SEN Transport

[stackarl]

Hello
Am new to this site but i thought i would sign up to see if i am the only mum that has been told that my sons SEN Transport is going to be pulled due to funding, so from easter my son has no transport. I have been told i that we have to move, this is very worring to me cause my son has autism and a big move like that can not be rushed. It is stated in the back page of his statement that home to school transport is suposed to be suplied can thay pull it like that? And after the day i have had with him its another stress that i can not cope with.
Thanks one very stressed mum Stacey.

Hi Stacey,
Didn't want your post to go unanswered!
I am not in the same position as you with regard to my sons transport having been pulled (yet!!), but can understand why you are so stressed about it as my DS1 is also Autistic and goes to school quite a way away from where we live.
It's just not fair is it? We have to fight so hard to get what we can for these kids, to then have it snatched away again!
My DS1 currently has transport but I am just about to start a new job not far from his school, so contacted the LEA & transport dept to let them know that I wanted to take him to school & take the reimbursement option, but allow him to still come home with transport. They agreed this, then emailed me to say that because another child is on the same route as him, the reimbursement option was being questioned, so I needed to explain my reasons for wanting to take him myself!!!!! I still haven't heard back from them so still don't know if they are going to reimburse me or not, in which case, I now wish I'd left the transport arrangements in place.
I'm not sure if there is anything you can do to fight this decision, but to be told you have to move is ridiculous!!! Do they not understand how unsettling this would be to a child with autism?
Good luck.x

You should get advice from IPSEA / SOSSEN / NAS etc
Some info here

my ds has asd and has transport listed on statement. i thought no part of statement could be changed without a review?

I agree with chick- If it states that transport is provided on the statement they CANNOT just remove it-they also can't tell you that you have to move-that is just ridiculous !

I would check the wording on your sons statement, my dds statement has "LA to provide home to school transport in accordance with LA transport policy" so if the LA authority change their transport policy to exclude SEN transport then there's nothing that you can do about it as thats their policy, which is how they're trying to get round it in our area which is great when you have a child who cant walk to school and you cant afford a car or to catch the bus because you've had to give up work to become a full time carer!!

ok i know that a lot of Lea ar ekicking of about transport bills and there trying to withdraw transport and or escorts

Is your child in a unit ? is the school they attend more than 2 miles or 3 if they are older ?

Hi thanks to everyone for there replies,
all it says on the back page of his statement is
V NON EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

1. home to school transport in accordance to authoritys guidelines.

So it looks like i could be stuck here!! i kept him out of a special school cause last april cause they said they would provide it. the mainstream school is 6 miles away from our house.

Here

"Once an authority has named a particular school in a child?s statement as being suitable, it cannot then argue that another nearer school is in fact suitable, when considering whether or not to provide transport under s 509 (see R v London Borough of Havering, ex parte K [1998]). If the parents decided to cease to transport at any point, the LEA would have to provide that transport, unless a Part 4 agreement has been reached as above. Local authorities should be aware that where the parents have agreed to provide transport to their preferred to school, the cost of transport should still be taken into account by the Tribunal when comparing the cost of two provisions and determining whether a placement would be incompatible with the avoidance of unreasonable public expenditure or the efficient use of resources. The Tribunal has no jurisdiction to order the parents to provide transport and the parents are under no obligation to provide transport. "

Further explanation Here

I would imagine a tribunal taking a very dim view of a LA which tried to change the school on the basis of transport cost...

But if its in Part 6 rather than Part 3 does that mean the LA don't have to provide it - unless its "necessary" or over the mileage?

I don't think they can make you move to get you under the mileage

Are you in a Council house?

Write tor MP ASAP and let him know what the council are telling you?

No, the tribunal held that once a single school is named in Part 4 of the statement, the LA are deeming that the 'suitable school'. They can't then say 'ah but this other school is also suitable.'

However, they could have said 'x school, or any other MS school', which would then mean they could refuse transport. They also could say 'x school or y school', or they could simply specify the type of school.

But if they didn't, they are stuck.