Petition to make school transport for disabled kids a legal requirement up to age 18

[skibidynutthatch]

I have been on Mumsnet for ages but this is the first time I have started a petition in my life.

At the moment, kids who are at special needs schools can have free transport to school if they need it. This is really important as the schools are often a long way from home and even at secondary age, they often aren't independent enough to make their own way there. This funding is a legal requirement up until children turn 16, at which point it becomes optional for the council. Most councils do their best to continue to provide it till people hit 18 but if councils go bankrupt, because the funding is not legally required, it is stopped. This means that some children cannot get to school at all or their parents have to give up work to transport them (often an hour each way so 4 hours in a car a day for the parent).
Given that all kids are now expected to stay in education till they are 18, I think that the school transport for disabled kids should be extended till they are 18 so they have the same opportunities to stay in school as non disabled teenagers.
Please sign my petition.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722438/sponsors/new?token=gHPsesXZBdso25jL5Kz9

If you google it, there are several petitions on this already. There was a big piece on it on R4 a while ago.

I have an autistic child and have to pay for private school and transportation because the state can’t offer her the help they need.
It’s a total sh!t show.
There aren’t enough local SEN places nor enough support in regular school settings.

I did check on the government website before I started it. Will Google. I don't want to be splitting the vote!

@Littlemessymiss i have had a quick Google and can only either find ones which are closed or which are specific to a local council stopping funding. I want to address the issue at a national level, because it is a national issue and want the government to change the law to make post 16 transport a legal requirement for councils.

One thing at a time eh! I totally agree that specialist school places are a total car crash.

Also... It turns out I may have jumped the gun slightly as the petition isn't approved yet. Will update when it is properly open.

I agree! And it’s also worth mentioning that a non disabled teenager can attend a local college or sixth form, but a teenager with SEND who has to attend a special college is more likely to have a significant commute to go to the closest one that can meet their needs. It’s not a case of hopping on the bus, even if that was something they could do independently.

I live rurally -you cannot get a taxi at school times because they take SN kids to and from school-but as I said we are rural so most families have cars - we also have a bankrupt council.
But some people could move to the town. So don’t need special transport.
I can see if school is a great distance away it is needed but some situations are fixable. Likewise disabled people who cannot get to work due to remote housing.
There are some deserving and some not imv. But wouldn’t consider this if the country wasn’t bankrupt.

Right. Petition has been approved now guys. Please share as much as you can. This is a serious issue and needs sorting out.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722438