We regret that you cannot apply online for secondary faith transport.
You must download, print out and complete a 2011/12 application form. We require one form per child.
Please ensure that your application is fully completed. When applying for transport to a faith school you must 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.
Alternatively, if you chose the school for reasons of you religion or belief, please provide a written statement explaining these reasons and your application will be considered.
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 secondary school, the following must apply:
- The family must be eligible for free school meals or maximum level Working Tax Credit and live between two and 15 miles from their designated faith school
And:
- a statement to support the reasons for choosing a faith school, on grounds of religion or belief, must be provided with the application. Alternatively, 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
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 pupil, accompanied as necessary by an adult, in reasonable safety.
The route and its availability will be determined by Essex County Council.
Or, for families not on low income:
- The designated faith secondary school is closer than the designated (catchment) non-faith secondary school, as measured by the nearest road route, and you reside at least three miles from the school
Transport may take the form of a seat on a contract bus, or a ticket for a public bus or train or in some circumstances the reimbursement of fuel costs for the use of a car.
Children of secondary school age who are entitled to transport will be provided with a travel pass. Failure to produce a valid pass will mean that your child is unable to travel.
This policy only applies to pupils who are resident in the area administered by Essex County Council.
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
Below you can find applications for:
We regret that you cannot apply online for secondary faith transport.
You must download, print out and complete an application form. We require one form per child.
Please ensure that your application is fully completed. When applying for transport to a faith school you must 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.
Alternatively, if you chose the school for reasons of you religion or belief, please provide a written statement explaining these reasons and your application will be considered.
Please call ContactEssex on 0845 603 2200 and ask to speak to the Education Transport and Awards Team for further information.