Back to school: what you need to know :Cross Stitch – Newsroom

Children in England and Wales go back to school in early September. Make sure you know when your child’s school reopens. If you’re on a low income, you can also find out about help with the cost of school meals, uniforms and transport.

If your child lives a distance away from their school, they may be entitled to free school transport.

Otherwise there are a number of ways to make sure they get to school safely, such as ‘walking buses’ and ‘bike trains’.

Free school transport

Local authorities have to provide free transport where they decide it is necessary to make sure that a child goes to school. In most cases, it’s up to the local authority to decide what transport is necessary. Your child will be automatically entitled to free transport if both of the following apply:

• they are between five and sixteen years old
• they go to the nearest suitable school, and the school is further away than the ‘statutory walking distance’ – two miles for under eights, or three miles for pupils aged eight and over