Physical accessibility to a school is considered an indispensable condition for ensuring the right to education. Greater school commuting times can have negative effects on learning by affecting enrolment and increasing absence, as well as affecting the gender equity in learning. However, physical proximity to schools cannot be evaluated just from a bird’s eye view. IIEP’s third Technical Note presents a methodology which assesses catchment areas – the smallest geographic areas which can be used by planners – to investigate travel times and ensure safe and direct routes to school for learners. Using open-source software and code for accessibility to all educational planners and managers, this approach can guide planners in deciding on school accessibility planning and assess which populations are adequately serviced by schools.