Parental Payments

A parental payment is a form of transport assistance. We award transport assistance via a parental payment if it is not possible or appropriate to make available a seat on a vehicle. It is an assistance payment to contribute towards the cost of alternative arrangements made by parents/carers. It is not intended as a full reimbursement of costs.

We will notify you if we are awarding a parental payment. You cannot choose to receive a parental payment or ‘swap’ another form of transport assistance that you have been awarded to receive a payment instead.

We will not award a parental payment if there is a transport service in your area. Parental payments are not a form of 'compensation' if transport services experience disruption. There is no legal basis for payment of compensation or costs if services are disrupted.

Parental payments do not impact on any other benefits or income that your household receives. The payment is tax free as the payment is made for your child for the purpose of home to school transport assistance.

If you have already received confirmation that you are entitled to a Parental Payment, you DO NOT need to reapply for transport assistance.

There are two types of Parental Payment. 

Monthly Parental Payment

• These are typically for children who have a special transport need and are attending special educational provision.
• A daily rate is calculated, that reflects the distance from home to school based on the nearest available route and your child’s additional transport needs.
• You submit a claim online each month based on the number of days your child actually attended school in the previous month.

Annual Parental Payment

• These are typically for children attending mainstream schools.
• You claim online each year and receive a single payment to cover the full school year.
• Your payment is based on the distance from your home to your nearest suitable school, which we calculate based on the nearest available route.
• One payment is made per family, regardless of the number of children or schools attended. The distance to the furthest away school is used to calculate the payment if your children attend different schools.

Payment rates are as follows:

Please note that you can only submit a claim if you have been formally advised by the EA that you have been awarded a Parental Payment.

Annual Parental Payment

If you were awarded an annual payment outside of the normal timeframes e.g. mid-year, or require assistance, please contact us by email at Transport.ParentalPayment@eani.org.uk or phone 028 9598 5959 (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm).

Monthly Parental Payment

You must submit a claim every month.

Claims must be submitted at the start of the following month e.g. September’s claim should be submitted promptly at the beginning of October etc. Claims received more than three months after the last date of attendance claimed will not be paid.

Your claim will not be processed until the school has verified the attendance details. Be advised that schools may not be in a position to verify attendance details during holiday periods/school closures i.e. Easter etc. This may mean that you will not receive payment until the following month.

1. You will need your National Insurance Number; your children's names, dates of births and schools they will be attending; your address, email and telephone number; your bank or building society account number and sort code.
2. New applicants must register first and you will need your National Insurance Number, a valid email address and your child’s details. Once registered you will receive an email within 48 hours with a one-time login. You will be asked to submit your bank details.
3. To submit a claim, you would need to login using your email address and password.  
4. The portal opens on the 1st working day of each month and closes on a certain date. Details available below.
5. Once you have submit a claim you can’t make any further claims until this claim has been verified by the school and processed. The school will then be asked to verify your claim. Once verified the claim will be then be processed and you will receive a remittance advance once payment has been made. 

Monthly – Apply Now

What do I do if I miss the deadline to submit a claim?

You can submit claims for multiple months at the same time when the portal re-opens the following month.   Please remember that claims received more than three months after the last date of attendance will not be paid.

To claim for dates over multiple months, use the arrows (<< or  >>) to move through the calendar and select all the dates you want to claim for. Only move to the next step when you have completed ALL the months required.

You cannot submit further claims until the school has verified your previous claim(s).

If the attendance details are verified within the dates outlined in the payment schedule (table below) you will receive payment by the end of the same month. Verified claims received after this date will be paid by the end of the following month. The closing date represents the deadline when claims must be received and verified for a payment to be made that same month and I would draw your attention to the early closing date in December.

*Please note the online portal will only be available from 1 to 4 December 26 for claim submissions due to the earlier payment date of 18 December 26. 

These dates are provided by our Finance Section each financial year; a new financial year calendar will be made available in April 2027* 

If you require assistance, contact us on 028 9598 5959 (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm).

If you are unable to apply online, paper applications will only be available on request – see contact details below.