Responding to the new statistics which show an estimated 520,000 children are using local authority funded home to school transport, Rob Williams, senior policy advisor at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“Every child, including those with special educational needs (SEND), deserves access to a suitable education, regardless of where they live, their family’s financial situation, or whether they have their own transport.

“For many, transport provided by the local authority plays a crucial role in ensuring this, helping children to attend school regularly and develop their independence.

“However, a growing number of councils are reducing transport provision due to increasing budgetary pressures, and when children simply cannot get to school this threatens to deepen existing attainment gaps and place even more pressure on already stretched parents.

“This is just one part of a broader, worrying mismatch which has emerged over the last decade between the needs of children, especially those with SEND, and the resources available to ensure they get the provision they deserve. It’s vital that the government’s promised white paper delivers both the investment and reform needed to fix this broken system.”