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

Is there a flexi bus in your area? i'm not sure how it works but we are semi rural and there's one you can call just like a taxi for OAPs or people on certain benefits.

If you are both at home all day then consider home schooling until secondary school. The local authority should able to guide on the curriculum and there will then be no uniform or travel costs.

It can be a wonderful scheme but it is far from cheap unfortunately.

But the kids have already been placed in the nearest, suitable schools.

Purely on a point of fact there are multiple cars available on motability that do not require an advance payment. There are also a couple that do not need full pip as the lease payment.

> which means she has to get the 7am bus, to get into town, in order to catch her 8am bus to school.

That's pretty normal for tens of thousands of kids

That's true. I forget that is an option for some cars that aren't WAVs. Thanks!

Im pretty sure you have to pay the full High rate mobility component for any car on the mobility scheme?
You are right though not every car needs a down payment ,we are on my sons second mobility car and neither have needed a down payment
That said though he qualifies under the severe mental impairment rules so no adaptions needed.

That does sound possible.

I also thought perhaps there are people near you who drive their child or children to your children's schools; you could ask the schools if they could find out if someone would be willing to take yours for a small contribution.

Good luck, I really feel for you in your struggle.

Yep.

My son needs a WAV. All of which require hefty advance payments.

Just wanted to say how sorry I am @Soubriquet . It sounds utterly shit.

Based on their old address, they have now moved !

This is what people seem to be missing especially re the EHCP plan- yes his school is named as most suitable, at their old address. There could be other schools closer which are suitable and meet his needs BUT as he is in year 6 OP doesn’t want to move him. So they haven’t actually explored that option, because they don’t want to move schools. You can’t have it all ways.

If you get pip do you get the mobility part? Could you get a car on mobility?

No advice but just wanted to say sorry this is your current situation OP. Sounds really tough.

If any of you are on enhanced rate or high rate for mobility, could you get a Motability car?

You'll be lucky. Our car was 6 years old when we got it. £200 a month for five years, thankfully paid off in January but that was one of the cheapest options.
I would think LA would give your son transport because of the EHCP but also the distance. If they won't you'll have to move him but don't pay for new uniform, either get second hand or speak to the school. Most primary schools make exceptions for uniform not being correct if they know why.

Blimey, I was about to say that here, if you apply for the nearest school and the LA don’t give you that place, and the school they do award requires a bus journey, then they have to cover the cost.
And then I remembered that’s what used to happen, but now we’ve got a Reform council it probably doesn’t anymore 🙄.

I’m sorry you’re finding yourself in this position, hope your appeal succeeds.

A £500 car will be shite. It will break down all the time and cost a lot to repair. It’s one of those ‘it’s more expensive to be poor’ situations.

Do you live in the middle of nowhere or somewhere very rural? That must be in another county or several towns away?
I mean I'm in the home counties, 25 miles away is half way to London!

Have you tried calling the local council to investigate closer places?

I did say I know nothing about cars.

My understanding of PIP in particular is that its intention is to help fund the possible additional costs of mobilising independently to work/school. So what is your's being used for if it isn't being used to get your children to school or yourself to work?

The government is literally paying you so that you can solve this problem independently. I don't mean to sound unkind but I think you need to find a way to get your children to school be that on the bus or finding a way to fund a car. It is a basic requirement of being a parent and the taxpayer is already paying you to do this. What else do you expect?

'Am I really expected to get my kids to school and back each day' yes you bloody are, its a core part of the parenting job description. I am absolutely astounded at those who think this should be funded in any way, shape or form, by someone other than them. Most people account for distance to school when they move to wherever they live, they calculate school catchments and routes.

Neither do it, I am speaking from experience of buying a £500 car and it constantly breaking down. I only wanted to want the op and I didn’t know that myself ❤️

We dont know any of the facts
First of all the Ops PIP is her payment for her disability
Her son may also get DLA but we dont know if he gets the mobility component at either low or high rate not everybody does.

I missed the other posts about Motability. They also offer grants for WAV advance payments if you can show that you need the car and can’t afford the payment. Have a look and see what you think.