The Isle of Wight Council has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the School Transport Policy, which sets out how the local authority provides children and young people with assistance to get to schools and other educational settings on the Island.
The council currently arranges daily transport to school for more than 1,650 children and young people.
Of these, around 1,100 attend mainstream school places and over 350 attend places that provide for their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The council is required by law to provide school transport, free of charge, to all children and young people of compulsory school age that meet the nationally set distance and statutory eligibility criteria stipulated by the Department for Education (DfE).
The proposals in the consultation include:
- amendments to wording throughout the policy to align with the DfE statutory guidance, and to provide clarity on processes for parents/carers;
- an increase in parental contributions for spare seats on contracted school buses.
In addition, the council is consulting in relation to post-16 travel arrangements.
Although there is no automatic entitlement to local authority funded school or college transport once a student is over the age of 16, the Isle of Wight Council makes discretionary funding available in certain circumstances.
The proposal in the consultation includes an increase in parental contributions for students deemed eligible for travel assistance.
The consultations, along with further information and the draft policy, are available online at: https://www.iow.gov.uk/schooltransport
For paper copies of the documentation or any queries about the consultation, please email transport.info@iow.gov.uk with ‘School Transport Policy consultation 2025’ as the subject or call (01983) 823780.
Paper consultation forms can be returned to County Hall.
The consultation closes on Friday 28 November 2025 and if approved, any changes to the policy will be applied to new applications for transport from September 2026.
