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

I'm in the same area and my DC used to get a taxi to special school. I used to joke that I got more information about delivery drivers than I did about the taxi driver taking my actual child to school!

One year we got confirmation on a Wednesday at the end of August that his taxi driver would be the same (lovely) woman as the previous year, only to be told on Friday that the council had decided to re-tender the contract and we would find out on Monday who would be picking him up on Tuesday morning. Got a text on Monday at about 4.30pm to say "hi I'm carol see you in am". Literally that was it (but the name wasn't actually Carol). I had no idea what cab firm, what registration, nothing.

So yep, standard practice unfortunately.

Sure you can’t complain if you’re getting free school transport?

Thank you everyone. I genuinely didnt know that they send cabs! Had i known, i could've prepared dc and myself. Appreciate the kind approach to my naïveté.

I have health issues myself, but also I chose transport so I just wouldnt have to worry about it, and can focus on doing stuff at home and for her. And yes, for a bit of a rest!

So dc refused this morning. Once we got to school, the support man tried walking them to the classroom and they cried and refused being touched.

I tried to encourage a hello at pick up, it was met with tears and resistance.

Dc wants me to take them so I have to so it I think. They're really good so i feel bad seeing them upset.

I did say to dc that I would take them and I think they understood. They're also a bit more stranger danger cautious than I am, I am always chatting to people and I sense they roll their eyes when i do 😄

So thanks all - my best to the parents whove had bad experiences - it just shouldn't be this hard!

Ours is a taxi too, cant lie i was a bit disappointed it wasn’t a bus (our LA does have buses) but it’s a school outside of our LA so assumed thats why. To be honest it’s always been a man and woman the drivers we've had so far though.

Of course you can, if the complaint is about poor communication rather than the method of transport. Not sure I’d send my young non-verbal child on a car if I was expecting a bus