FAQs — Transport

Can I get help with transport costs for my child to go to school?

The education authority must provide free transport for your child if your child is under 8 years old and lives more than 2 miles away, or if they are over 8 and live more than 3 miles away from the school. This applies if your child is at the local catchment school or if they are at another school where they were placed by the education authority. Transport becomes a complex issue if you make a successful placing request. If you ask for your child to be placed in a school managed by any education authority, including your own, then your child will not be entitled to transport. If you make a successful placing request for a child with additional support needs for a non-education authority school, such as an independent or grant-aided school in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK, then all the fees and other necessary costs of attendance will be paid including transport costs.

Please see Factsheet 7 — Transport to school.