There is an obligation on local authorities to provide school transport assistance for children and young people who are entitled. Transport is not provided to take a child home at lunchtime. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) arrange transport for mainstream primary and secondary children on behalf of Glasgow City Council.
Please note the following:
The Council can make such arrangements as they consider necessary to provide school travel assistance for mainstream schools. The method of transport varies within Glasgow:
Glasgow City Council provide transport for children and young people who live more than 1.2 miles from their local catchment primary school by the shortest suitable walking route and more than 2.2 miles from their local catchment secondary school by the shortest suitable walking route. This is slightly more generous than the statutory obligation.
The distance will be established by measuring the distance from home (footway outside the house) using the council's Geographical Information System. The walking distance is measured from the house gate or pavement heel and then by the shortest suitable walking route to the nearest school gate. Some children and young people will require to walk a reasonable distance from their home address to the transport pick up point, but this will not exceed 1.2 miles for primary schools and 2.2 miles for secondary schools.
Mainstream Primary and secondary school pupils may also be entitled to transport for the following reasons:
You should apply for transport:
This allows time for the authority to liaise with SPT to tender and plan transport for the August term.
If your application is received by the 28 March you will be notified of the outcome by 30 May. Applications received after 28 March will be dealt with in due course.
Apply online using our Free School Transport Application Form. (This application form is for mainstream schools only and cannot be used for ASL schools)
myaccount gives you the ability to set up an online account using a single user name and password to access a range of online public services including some Glasgow City Council services. Read more about myaccount.
Applications are also available by contacting the Corporate Integrated Transport Unit on 0141 287 1056.
National Entitlement card Applications
The National Entitlement card provides advantages over the school bus pass as it can be used to travel on participating buses at any time throughout Scotland and not just for home to school travel.
Children and young people who are 5 to 21 years old will need a new or replacement National Entitlement Card (NEC) or Young Scot National Entitlement Card (Young Scot NEC) to travel for free by bus. Existing Young Scot cards can be upgraded for 16+ using the Transport Scotland app. Under 16s can use their card to apply online to upgrade at getyournec.scot or they can complete an application and request a replacement upgrade.
All existing pupils who have a bus pass have been given the opportunity to apply via an application form distributed by their school.
A parent, guardian or carer is required to apply on behalf of any child under 16 and provide approval for them to travel by bus. Young people 16 and over should apply on their own behalf. Please note if your child is disabled and has a Disabled National Entitlement Card they should continue to use this as the Young Scot National Entitlement Card does not provide free companion travel.
You can apply online at getyournec.scot or if you don't have all of the proofs required you can pick up an application form at any Glasgow library and return the completed form with necessary documents to the library. Please refer to "more information about how to apply" for the documentation required.
For further information about the free bus pass scheme, please visit:
If you require any assistance with your application, please email youngglasgow@glasgowlife.org.uk
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO APPLY FOR YOUR NEC CARD
APPLYING FOR AN NEC CARD FOR FREE BUS TRAVEL
1. Online Applications at getyournec.scot
Before you apply online this is what you'll need. You won't be able to save and resume your application, so please get this information ready before you start.
Applying for a National Entitlement Card for yourself aged 16+?
To apply you will need:
Parent applying on behalf of your child aged under 16?
To apply you will need:
View a full list of accepted proof of address and photograph guidelines
Once you have applied on getyournec.scot, you can log back in to check the status of your application - i.e. submitted, approved, rejected.
You should allow up to ten working days from the date your application was approved for your card to arrive.
2. Library Applications
Individual Applications can be submitted at any Glasgow Life library using the attached all in one form and providing 2 pieces of supporting documentation as outlined below. If there is no photographic ID available then a photo referee will be required and this forms one piece of identification. (If pupils are in school then SEEMIS could provide the other form of identification).
PASS Requirements
NEC cards are PASS (Proof of Age Standard Scheme) approved cards and each application route requires at least 2 corroborating pieces of identification. The following pieces of personal information must tie in with the details provided on the application:
*SEEMIS and Carefirst are 2 examples of 'Trusted Sources' but there may be other agencies who can provide verification in the form of a letter as their referral of YP comes from a trusted source. (ie Youth Justice agencies).
If you apply online, you will receive an email to confirm the details you have submitted.
Consideration will be given to the application and whether this meets the above criteria as outlined. A letter is then sent to parent/carer to confirm the decision.
If you apply before 28 March each year you will be notified of the outcome by 30 May each year.
Background
All Local Authorities have a duty under the Additional Support for LearningAct to identify, provide and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including the need for transport.
Glasgow City Council may provide supported school travel assistance for children and young people who have been assessed as requiring it because of their additional support needs. We place a strong emphasis on including pupils with additional support needs within their local schools and communities and our transport policy reflects that commitment.
The council want to ensure that the travel assistance we provide supports children and young people's needs in the best way as they develop. This will be assessed on an annual basis and Parent/carers of children attending ASL establishments are required to complete an annual travel assessment form with the assistance of their school..
This is to ensure where travel assistance is being provided, that it is meeting the correct needs of children and young people, in particular to equip them with the vital independent travel skills, as best possible, to fulfil their potential before moving on to post school destinations.
This ensures a more tailored and flexible approach to meeting children's individual requirements, which will be reviewed annually to reflect changes in children and young people over the year.
This travel assessment process will determine what is best for each child and may result in full independent travel, or a move away from fully supported travel assistance depending on the child / young person's needs.
CRITERIA FOR ASL TRANSPORT
Glasgow City Council provide transport for children and young people who live more than 1.2 miles from their ASL primary school by the shortest suitable walking route and more than 2.2 miles from their ASL secondary school by the shortest suitable walking route.
The above distance criteria applies to all children. However, where the distance from home to school does not meet the above criteria, the information provided by parents during their child's travel assessment process, will be used to assist us in deciding whether school travel assistance will be provided based on need.
For example:
Travel assistance may be:
Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) arranges transport for mainstream primary and secondary schools on behalf of the authority. Glasgow City Council makes its own arrangements for children with additional support needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
The head teacher will establish with parent/carers and pupils the importance of good behaviour on school transport. Where necessary, examples of unacceptable behaviour will be emphasised to pupils.
The responsibility of ensuring safe and acceptable behaviour remains with parent/carers of a child travelling on a school transport vehicle. Misbehaviour or action which could put the safety of others at risk may result in the removal of the provision of transport by the authority. This may be temporary or permanent.
In circumstances where a pupil's behaviour is unacceptable, the driver may retain the pupil's ticket/pass for identification purposes. Initially SPT along with Education Services will carry out an investigation, if appropriate. The head teacher will invite the parent/carer and the pupil to a meeting and ask the pupil and parent/carer to respond to the report of the incident.
The head teacher will ask for an assurance of the pupil's good conduct prior to the resumption of previous travel arrangements. It is important that the school keeps a record of any such incident and details the responsive action taken. During the interim, alternative arrangements, where necessary involving parents, will require to be made in order that the pupil attends school.
In cases of serious misbehaviour, the head teacher can still exercise his or her right to have regard to the discipline policy of the establishment and Education Services.
The Council, in discharging its statutory requirements, aims to assist parent/carers in their responsibility of ensuring that a child attends school safety and on time in line with our policy on the provision of school transport. The Council will also strive to ensure with the services of Strathclyde Passenger for Transport (SPT) and Land and Environmental Services, are the most effective, suitable and economical use of resources by closely monitoring contracts and routes.
A request to review the decision made regarding your child's transport must be made in writing within 10 days of receipt of the refusal letter. This should be made to the Corporate Integrated Transport Unit (CITU) based at 40 John Street, Glasgow, G1 1JL. Written submission should include any additional evidence to support your request for transport. Reviews which lack specification will be rejected.
Written notification of the outcome of the review will be provided within 28 working days of receipt of the written submission.
We also aim to be responsive to the concerns of parents and carers in the provision of appropriate transport to meet the needs of each pupil. We keep our arrangements for school transport under continuous review.
Parent/carers who have concerns or complaints about any aspect of the provision of mainstream school transport may contact their child's school by telephone giving the details which will then be recorded and submitted to SPT's complaints form.
It is important for parent/carers to have the opportunity to ask questions about eligibility of their child for school transport therefore if you have any enquiries about applying for free school transport please contact the Corporate Integrated Transport Unit on 0141 287 1056.