Nursery and assistance with transport

[Sami2003]

Hi all, I'm new here and would appreciate some guidance and advice. I have 2 children, son aged 6 with adhd and a soon to be 3 year old daughter who will be going to a SEN nursery in September due to being visually impaired (my daughter has been in hospital for majority of her 2 years with other problems). The nursery is over 2 miles in distance so I requested some transport assistance from my local authority. However they have turned me down saying that they don't provide any transport assistance until a child goes to school full time and that nursery isn't classed as necessary. I cant appeal as I have been informed that I have nothing to appeal. However I feel my daughter would benefit in many ways (social interaction and with her development).
My husband has just started working full time again after taking time off to help with the children and I am the main carer for both our children and therefore have to be home for my son when he goes and comes back from school (he can't cope with changes in his routine). I am struggling with what to do as I know my daughter would benefit by attending a nursery catered to her needs but I would struggle to get her there and still be back in time for my son. Can anyone advise me on what to do? Or has anyone been awarded taxi transport at nursery stage? I would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

Does your DD have an EHC plan?

Could you get in touch with the nursery and explain your situation? Perhaps they have some flexibility with their hours so that you could take your son to school first and then drop your daughter. Nursery sessions are usually shorter than the school day, so it's unlikely both pick up and drop off times would clash.

Hi thank you for taking the time out to respond. I have very limited understanding of the abbreviations used so I don't know what DD or EHC means. I'm not computer savvy in anyway either so apologise for any errors in advance.
I have spoken to the nursery and they are understanding of my situation. However going late or leaving early is not an option or fair to my daughter. I don't see why she should have to suffer anymore than necessary in life as I feel she has a long way to go and is already playing catch up with children her age.
Any other suggestions please?
Thanks

I think the only thing you can do is reduced hours at nursery. If the finishing hours clash there isn't anything else you can do.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time out to reply to me.

Dd darling daughter
Ds darling son
DH darling husband
EHCP education health care plan.
LA local authority
MS mainstream school
SS special school (or social services - you need context)

The problem is that the Local Authority do not have an obligation to provide transport until they are 5. However, if the Local Authority have suggested your daughter attend this special needs nursery, then they really should also be providing transport based on the Fact she has a disability and the nearest appropriate school is more than 2 miles away. Have you got a local parent advocacy group that can help you Appeal? (My son got transport to his SN nursery for what it's worth but the LAs keep trying to cut costs. )

Try this charity for advice. www.sossen.org.uk

I appreciate the input from every single one of you. But first thank you for explaining the abbreviations. I will go back to the council and see if I can push them any further and I will also ring the charity and see what advice they can give me. Hopefully it's a positive outcome 😊.

The point about the EHC Plan is that if you have one and it names the nursery as your DD's placement, then they have to make sure she can get there which means they need to provide transport. It sounds like your daughter would qualify. Have a look at your council's Local Offer for children with SEN and disability which will be on the website, and fill in the form for applying for an EHC needs assessment. It will probably ask for a load of information which you can't supply, but don't worry about that - just fill in what you can and send copies of relevant medical reports etc.

Also, are you getting help from social services? It could be worth asking your social worker if they can help with this.

Thank you for getting back to me. To confirm my daughter does have a EHC plan and a social worker in place but the social worker states that nursery is not considered important therefore it's our responsibility whether we send her or not. I'm just gonna have to continue fighting for my beautiful daughter.

If the nursery is named in section I of the EHC Plan and it sets out how long your dd is supposed to be there, then legally the LA have to make sure she can get there, and also that she gets all the support set out in section F. I very much doubt that the social worker has any idea of the legal framework. I would strongly suggest you contact SOS SEN's helpline which I saw somewhere is continuing at least part time over the holidays.

Did they tell you what the process is to appeal against the transport refusal?