What am I supposed to do RE School?

[Soubriquet]

We no longer have a car. We cannot afford to replace it either which means we can no longer get the dc to school.

dd has council transport but it’s from the local town rather than our actual destination, which means she has to get the 7am bus, to get into town, in order to catch her 8am bus to school. Then the reverse happens and she doesn’t get home will gone 5. Purely because of the times plus it’s going to cost us £15 a week!!

ds on the other hand is still at primary school and his school is not in any form of walking distance, nor is there a bus that goes that way. The council has also declined us for transport (which I will appeal) because it’s not the nearest school. I’m aware it isn’t the nearest but he’s in year 6! Am I really supposed to transfer schools for 5 months, fork out for new uniforms, and uproot a child who is on the ECHP and SEN plan at his school? Where they know how to handle him?

It’s a bloody nightmare. He’s been absent the last two days because we genuinely cannot get him to school!!

We are in the process of talking to both schools to see if we can come up with a solution

If the school is named in Section I the LA agreed it a suitable placement that meets needs. Year 6 is a Phase Transfer year and it would not be deemed a suitable move due to the lack of transition and the impact this would have on the educational engagement. Have you spoken to your caseworker to ask for support? While school transport is often managed separately statements of support from SEND professionals and schools can and should be used in the decision making process. This is an exceptional transport request and from the little you have shared, It should be authorised so not to be a detriment to your child’s education. Have you approached your local SENDIASS for support? Access and Inclusion? They may all be useful to support the issue being resolved promptly. In the meantime ask school for work to be sent home to try and reduce him falling behind as much as possible.

I guess it just seems crazy poor DC having to commute 50 miles a day. It seems like a hard option. I’m imaging the OP is living somewhere remote / rural?

Unfortunately unless your DC are attending their nearest qualifying school (or named in EHCP) you will not get any support for transport and even then councils are having to cut back on this. Parents do have to move their children in Year 6 although this may not be ideal, it is better that your DC attend school that do not. If you continue to choose schools which are not your nearest you will have to facilitate transport. You need to ring your LA admissions department and discuss what options there are. If there are no spaces closer then you can then explore transport with them.

Why did you have to move 10 miles from the primary school? Atleast you only have 1.5 terms left.

25 miles away for secondary! Surely there must be a closer one the council could have found for your eldest. We must have about what 100?! secondaries in a 25 mile radius! Are you keeping an eye on waiting lists because they can keep you on it for all of year 7.

Personally, I'd be looking into getting a job if it was my child's education that was going to suffer if I didn't. I have a disability and work full time, as do many. Not all jobs require you to be in an office, many flexible and remote positions out there! But if you feel this isn't an option you'll have to just accept your child's education will take a hit and life chances as he isn't going to school.

I’m sorry you’re in this position @Soubriquet

I would recommend having a very frank chat with both schools and seeing if they can suggest anything. I work in a school office and this won’t be the first time they’ve heard this sort of thing unfortunately. I know it’s highly personal and difficult to talk about your lives in this way, but the schools will want to support your children, and there may be some options (funding / transport / other support) that you’re not yet aware of. Please talk to them if you can.

• edited to add - please ignore posters who are casting doubts on your circumstances / reasons for moving / ability to work etc. A lot of people really can’t imagine that others have very very different lives from their own, unless they’ve lived it themselves, and you don’t owe anybody an explanation as to why you’re in the situation you’re in.

I know you’ve said you have no family that can help but do you have any friends who would? I know I’d lend my car to a friend because realistically me and DH don’t need a car each. Obviously it’s a huge ask but could be worth trying. Do you know anyone who drives that direction for work? You can offer something in return - I used to watch my best friends kids all the time before I had kids (she had them at 16 so we were in the trenches) and she used to do my hair and nails as a payment. Do you have a skill you could swap? Or even something you could monetise? Alternatively, try asking Facebook groups if you could carpool? Absolutely keep on at the council as well. Hope you sort something!

They initially put dd in a school 35 miles away!!!!! It took an appeal for them to move her closer. Not close enough true, but closer

Why did you move? This doesn't sound sustainable.

Landlord wanted house back. We are in a HOA place now so no more moving

In the case of your oldest child, it just reads like you don't want her to have a longer day.
I set out for my job at about 7:15 and always see plenty of kids already out and enroute. It's not abnormal.
With the younger one, due to his additional needs, have a meeting with the school and ask for their advice.

Do you get the ESA with the extra ono for not being able to look for work?

You can also get internet cheaper if you are on UC, EE do home essential for £15 if you have benefits.

Are you able to use some of your mobility allowance to get a car? There are some available through the scheme that do not use your full allowance and this covers insurance, tax, etc

Are there any other children in your area who you could get lifts with in the interim?

Thanks for that. What a way to twist the knife

OP I’d caution against the suggestion of the Motability scheme.
I appreciate you may not have anyone eligible for it in your household anyway but it’s a very expensive system for the end user (and I’d never have used it if it weren’t absolutely necessary for DD as she permanently uses a wheelchair) and most often has the requirement for a hefty downpayment that you don’t get back.
You haven’t detailed why your son can’t access school other than via car but I’m assuming it’s a safety issue somehow such that he can’t cycle alone.
I hope CA can advise you.
Im the parent of a disabled child and I can’t imagine how difficult it would be trying to get her around if I too were disabled.

Separately to the above - does your husband not have a shared UC claim with you, that encompasses disability elements? Can you review your UC claim with CA because that seems to be where you’ll find some additional funds. Assuming (perhaps wrongly) your son gets DLA of some description and you get PIP and your DH eventually gets PIP it might be worth considering Motability (if any of you qualify) if you are you are going to otherwise be isolated and unable to attend education or any kind of employment.

Good luck with CA!

Sounds like things are v tight and stressful financially at the moment. Council aren't budging, which I get, you're out of catchment and they have to prioritise. I've read that you have no family nearby. You are going to have to ask other human beings for help until the end of the school year and get something sorted from September.

Do an honest call out for help on local facebook community groups. Share your situation in your school whatsapp groups. Tell the schools about your struggles. Are there other local families who can help with lifts? This could be different days with different people.

Especially if it's just a lift to the town for the daughter to get the bus. Or could the daughter cycle to the town to get the school bus which takes that £15 out of the equation.

Option with the daughter is just to have to do that early and late bus trip. Does she receive EMA or is she too young for that? £15 sounds a lot but use your Child Benefit for that? Prioritise finding a solution for the son with lifts from classmates or families who live your way - although maybe there aren't any/many?

Very unfortunate.
Hopefully the school will help find a solution for son.
If your DD is a safe rider, could she buy an electric bike?

Do you feel you could buy a motorcycle and side car?
Can you borrow a car from a relative, or purchase one off a relative who is getting a new car?
Put a message on your facebook. Among your friends there might be a spare car sitting unused; you never know until you ask.

Are you allowed to do any work with your disabilities?
What could you do to bring in money?..
Call centres? Deliver for a pharmacy? Dog walk?
House sit a house closer to school?

How horrible and cruel.
I have reported this post.

@Soubriquet - Having read your posts, I will set out what the law says about your situation.

Starting with your older child, since you did not choose the school she attends the council must provide free transport from home to school. That doesn't mean it has to be door to door, but transport from a nearby town leaving you having to pay for your daughter to take a bus to and from town every day (which, I presume, means the town is several miles away) is clearly not good enough and falls short of the council's legal responsibilities. You should insist that the council pay the full cost of travel to and from school. Also, if the entire journey takes more than 90 minutes each way (including any time spent waiting in town for a bus), I would argue that it is unreasonably long and the council should provide a taxi to take her to and from school.

Turning to your younger child, the question here is whether he attends the nearest suitable school. If the schools nearer home are not suitable for him given his needs, the LA must provide free transport to his current school even though it is not his nearest school.

Regarding fines, it appears on the information you have posted that the council is failing in its duty to provide mandatory free school transport for your daughter. If that is the case, you cannot be fined if your daughter misses school. Similarly with your younger child, if his current school is the nearest suitable school you cannot be fined if he misses school due to the council's failure to provide transport.

It may be worth looking into, but if things are that tight, a mobility car won't help. The payment for that is deducted from DLA/PIP. Basic living costs aren't going to go down, so they need to have enough to finance the cost of the mobility car within the funds they already have. (Yes, the higher mobility element brings a bit of money, but really not a lot.)

This is a public forum people are allowed their opinions. I agree its an awful situation and feel sorry for the kids involved.

Poor kids.
can your husband not pick up any work at all? You can get a banger for a few hundred quid

Following on from @prh47bridge excellent post, does your Y6’s statement cover their secondary school application? You might want to be putting plans in place to cover transport to get them there.

Do you live in an very rural/sparsely-populated area OP? I know you said you're not in the local town. 35 miles is incredible.

It’s a rural town yes and I think there was a high birth rate for DD’s year because everyone was struggling to get into schools