School transport guidance 2025

Section 6 - School Transport Contracts

6.1 The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme: school transport services

79. Many children travel to school on dedicated school buses or by taxi/private hire vehicle. In terms of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 (“the PVG Act”), drivers of dedicated school transport and any person engaged by the transport provider or the authority to accompany or supervise children travelling on such transport must be PVG scheme members, as they are carrying out a ‘regulated role’ with children. This involves supervision of, or being in sole charge of, children as part of the normal duties of the position. Where an authority provides its own dedicated school transport, it is therefore expected it will employ as drivers and escorts or supervisors only individuals who are members of the PVG Scheme. It is now a legal requirement to be a member of the PVG Scheme if doing regulated roles with children or protected adults.

80. Individuals who are members of the PVG Scheme may sometimes be asked to allow someone other than their employer to see their disclosure record. In general, to make such a request is not allowed. However, certain exceptions have been made including where organisations provide transport services to take children to school. The detailed provisions are set out in regulations.^[36]

81. If a local authority or a school is contracting for services involving the transport of children to and from schools, it can ask for sight of a driver’s Level 2 PVG disclosure. Only councils or schools have the power to make this request and only for school transport services they have commissioned. Requests can only be made to those employees of contractors who will be driving the bus, coach or taxi/private hire vehicle. The service can be either a dedicated school transport service, or a public service that includes a requirement to transport children to and from school.

82. When an online disclosure has been issued, the individual is responsible for sharing it with their employer within 14 days of the disclosure being issued. The applicant is reminded by email to view and share their disclosure (or apply for a review of content in some circumstances), with two further reminders sent in the 14 day period. Disclosure Scotland generally provides disclosures digitally through its online account. If a contractor requires to share the disclosure with a council or school, the applicant can do this through their online account. If they are unable to share this digitally, they should contact Disclosure Scotland to arrange an alternative. This should be done as soon as possible once the need is identified as Disclosure Scotland does not retain disclosures beyond 28 days.

83. The contractor can only show the Level 2 PVG disclosure to the local education authority or school if the employee concerned has given their consent to the contractor. The consent should be given freely and not under duress. The contractor must make clear to the employee that, if they give their consent, the local authority or school will have an opportunity to give their opinion on whether the employee is suitable to be used for the transport service contract.

84. A Level 2 PVG disclosure application must be countersigned. Countersigning can be done by the employing organisation or a third party (some councils and transport authorities do this for transport companies). Once the employer receives their copy of the Level 2 PVG disclosure, they must make appropriate arrangements to allow the local authority or a school to see the disclosure, bearing in mind the sensitive nature of the disclosure and the very tight legal restrictions the Disclosure Act places on who is allowed to see it, namely, those involved in decisions about the contract.

85. The local authority or a school is not allowed to make or keep a copy of the Level 2 PVG disclosure. They must return it as soon as the relevant decision is made. In cases where the Level 2 PVG disclosure is provided via an email, the local authority or a school must not hold or store that disclosure; it should be deleted permanently.

6.2 Type and Standard of Vehicle

86. The type of vehicle used for school transport should be suitable for the purpose intended. It is open to authorities, for example, to exclude use of double decker buses where they consider that to be appropriate and to specify that minibuses must be used on certain routes, such as narrow and difficult roads. Authorities may also wish to consider the potential advantages of stipulating that buses used on some or all of the routes be fitted with CCTV.

87. The duty in the Seat Belts on School Transport (Scotland) Act 2017 to ensure that seat belts are fitted on dedicated school transport services includes vehicles that a school authority owns and directly provides for such a service, and vehicles which are indirectly provided via contractual arrangements with a third party transport operator. In order to fulfil the duty, a school authority must ensure fitment of seatbelts in any vehicles used for its school transport services which were not fitted with seat belts. Alternatively, school authorities have the option to use, or contract for the use of, vehicles which already have seat belts fitted.

88. The associated national guidance^[37] includes an example of best practice for seat belt specifications, which may be followed by school authorities when specifying their school transport contracts.

89. It is for local authorities to set appropriate contract conditions when letting contracts for school transport, which take full account of the circumstances of particular journeys, such as distance and the nature of the route. It is a legal requirement that vehicles be in a fit and roadworthy condition, regardless of their age. Authorities may wish to consider stipulating a maximum age and/or minimum emission standard of vehicles used for school transport in their contracts and seek assurances from operators that such vehicles be of the highest possible standard.

90. In addition, local authorities should also consider the impact of vehicle emissions on air quality and Government’s net zero commitments and ensure, where possible, that the most efficient vehicles are used.

6.3 School Bus Signs and Hazard Warning Lights

91. In terms of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 as amended by the Road Vehicles Lighting (Amendment) Regulations 1994^[38], designated buses and coaches used for journeys to and from school are required to display distinctive retro-reflective yellow school bus signs fitted to the front and rear of the bus. These signs must be plainly visible to road users ahead of, and behind, the bus. Vehicles displaying school bus signs are also permitted to use hazard warning lights when the vehicle is stationary and children are boarding or alighting.

92. The purpose of the school bus sign and hazard warning lights is to make other road users aware that, when the vehicle is stationary, children are likely to be getting on or off the bus and may be crossing the road. Other road users should, therefore, be very cautious when passing a school bus in those circumstances. There is no statutory requirement to remove the school bus signs when the vehicles are not being used to transport children, or to use hazard warning lights when the vehicle is stationary and children are boarding or alighting. However, local authorities may wish to stipulate in their contracts that the signs should only be displayed when children are being transported and that hazard warning lights should be used when children are getting on or off vehicles.

6.4 Eco-Schools

93. The Eco-Schools programme is the largest sustainable schools programme in the world and delivered in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful with funding from Scottish Government. There are eleven topics within the Eco-Schools Scotland programme. Participating schools can choose two topics alongside the Climate Action topic and are required to plan at least three actions for each topic.

94. Objectives of the transport topic can include

• encouraging and enabling parents and children to walk, cycle and use public transport.
• setting up a working group with school, parent, local authority, community, police, and transport representatives to run a school travel or ‘safer routes to school’ project.
• writing and implementing a school travel plan.
• running an effective road safety awareness programme for pupils.
• raising awareness of the damage caused by transport to the environment and people’s health.
• providing adequate support and information about travelling to school for pupils and staff who wish to walk, cycle or use public transport.

More information and resources on the Eco-Schools programme are available on the Keep Scotland Beautiful website^[39].

6.5 Clean Air

95. Not only does reliance on private cars contribute significantly to traffic congestion, it also has an impact on overall levels of air pollution. All but two of the current Air Quality Management Areas in Scotland have been declared on the basis of transport-related emissions of air pollutants, and any reduction in private car/vehicle use for travel to school could play a useful role in improving local air quality.

96. Vehicle idling outside schools whilst dropping off or picking up pupils also has air quality implications. Under regulation 98 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986^[40] it is an offence to leave the engine of a parked vehicle running unnecessarily. The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (Scotland) Regulations 2003^[41] provide local authorities with powers to enforce this legislation and to issue fixed penalties to drivers of parked vehicles who refuse to comply. The Scottish Government has issued guidance to local authorities on making use of these powers.^[42]

97. ‘Switch Off and Breathe’, an initiative operated by the East Central Scotland Vehicle Emissions Partnership, provides useful information and guidance on air pollution for members of the public. The Partnership’s website has a section dedicated to schools, with a particular focus on discouraging idling in the vicinity of schools.^[43]

98. Further air quality information developed specifically for schools is available on the websites for Air Quality in Scotland^[44] and SEPA^[45], and the Scottish Government’s overall approach to air quality policy is set out in its air quality strategy ‘Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 – Towards a Better Place for Everyone’.^[46]

6.6 Zero Emission Transport

99. The transport sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Scotland. In the context of a global climate emergency, and youth climate strikes taking place across Scotland and the world, the Scottish Parliament set legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gases by 75% by 2030, and 100% by 2045, compared to 1990 levels^[47].

100. As the average life of a new diesel vehicle is around 15 years, action needs to be taken now to ensure Scotland meets its climate targets and ends Scotland’s contribution to climate change. Local authorities have a key role to play and are working to reduce corporate emissions as well as taking action locally through the range of services they deliver and procure. Local authorities are encouraged to consider ways to remove greenhouse gas emissions from school transport, recognising the public sector is a significant consumer and therefore local policy is an important factor for influencing vehicle choice among operators. Zero-emission buses are increasingly price competitive with their diesel counterparts over their whole lives, and this trend is expected to continue.

6.7 Planning for new schools

101. The Scottish Government publishes a range of guidance for local authorities to help promote well-designed schools. The publication ‘Learning Estate Strategy’^[48] and its guiding principles provide a platform for investment in the learning estate across Scotland and set out our strategic approach for managing the learning estate, including consideration of the transport needs of local communities who will use the school site.

102. The Scottish Government has also published guidance for local authorities reporting on the condition^[49] and suitability^[50] of the school estate. These documents seek to further improve the consistency and robustness of the reporting of the Condition and Suitability Schools Core Facts data.

103. Scottish Futures Trust^[51] and Architecture and Design Scotland^[52] have produced a wealth of information available for use when planning for new schools.