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Home to School Transport Transformation Programme
Published
As many of you will be aware Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) is currently going through a major transport review process for all children with special educational needs that are eligible to travel on Home to School Transport (H2S).
As the review process has just passed the halfway point, we thought this would be an opportune time to update on progress and what has been happening so far.
Why we are reviewing transport arrangements
The background to the Review is on the Council’s website and FAQs are regularly updated and can be found at this link https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/send-transport-review.
Across the country the number of children and young people (CYP) with Education, Health, Care Plans (EHCP’s) has been growing for the last few years and in Gloucestershire (as at Jan 2024) over 5860 child and young person aged 0-25 have an EHCP maintained by the local authority. In addition to these a further 556 are undergoing assessment and many of these are eligible for support with home to school transport so the demand is ever increasing.
A further challenge is the impact the last few years has had on local transport providers. Through the pandemic and combined with the cost-of-living crisis, the taxi industry has seen a period of change with many drivers leaving to seek work elsewhere. To put it simply, GCC has increased demand at a time when local transport providers have reduced in capacity.
Therefore, to ensure we can keep delivering services to eligible children and young people, it is essential that GCC reviewed the whole network over a 12-month period, to ensure each route was and is running effectively and efficiently.
Over time passengers on routes change, some move on to other schools or leave for other reasons, new ones arrive and although when new requests are made, we try to accommodate them as quickly as possible, it may not always be on the best route. As this is a frequent occurrence, especially leading up to the start of each academic year in September, the network of routes quickly becomes less efficient.
So, whilst we understand that change can cause anxiety and is difficult for some, it is inevitable, to ensure we maintain the most efficient use of the routes and vehicles available.
How will I be notified of any changes?
All arrangements for children and young people are undergoing review and parents/carers are being notified as and when their child’s school is in the next phase of the review. Whilst many will not change contractor/transport provider, those that do, will receive a home visit from their new transport team shortly before any change is implemented, to help with the settling in.
When changes are made to routes, we consult with the school, and their input is valuable in ensuring that any new combinations of passengers are successful. We appreciate that this is not always successful and sometimes the arrangements have to be revisited if relationships break down for any reason.
The current review is well underway and out of the 6 agreed Phases, Phase 5 will be implemented after February half term, and the final phase will be after the Easter break.
Once Phase 6 is complete a summary assessment will be undertaken to confirm whether the network is fully optimised, has reduced congestion around schools by reducing the number of vehicles (with associated environmental benefits) and has routes that are more sustainable.
The local authority has undertaken this review as GCC is responsible for ensuring public taxpayers' money is used as efficiently as possible and to ensure that eligible children and young people are provided with appropriate home to school transport.
A reminder that information is available on the dedicated webpage at https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/send-transport-review
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