school transport issue

[Bellabamboo]

My ds starts next week at a special school. He is 3. I had to fill in a separate transport application and we are waiting to hear whether he meets the criteria. We have already been told that there is no space on the bus for him and even if there was they are not trained to meet his medical needs. (They don't even seem to have basic first aid training).They are looking into a taxi share but again don't think staff would be trained to meet his needs. We are just under 2 miles from the school however walking and public transport is not an option for him. I have said I could take him in a taxi there and collect him, which would be 2 taxi's per day which would be about £80 a week. I can't afford to pay this myself. Does anyone know where I stand?

Does he have a Statement or EHCP naming the special school?

I am looking things up, and a lot of the guidance applies to children of school age, ie older than dc

I'll keep looking

He has a statement naming the school and it was hard work getting him a place. I don't drive otherwise I would take him myself, that's my next mission.

Thank you for your help

Each local authority has it's own transport policy but the rules are that children are entitled to free transport however far they live from the school if they have a statement of SEN that says the local council will pay transport costs or if they can’t walk because of their SEN, a disability or mobility problem.

If your child is entitled to SEN transport then the council will have to provide it. There doesn't seem to be anything stating that the council has to provide an escort but it does say that if they do it is also the councils responsibility to train the escort.

There is some information on this link and a link to the statutory guidance.
www.cafamily.org.uk/advice-and-support/sen-national-advice-service/transport-to-and-from-school/

Thanks Fairgame, it's not mentioned in his statement that they will fund transport and when I queried this they said it was a separate application. Thanks for the link I will have a read.

Ideally transport will be in Parts 5 and 6 of the Statement (or EHCP equivalents) so you can make use of this case:-
R v Hereford and Worcester County Council, ex parte P
"It was implicit in s 55(1) of the Education Act 1944 that the local education authority was under a duty to make such arrangements as it considered necessary for a child to reach school without undue stress, strain or difficulty such as would prevent him from benefiting from the education the
school had to offer....If the local education authority concluded
that they were in a position to make some non-educational provision which night enable the child to benefit properly from his special educational provision, then that non- educational provision would be included in
the statement. In the present case, non-stressful transport was a non-educational provision which had to be specified in the statement."

It does seem a no-brainer that if they think your dc needs special school, then they will need to be sure that he can get there in one piece and ready to learn.

It's not mentioned in DS's statement either (i've just checked) but i have got a letter from the LA stating that they will provide transport for the time he attends his school. Not all LA's will name it on the statement because in some places you have to make the transport application separately.

Thank you both. I have nothing in writing to say that transport would be provided. I think they may have assumed we wouldn't need it being so close by and I was under the impression from the school that he would get the bus with all the other students. I am wondering what they will come back with as the Case Manager asked how I was going to get him to school next week . I have said I can take him in a taxi for a few days but can't afford this long term.

I think it is quite LA specific. Ours last year stopped providing SEN transport to under 5's :(

Not sure if this is helpful or not but when my dc was awarded transport to school, the council were happy for me to escort dc to school in the taxi but wouldn't take me home after.dc was dropped off.
Likewise at the end of school, they wouldn't pick me up first but would allow me to escort dc home from school.
I could either wait at school all day or make my own way to and from school when dc wasn't in the taxi.
I managed to get an escort eventually but they played hard ball.

Someone on these boards said go straight to the transport department not the SEN department.

Hope dc has a good start - exciting time

Your ds is entitled to transport irrespective of whether it's in the statement or not. When did you make the application?

I would suggest you point out to them that, now the school is named in the statement, your ds has to go there; that he can't get there unless they provide transport; therefore they need to organise it immediately or they will be breaking the law. If you think they can't train an escort in time, you could offer to be an escort for a short time provided that they pay for the taxi to take you back home and collect you. But don't be put off by any nonsense about it taking time to arrange a taxi - we all know that's nonsense. And don't necessarily be fobbed off by difficulties with arranging an escort - after all, if they had to they could employ someone like a trained nurse temporarily whilst they recruit someone long term.

If they don't get this organised, contact someone like Maxwell Gillott to write to them threatening court proceedings if they don't sort this out.

Thank you all. I will see what they come back with. It is the same case manager who dealt with the statement so they know I won't give up easily.
Lacksdirection I have offered this, so the taxi service is just used for him alone. I also have a 23 month old dd who will have to do the journey with us which is fine now but may be a problem once she starts nursery.

I applied for transport a few weeks ago Icimoi,just as his statement was being finalised. Thanks for the advice.

If you applied for transport a few weeks ago it is absolutely outrageous that they haven't got it sorted out by now. I really think they are delaying just to save themselves a bit of money.

I have emailed them and it has gone to management so I'm waiting for a response. I think I am being fair in escorting him in a taxi as it seems to be the only available option at the moment and it is likely to be this school year only as I plan to be driving over the next few months. For his own safety and my peace of mind I would rather take him myself anyway.