Appeal a school transport decision

As a parent or carer you can appeal against the initial decision of refusal or non-provision of school transport.

Appeal process

The appeal process is in two stages:

Stage 1

A senior officer assesses all appeals against our approved Home to school transport policy. They will take into account special circumstances. You must provide any evidence to demonstrate the special circumstances, when you are making your appeal.

You must make your request in writing by completing the Request for Review of Transport Entitlement Decision form available to download from this page.

We will write to you within 20 working days of receiving your appeal. We will provide you with the detailed reasoning for the decision, including the factors which were considered and details of who was consulted. We will also inform you how to escalate your appeal to the next stage if you are not happy with the outcome.

Stage 2

If you are still not happy with the decision, you can ask for your complaint to be referred to an independent review panel. You must make your request in writing by completing the Request for Review of Transport Entitlement Decision form available to download from this page. The panel will convene within 40 working days of your request. You will have the option to attend the panel hearing in person to present your case or for the panel to review your case based on written evidence.

The panel will send you a decision letter, within five working days, including details of how to escalate your complaint to the local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

If you wish to complain about the way applications or appeals are handled, please use our complaints procedure.

Appeal a school transport decision form

School transport applications - privacy notice