Home to School Transport – You said, and what we are doing

The Education Planning & Infrastructure - Commissioning for Learning, responsible for SEN transport, provided the following responses.

You said:

Parent carers are not getting timely communication about changes to transport arrangements so feeling anxious and unable to prepare children for any changes.  Parents understand there needs to be a review each year to current arrangements but would appreciate more communication earlier.

We are doing:

To make sure the council continues to provide the most efficient and effective home to school transport service for children, we are currently reviewing existing arrangements. Whilst we have reviewed individual home to school transport routes in recent years, it has been some time since we have reviewed them all. 

It is important that we now look at all transport routes together to make sure we have the right provision in place, making sure a child’s needs are met and that they get to school as quickly as possible. We also want to make sure that we are not using more vehicles than is necessary, to help relieve congestion around the school site at drop off and pick up times.

All parents have now been notified of the work being progressed across the sector, however this exercise has proved to be a learning experience and we acknowledge that our communications could have been better, and the process started earlier. 

• We have written to every parent carer who will be involved in the review process between now and April 2024. A dedicated webpage has also been created with more information including the dates each school will be reviewed and a review email address for comments. These can be found at: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/send-transport-review . We do not anticipate any changes to this programme but should there be any we will notify parents accordingly.
• Following a review of Phase 1, each future phase now has a greater lead in time with the aim of a smoother and more efficient transition. We understand that changes, no matter how long the lead in time is, can be challenging during the settling down period so to help with this, if there are changes to a child’s arrangements, we will let parent carers know as quickly as possible.
• If there is a change to the transport provider, they will arrange a home visit, to help make the start of any new arrangements as smooth as possible.
• As part of this process, children’s Passenger Safety Plans (PSPs) will be reviewed and parents have been asked to get in contact with the team if their/their child’s circumstances have changed.
• Any changes, which could be to the route taken, the transport provider or the children they travel with, will be reviewed before the end of April 2024. 

You said:

There are not enough Senior Officer Review (SOR) Panel meeting for transport appeals in September so they move into October and November and in the meantime, children may not be getting to school.

We are doing:

Senior Officer Review (SOR) Panels have historically met on a monthly basis to hear travel/transport related appeals. The Panel is currently meeting every 2 weeks and has a significant number of appeals both in terms of Mainstream and SEND on the agenda at each Panel. It is important that we consider each application on its individual merits, however it is worth noting that if a child is entitled to support with travel, they will have arrangements put in place.

Appeals are for those who are not ordinarily entitled to assistance and must therefore evidence exceptional circumstances. There is no guarantee that the SOR Panel will uphold an appeal. It should be noted that increasingly appeals are being requested, where exceptional circumstances are not evident, and these are adding to the volume of appeals to be heard. 

Every appeal requires a background assessment and details to be considered and these take time to prepare and therefore the Panel cannot be held more than every 2 weeks.

The following points are helpful to note if considering an appeal:

• Family working arrangements and logistics are not considered exceptional, as per DfE guidance.  Most families will need to make adjustments to their working arrangements to ensure their responsibilities as a parent can be met and that includes transporting or accompanying their children to school or making alternative arrangements for their children. In these cases, appeals are unlikely to be upheld.
• Distance – the national walking guidelines are clear for all children - 2 miles up to the age of 8 years and 3 miles aged 8 years and over. If the family home is under these walking distances, there is a safe route and the child can walk, then they are not entitled to support. The council would expect parents to be able to transport children or plan to get to school themselves, unless exceptional medical or SEND circumstances are evidenced.
• Parental choice – a reminder that if parents have chosen to attend a school that is not the nearest that can meet need with a place available, then they are not entitled to support with transport. If parents have chosen a school further away, then they may of course take up that place, but they will need to ensure they can get their child to school as they will not be entitled to support. This is not an exceptional reason. 
• If an appeal is upheld, the options of travel support may include a Personal Travel Budget (PTB), a Bus Pass, Independence training, or a seat on a multi-occupancy vehicle.  Taxis are no longer an option unless as a last resort.
• If spare seats are available on transport that is already operating but a child is not eligible, then there may be the possibility of paying for a spare seat. The current annual cost is £900 for a spare seat, however a seat is not guaranteed.
• The Post 16 policy is clear that there is no automatic right to entitlement to transport after the age of 16. If, however, a student is assessed to need support, then it will be in the form of a Personal Travel Budget (PTB) or a Bus Pass. The PTB is not expected to cover the full cost of travel and is a contribution. Parents carers can also apply for a Bursary from the post 16 provision to assist with travel costs. 

You said:

Parent carers have concerns for children, who are within 3 mile radius of school and therefore not eligible for home to school transport, getting safely to school.  Could there be more travel training available especially for the year 7s?

We are doing:

Independent travel training for students is being expanded to schools through a trading arrangement however this is considered on a school and case by case basis.  This requires additional resources and training new staff which will take time to implement.

The Policy in relation to transport entitlement is clearly stated on the council’s website for children of all ages. If a child is eligible then arrangements will be made to offer support.  If a child is not eligible, it remains the parents’ responsibility to get their child to school.  Parents can appeal but as indicated above, unless there are exceptional circumstances, an appeal is unlikely to be supported.

Please see the attached resource from the Independent Travel Training (ITT) team - ‘Guidance and Activity booklet’.  This contains guidance and top tips for families to use when thinking about developing children's independent travel. 

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