Disabled school transport

[Namechangeanxiousstep]

Gloucestershire council kindly gave us school transport for anxious and disabled dc - they said it would be a school bus, but its actually a minicab

Dc would go with one other child in the cab driven by two men (they seem nice enough)

I didnt let them go as I dont know them - i expected a minibus with various students

Wibu to ask them whats going on? I dont feel comfortable really

Please be kind

You can speak to them to clarify
But im not sure they can change it
Is your child in mainstream or a specialist setting ?
My sons transpiort has always been a minibus but he goes to a large LA SEN school.

Unfortunately the cost of a school bus travelling to different people's houses would be very high and would potentially take too long. Minicabs for individual pickups are the norm.

I suggest you ask for the DBS checks of the taxi driver and his co-driver, and then let them go.

The alternative will be to transport your child to school yourself. How far is it?

They don't do school buses just mini cabs or taxis. The costs would be to much for actual buses. Yabu to stop dc going, they would of been all checked out and vetted by the council.

School transport is pretty normal in taxis here, a driver and a chaperone, both dbs checked. I’m not sure you can request a bus instead. They’ve provided transport so fulfilled what they need to do. You can ask for a copy of their dbs paperwork. The alternative would be taking them yourself.

Totally normal arrangement but I would feel the same as you about my child travelling in a cab with 2 strange men, DBS or not. Those kind of jobs attract abusers in my opinion.

Unless your child is on a large school run you can't expect a mini bus, it is mostly taxis where i live 2 of my friends are escorts for taxi firms who do school runs, only thing you can do is ask about their disclosures.

This is normal, my nephew is at a SEN school and the council pays for his transport, its a taxi and they take 1 other student that lives nearby. I can imagine it would cost too much to have a bus drive round to all the different locations to pick students up

Okay thank you

Phew

I dunno, immediately I was like RUN. Just two men in the cab, saying they were collecting another kid. I was polite to them though

Then when I saw them at the office with another child I calmed down

My dc is non verbal. You can imagine my anxiety here I think

Dc is at a provision in a mainstream @x2boys

@Meadowfinch about 8 miles there and back

I dunno, in my gut i feel I should just take her myself. Ive talked and talked to dc about the bus and then there were 2 men in a cab, who came late (not their fault, just first day admin issues)

Absolutely normal. But if you aren’t happy with the chaperone you could ask to change it.

To be clear though, the council aren’t “kindly” offering anything, they are meeting their obligations under the law.

I would assume one is the driver and one is the designated escort.
Is the same two each day? You usually get a specific driver (unless they are off sick or something and you will get a different one but they tell you in advance).
They should have ID badges and be known to the school.
Did you formally introduce yourself to them and vice versa?
Talk to the school if you are worried.

This is normal. There won’t be enough children in the same area that qualify for transport to warrant a whole minibus full
of students.

Tbh if taking your child yourself is an option for you, then that’s what you should do.

If you are unsure after speaking to the school or local authority who organised transport then you maybe need to just take them to school, i am assuming it is because it is 2 men that is unnerving you ?

I didnt see an id badge but the car was clearly a minicab

I've calmed down now as I was really anxious. Will see if dc feels comfortable tomorrow, I am doing pick up myself today

They called me via WhatsApp call (which made me think, encrypted call?!)

Yes, although I wouldve said I'll take her were it 2 women - the cab threw me off

Were it 2 men on the bus for example, I wouldnt have batted an eye

Now though, I have anxieties about her being in a car with 2 men

Will see how dc copes tomorrow. Thank you all though, i spent all summer singing wheels on the bus with dc to prepare her!

Its the same here i had two random people collect my son it changed a few times then it was two ladies in a car for atound a year sadly they changed company now ive got a couple of guys in an 8 seater ds does better than I thought with it

Oh no sorry, if it is just the taxi then that is the school run and there is nothing much you can do about it, but the taxi companies are vetted and the driver and escorts also vetted,

It doesn't sound like the LA prepared you either which is a shame, at least she is sharing the journey with another child for company.

@Namechangeanxiousstep you may be able to request a female driver/escort.
The car may be a minicab but often they are contracted for school runs by the LA during the drop off/pick up times.

Taxis are normal.

usually the driver and escort are both crb checked.

Wow. So anyone who chooses to work with children with disabilities is likely to be an abuser. What an awful view of life. Some people are just nice people who want to do something good.

taxis are the norm, there’s one driver and one passenger assistant usually. However they should usually call to introduce themselves beforehand.

This is normal but my council the taxi firm calls about a week before to say who the driver and escorts will be. They then send a copy of thier ID to me, so I can check it against who turns up.

Otherwise it isn't necessarily who the council vetted who turns up.

New for us too, he's going alone 1 day and sharing with 3 others on 2 of the days. He is college age though. It's been a total nightmare.

That's the usual arrangement AFAIK. Taxis and they get a special rate so probably more efficient and cost effective than a mini bus which would keep stopping for drop offs and pick ups. All the drivers are vetted.