what can i do about this transport problem for my special needs child please?

[mumnjohn]

my son is 10 years old and he has various special needs. he started a special needs school the begining of jan 2012. he loves it at this school, and he is starting to make friends which im so pleased about.

when we went to the school to look at it we were told that we would get transport to and from school which would have been perfect for us.

now we have been told that we cannot get transport to and from school at all because we live with in the 3 mile radius of the school.

my husband has just been made redundant from his job so he is taking him to and from school at the moment, but he is looking for work and if he finds a job he wont be able to take him. and i cannot walk all that way to take him and bring him back, and a taxi would cost £100.00 a week.

i have a younger daughter i need to take to school at the same time as my son and i have no one to take her so i have to do it.

i appealed to the council's decision but it was still refused even though i have mobility problems myself.

please help.

hi mumnjohn does ur son have a statement? if so then transport should be mentioned on it and if it is then it should be provided. it shouldnt make any difference how far away u live from the school. i would speak to the school and the local authority to get this obviously much needed transport! good luck x

If he does not have a statement, you may be able to get transport if you can demonstrate that your own mobility problems make it impossible for you to either drive him or take him (I got transport because of a combination of visual impairment- meaning I cannot drive- and joint trouble- meaning I cannot push dd in a wheelchair all the way to school).

If there is no physical reason you cannot take him, it may be harder, as they may say that you could pay a childminder to take your dd, and that this is no different from any other parent who happens to have two NT children at different schools.

But try it any way, put your case to the LEA, get as much evidence as you can in the shape of doctors' letters.

have you seen the info on ipsea there may be something useful there.

Before offering my contribution could you comment on the following?

Does he have a SSEN?
Is that school named on the SSEN
Is that school the nearest appropiate school
If he did not have transport would you be able to get him there safely and without disproportinate effort
If he does not get transport would he be able to attend school?
On what basis does the LA refuse transport? Is it that you have undertaken to provide transport at some time in the past but your circumstances have changed
If the LA transport araangements have now changed can they prove that they have considered your individual circumstances or is it a policy decision
Have you appealed to the Transprt Appeals committee.
If you do not get this transport can you actually get the child to school.

He must have a statement if he's at a special school surely? (I thought everyone at SS needed statements). And therefore must be the nearest appropriate school.

hello, thank you for the replies.
yes my son has a statement.
i am getting high rate dla as i am disabled, i cannot walk that far to take him to school. and if we do not get transport i will have to take him out of that school which is a shame.
the council say we cannot have transport as we live with in the 3 mile radius of the school.
i did appeal and the answer was still no :(

this is the nearest special school to us.

I think the criteria for transport is different for each LEA. Do you have another right of appeal?

If not, I think I would try getting your local councillor and MP involved and maybe approach your local paper. Good luck

Definately write to your MP asking that he writes to the council on your behalf. Also appeal again and get letters from professionals to back up this need.

Who is telling you that they can not provide transport?
I suggest that you say that due to your mobility problems you can not actually transport the child to the school. Provide evidence of that.
When your husband starts work again there will be no one able to take the child to school. He will not therefore be able to attend school.

Given that he was getting transport what has now changed. If it is a policy what steps have then taken to examine your particuar case such as to demonstrate that they are not applying a blanket policy.
As such you belivie that you could not be prosecuted under s444 Education Act 1996 [non attendence at school] as the LA are in breech of their statutory duty to provide transport for him. The burden will then be on them to prove otherwise.
The fact that you have higher rate mobility allowance is neither here nor there. As you say you cant be in two places at once.

You may also find it helpful to get your local counselor on board as Education is local counsellor matter.

saintleyjimjams - you dont need a SSEN to attend a special school. See SEN Code of Practice. It is normal but different LAs have different policies.

Learn something every day! Thanks Nigel - that's useful to know. :)

Does your DS get DLA? Could you apply and use the money for taxis? If you get the mobility element of DLA could you get a motability car? Do any parents live near you whose child attends the school and can give DS a lift?

Keep trying through all the channels listed above. Your MP is as good a place to start as any. Good luck

Sneezecakesmum - The point is it is the duty of the LA to provide transport for a child with a SSEN unless it is not needed.

Nigel1 - That is not the case!. OP, I am sorry but unfortunately what you have been told by you LA is true, they have no obligation to provide transport for primary school children if the most appropriate school is more than 2 miles away and 3 miles for senior school, these are the national regs, there are no different regs for SN or non-SN. As the cuts to LA's have come quite a few LA's have done this, they are reducing the transport for SN children to national regulations, mine is looking into doing the same, which is not good.

See post at 20.15 hrs

The guidance is at www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications ref 00373-2007bkt-en Home to School Travel and Transport Guidance. see part 3 for chidlren with SEN.

Currently for the Lea where we live you can still get transport if you live within 3 miles if you meet certain criteria.

eg, the pupil's social independence skills prevent them from safely making this journey, or their disability would prevent them from making the journey.

I do know from other parents that this Lea had a blanket policy of refusing transport for children changing school in september and were only giving it on appeal. They have already begun a 'review' and I am concerned what that will entail for current transport users.

The problem for the OP is that the transport should have been in place as soon as the child changed school and the parents should never have been involved in taking him.

Last year my daughter was provided with school transport, we only lived 2 miles away...She is 5 and cant walk at all. She has a statement but we didnt write the use of a transport....we did have to fight the LEA to get it but in the end we won...We take her now pushing the wheelchair but only cos we moved house and lives 2 minutes away from school.

Forgot to say daughter is in Mainstream.....Like everyone on here is saying, local MP is your answer if you dont get anywhere, you shouldnt get your son out of school if he likes it and going well for him, just because they dont want to provide the transport..They can provide it but they just dont wan to.