The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead delivers its school transport service through Achieving for Children, a community interest company set up in partnership with the Royal Borough of Kingston and the London Borough of Richmond.
Processing of applications for the 2024-2025 school year will begin in May 2024 onwards.
If you are unsure if your child may be entitled to home to school transport assistance, or which application form to use, please use our Application and Eligibility Checker, which will give you an indication if they may be entitled to assistance, and direct you to the correct application form to use.
The School Transport Team is now operating a call back service only. Priority will be given to calls where the information is not available on the website or in our published policies and question and answer sheet.
National Rail have launched a scheme that offers 16-17 year olds a 50% reduction on most rail fares, meaning you can buy tickets at the same price as a child. The 16-17 Saver can be used to save money on travel to college, trips into town, days out to the coast or weekend festivals – as many times as you like.
For only £30, the 16-17 Saver is valid for one year or until your 18th birthday (whichever is earliest) and discounts will be applied to standard Season, Anytime, Off-Peak and Advance tickets for travel on the National Rail network, except on ScotRail or Caledonian Sleeper services.
Further information on the scheme and how to apply can be found on their website at 16-17 Saver.
When you apply you will need the following information:
- Evidence of age - a valid UK driving licence, passport or national ID card (If you don't have one of these forms of ID, you can upload a scan of your birth certificate or a Government-approved PASS card instead. Please note that applications using these forms of ID will take a little longer to process.).
- A good quality digital passport-style photo of you.
- Debit or credit card for payment.
Other Assistance with Travel
Concessionary fare paying seats
The concessionary fare paying scheme allows young people to buy a pass for a spare seat on an operating Royal Borough home to school transport route, when they are not eligible for free home to school transport. This is available for young people in post-16 education. More details about this can be found on pages 14 to 15 of the home to school transport policy document, found at the bottom of this page.
The list of routes that currently have spare seats for is published on the School Transport Application webpages.
16-25 Railcard
National Rail also offer a 16-25 railcard that offers 1/3 off rail fares for travel across Britain. The card costs £30 for the year and further information on the scheme can be found on their website at 16-25 Railcard.
Local Bus and Train services
You can plan your public transport journey throughout the South East with the door to door route planner from Traveline South East.
There are a variety of concessionary fares available for students from public transport providers. Once you have planned your route please use the contact details shown on Traveline to purchase your pass/ticket directly from the transport provider.
16 to 19 Bursaries
Young people in education or training can apply for a bursary from their school, college or institution for financial support to help them remain in education.
There are two types of bursary:
- A vulnerable person’s bursary is worth £1,200 per year and available to young people in specific vulnerable groups.
- A discretionary bursary that schools, colleges and institutions award to meet individual needs, including help with the cost of transport, meals, books and equipment.
The government decides how these work, and you can find their latest guidance on their website. Applications for both types of bursary are made through schools, colleges and institutions. Further information can be found at 16-19 Bursary Fund
Concessionary transport provided by schools and colleges
Schools and colleges may provide their own assistance with home to school transport; please check the school or college website or contact them directly to make enquiries.