Final statement issued - should transport be included?

[CurrerBell]

We have finally got a statement for DS - it arrived in the post today. An independent school has been named in Part 4 - the school is about 18 miles away. This was the only school that could meet DS's needs and which had places available (the LA's special schools are not much nearer, and are full).

The LA has agreed to provide transport, and has engaged a taxi company for when he starts at the school tomorrow.

However, having received the statement there is no mention of transport in it... I understood it should be included in Part 4?

Also, he will need a chaperone with him in the taxi, and the LA said it will take 6 weeks to recruit one. Is this normal? I have agreed to go with him for the transition period, but this is only possible as he is doing shorter days (I also have a 5 year old to get to school locally). So I'm not sure what will happen when he starts full time (or how I'm going to get him to go in a taxi without me...).

I really wanted to heave a huge sigh of relief that the statement is here, and share this news with everyone that has helped us... but am now feeling worried...

yes
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v JS [2011] and s. 508B of the Education Act 1996 say it is the LEA's responsibility to provide transport to the school named in dc's Statement.

I suggest that you make sure you write an email saying 'I agree to provide the cover chaperone on condition that the LA provides the chaperone no later than [whatever date]'.

As long as you get some kind of email chain that shows that they agree to this, then you have a contract that you could enforce through the courts if they go back on it. I would hope that the fear of being dragged through the courts/complaints etc would be enough to put them off!

Actually the 6 weeks if a bit weird as they could get an agency person at the drop of a hat, so it might be worth asking them a) what they would do if the chaperone that they recruit was eg off sick and b) if they have back-up or agency chaperones, what is their reason for not using them from day 1.

Hope this helps

No, it doesn't have to be in the statement. The LA has a duty to provide transport whether it's set out in the statement or not. It's not a matter of contract law, it's a matter of statutory duty.

They also can't assume that you will be the escort. Have a look at section 508B(4)(b) Education Act 1996. It's all a bit abstruse, but it says essentially they can only make arrangements for an escort with your consent. That includes arrangements that assume you will be the escort. As senvet says, it's a nonsense that it takes 6 weeks to recruit: they could get agency staff, and anyway they must have had at least a few weeks since you asked for the school and since they knew they would have to name it.

Apart from what senvet suggests, you need to put it in writing to them that you will be unable to be escort from whatever date it is, and that they must provide an appropriate escort from that date. Tell them that if they don't he will be unable to go to school and they will be in breach of their duty to him. If that doesn't work, tell them you're instructing solicitors with a view to taking judicial review action.

sorry!
ici is right: it does not have to be in the statement as such (although it can be in parts 5 and 6), but it does have to be provided.

Just to be fully clear in case someone else is reading this, - if a dc is unable to use eg public transport for learning reasons, and therefore needs educational provision to teach dc how to use public transport, then that is for parts 2 and 3 or their EHCP equivalents.

I think that has it covered.

So good luck currer

No it doesn't have to be in the statement but they are a bunch of billy bullshitters about it taking 6 weeks for an escort.
Most taxi firms that do SEN runs already have their own escorts working for them and if not they can recruit one a lot quicker than 6 weeks via agencys. Children move in ss and pru's all the time and i've never heard of anyone waiting 6 weeks for transport.

Ah, thanks all. On a friend's DS's statement his right to transport was detailed in Part 4. So I'd assumed it needed to be on there, but perhaps that's ok...

I have read something saying that the rules with independent schools are different, as this could be seen as the parental choice of placement not the LA's... in which case they wouldn't provide transport. However in our case there was no other school to name (the LA didn't even suggest an alternative).

Yes, the chaperone issue is silly. He has ASD/PDA and has been out of school for the past couple of months (was on 3 hours per day before that) as they saw him as a health and safety problem. So why hasn't there been any planning around transport? His issues have been very well documented (he gets very upset during transitions and has major anxiety and separation issues).

The trouble is, even if I really push for a chaperone, I really don't know how I'm going to get him in the taxi without me! I'm just hoping if he likes the school and settles in well that his anxiety will come down... but I don't know how long that will take. He is already very anxious about the long journey, although he really liked the school when he visited.

just an idea
If they get a chaperone AND you to travel to start with while dc gets used to school, then, with the big change of new school bedded in after 6 weeks there will be a small change to remove you from the transport.

If you don't ask, you won't get....

That said, you have more important battles to fight first.

BUT I think you need to know what would happen if you were sick

Good Luck

OP, it's not really to do with independent or maintained schools. The basic rule is that you are entitled to transport if the school is more than two miles away, or three miles for secondary, or if your child is eligible for other reasons, e.g. disability; and if it's your nearest suitable school. That would apply equally in relation to a maintained school - if you wanted a school 5 miles away and they made out the one in the next road could meet your child's needs, you wouldn't get transport.

Therefore if the LA accepts, as it seems to have done in your case, that there is no nearer school, then it has to provide transport.

Thanks, that's reassuring that the LA has to provide transport.

I will get straight onto the transport team tomorrow and see what they can do. It would be great to get a chaperone sorted out earlier so we can travel together, and they will become a familiar face for DS.

It feels very surreal to finally have the document in my hands. I just feel numb really. The statement is the thing I have fought the hardest for in my life (at the most emotional cost), but I can't celebrate or relax about it yet. I still feel there could be some catch...

I guess it's going to take a while to process the events of the past year. I am still so angry with his Infant school and how we were treated last year... and I still can't believe the LA refused to assess him when they knew he was at risk of exclusion.

And with the statement, the LA have included a questionnaire asking what I thought they could have done to make the process easier...

Anyway, moving on... I have always had such good help from this board (and it was a poster here who first suggested I look into PDA, when DS was four). for all the wonderful support.