Home to school transport appeal process

Home to school transport appeal stages

There are 2 stages to our appeals process.

Stage One - review of the decision by a senior officer in the service. This will not be anyone involved in the original decision.

Stage Two - review by an independent Appeal Panel of council officer.

Stage One: Review by a senior officer

If you’re not happy with a decision on transport for your child or young person, send an email to the Home to School Transport Team to challenge the decision. It helps if you can use the word ‘appeal’ in the title of your email, but it’s not essential.  

You must make your appeal within 4 weeks of the date the original decision was sent to you. Tell us what you think is wrong and what you think ought to happen to put it right. Send us any evidence you think we should consider.

This might include any letters, reports, or representations from your child’s school, from your GP and/or a medical professional or from your social worker if you have one.

If there is any clarification needed about your appeal at this stage, the senior reviewing officer may want to speak to you personally over the phone, at a time to suit you.

If you need a translator, let us know in your email and we can arrange this for you at no charge.

Within 20 working days of you sending us your appeal email, a senior officer will:

• conclude an investigation
• review the original decision
• send you a detailed written outcome of their review.  

This will explain:  

• the decision following the stage one appeal
• how the review was conducted, and if anyone else was consulted
• what factors were considered
• the rationale for the decision reached
• information about how you can escalate their case to stage two if needed

The aim of the process is to reach a resolution of the appeal while applying the law and the council’s policy fairly to all.  

We expect that most appeals will be dealt with much sooner than this timetable suggests, particularly if there is time pressure. If your case is complex, we will let you know when we expect to decide.  

Help to submit your appeal

If you need support with the paperwork or any aspect of your appeal, you can contact Amaze, an independent charity commissioned by the council to provide support for parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Stage Two: Review by a Local Authority Appeal Panel

If you believe the Stage One review decision is wrong, let us know as soon as possible, and at least within 4 weeks. The council will set up an independent Stage Two Appeals Panel to investigate.

The Panel will be made up of council officers, but they will be independent of the original decision-making process. The Panel will be experienced in matters relating to safeguarding, risk assessment and safety. The aim of this Panel is to resolve the appeal and to apply the council’s policy fairly to all.  

The Panel will look at existing reports and will also provide an opportunity for you to make additional representations, which you could do verbally over the phone or via an online meeting or in writing. If the Panel feel they would benefit from some further information to help them decide about your appeal, they may ask for:

• a short telephone call with you
• an online meeting
• or to meet with you in person - you will not have to meet in person if this is not your preference

Officers from the Home to School Transport Service will also be invited to make any additional representations, again either verbally or in writing.

You can ask a friend or representative to help and support you as needed.

The Panel will be set up as soon as possible, but not later than 40 working days after you lodge your Stage Two appeal.

How a Stage Two appeal outcome is communicated

A decision will be sent to you via a letter or email within a week of the meeting, explaining fully the rationale for the decision and covering:

• the decision of the Stage Two Panel
• how the review was conducted, and if anyone else was consulted
• which factors were considered
• the rationale for the decision reached
• how to appeal to the Local Government Ombudsman if needed