Cumbria County Council

Special Educational Needs School Transport Survey

August 2010

Prepared by

Lynne Wild

Literal Analysis by

Vicky Johnstone

Project Manager

Martin Simpson

Contents

1.0 Introduction1

2.0 Background1

3.0 Aims & Objectives1

4.0 Methodology1

5.0 Response rates2

6.0Summary of findings2

7.0 Key Findings4

7.1 Current service4

7.2Complaints14

7.3 Service Safety19

7.4Arranging your child’s transport22

7.5 Overall satisfaction23

8.0 Appendices25

8.1 Appendix 1 – Questionnaire25

1.0Introduction

Cumbria County Council arranges and manages the provision of school transport to children with special needs. Approximately 700 children receive this service across the county.

The purpose of this survey was to measure parental and child satisfaction with the service. This is the fourth time such a survey has been conducted specifically with users of the special needs transport service, with previous surveys being carried out in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

2.0Background

The content of Special Needs Transport Service questionnaires focus on satisfaction with the level of information about the service; satisfaction with the service provider; mobility training; complaint handling; escorts and satisfaction with the service overall.

3.0Aims & Objectives

The aim of the questions was to assess how users of Special Needs Transport Service assess the service provision, compare with the previous survey results to determine any changes in satisfaction and to highlight any gaps in service provision.

4.0Methodology

A random sample of 350 names and addresses were drawn from the central users database. Each was sent a postal questionnaire. Questionnaires were addressed to “the Parent/Carer of Child”. Entry into a free prize draw was offered as an inducement. People were given 4 weeks in which to respond. CN Research collated and sent out the questionnaires, processed the responses and produced a comparative report.

5.0Response rates

A total of 154 questionnaires were returned at the close of fieldwork. This gives a response rate of 44%, which is slightly down on the previous response rate of 49%.

The confidence interval for this survey is 7%.

6.0Summary of Findings

Satisfaction ratings for special needs school transport have held steady overthe past two years. Over nine out of ten are satisfied with the current special needs school transport service.

Satisfaction with the service and drivers closely mirror the high satisfaction levels of 2008. Punctuality continues to receive the highest satisfaction ratings, then the attitude of the driver, cleanliness of vehicle and attitude of the Escort, over nine out of ten are satisfied with all of these aspects. Over eight out of ten are satisfied with the standard of driving, the operator’s attitude to safety and the standard of safety equipment provided. Three quarters of respondents describe the behaviour of other children on the bus as good.

96% describe their child as happy when using the bus/taxi to travel to and from school.

Less than one in ten receives mobility training. But nine out of ten that receive mobility training finds it very or fairly effective. 13% would like more mobility training to be available.

Two thirds have not made any complaints about transport, this remains similar to the last survey. One in ten had complained to the bus/taxi operator, the school or a member of County Council staff about school transport.

There continues to be a high awareness that CRB and CSD checks are carried out. Two thirds are aware of the Code of Practice for transportation of children with a statement of needs and the requirement for all buses and taxis to have mobile communications. Not as many respondents are aware that all Escorts must attend a 2 day training course, indeed three fifths are unaware of this training.

Satisfaction with the Escorts is very high, overall 94% are satisfied with the Escorts and nine out of ten respondents are confident that messages are passed from the Escort to the school.

Nine out of ten are satisfied with the way the County Council dealt with the process of setting up their child’s transport arrangements.

Two thirds of the open ended comments about special needs transport provision is positive comments regarding satisfaction with the service. 15% reiterated the importance of consistency with escorts/drivers when transporting children with special needs requirements.

7.0Key Findings

7.1Current service

There is a good distribution of SEN transport providers throughout Cumbria, slightly more respondents say their transport provider is Stacey’s Coaches.

Table 1

Count / Percent
Stacey's Coaches / 11 / 7%
Don't know / 8 / 5%
Dalton Cabs / 6 / 4%
Downton Travel / 6 / 4%
Petes Taxis / 6 / 4%
Carefree Taxis / 5 / 3%
Hobans / 5 / 3%
McKenna's / 5 / 3%
Mackenzie Travel / 5 / 3%
Routledges / 5 / 3%
Thompson's Travel / 5 / 3%
Yeowarts / 5 / 3%
Reays / 4 / 3%
Tower Coaches / 4 / 3%
Travellers Choice / 4 / 3%
Caldew Coaches / 3 / 2%
Clarkson's / 3 / 2%
Dial-a-Ride / 3 / 2%
J C Taxis / 3 / 2%
Lakeland Coaches / 3 / 2%
Alastair Cook / 2 / 1%
Beeline / 2 / 1%
Blue Star Taxis / 2 / 1%
Brampton Taxis / 2 / 1%
Davies Taxis / 2 / 1%
Geoff's Taxis / 2 / 1%
K & L Travel / 2 / 1%
Paul's Taxis / 2 / 1%
Station Taxis / 2 / 1%
Theo's Taxis / 2 / 1%
Shanklands / 2 / 1%
Airport Services / 1 / 1%
Bensons / 1 / 1%
Brownriggs / 1 / 1%
Castle Taxis / 1 / 1%
Ian's Midi Coaches / 1 / 1%
K-Carr's / 1 / 1%
WLC Travel / 1 / 1%
Allerdale Transport / 1 / 1%
AW Travel / 1 / 1%
City Taxis / 1 / 1%
Cleator Moor Bus Travel / 1 / 1%
Coulthards of Canonbie / 1 / 1%
Daphne Hazard for James Rennie / 1 / 1%
Eden's Taxis / 1 / 1%
Fred Holmes / 1 / 1%
H and K / 1 / 1%
Henderson's Garage / 1 / 1%
Hedley's / 1 / 1%
Jack's Taxi / 1 / 1%
John Bowman / 1 / 1%
K & L Sproat / 1 / 1%
K and FM Johnson / 1 / 1%
Lady Cabs / 1 / 1%
Robert / 1 / 1%
Max's Cabs / 1 / 1%
Mayfield / 1 / 1%
Sparkey's Taxis / 1 / 1%
Town Taxis / 1 / 1%
Totals / 149 / 100%

94% of respondents say their transport provider is very good or good at being punctual in the morning, which is similar to the last survey when 96% said punctuality was good.

Chart 1

3% say punctuality is poor or very poor. The companies listed by one respondent each as being punctually poor in the morning are:

  • Routledges Coaches
  • Lady Cabs
  • Clarkson's
  • Jack's Taxi
  • K-Cars

98% of respondents say their transport provider is very good or good at being punctual in the afternoon, again this is consistent with the previous survey (97%). Just one person said their transport was poor at being punctual, this company was ‘Lady Cabs’.

Chart 2

95% of respondents say the cleanliness of the bus/taxi they use is good or very good, see Chart 3. This has stayed consistently high since 2006. Two respondents said cleanliness is poor and they use ‘H & K’ and ‘Reays’.

83% of respondents say the standard of the safety equipment provided is ‘very good’ or ‘good’, see Chart 4. This is very similar to the last survey. Only one respondent thought the standard of the safety equipment provided was poor and they use ‘Reays’.

74% think the behaviour of other children is very good or good, see Chart 5. This remains unchanged since the 2006 survey when 72% said the behaviour of other children on the bus or in the taxi was good. Just two respondents say behaviour is poor, they use ‘Routledges Coaches’ and ‘Robert’.

89% of respondents say the standard of driving is very good or good, see Chart 6. This is identical to 2008. Two respondents think the standard of driving is poor, they use ‘H K’ and ‘Jack's Taxi’.

96% of respondents think the attitude of the driver is very good or good, see Chart 7. Just one respondent thought the attitude of the driver was poor, they used ‘Jack’s Taxi’.

89% of respondents say the bus or taxi operator’s attitude to safety is very good or good, see Chart 8 This has stayed consistently high since the last survey. Three respondents think the attitude to safety is poor, they use ‘Alistair Cook Minibus and Coach Services’, ‘Caldew Coaches’ and ‘Jack’s Taxi’.

94% think the attitude of the Escort is very good or good, see Chart 9. This has stayed consistently high since 2006 when 92% thought the Escort’s attitude was good. One respondent thought the Escort’s attitude was poor and they use ‘Carefree’.

Chart 3

Chart 4

Chart 5

Chart 6

Chart 7

Chart 8

Chart 9

96% describe their child as happy when using the bus/taxi to travel to and from school, see Chart 10. This remains consistent with the last survey when 94% were happy using the transport.

One child is very unhappy with the transport. This is due to different buses/coach/minibus turning up on a regular basis, with different staff and being late in picking up. The transport provider is ‘Routledges Coaches’.

Chart 10

8% of respondents receive mobility training for their child. 91% think this training is very or fairly effective, see Table 3. 13% would like more mobility training to be available, see Table 4.

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

7.2Complaints

Two thirds (66%) have not made any complaints about transport, this remains similar to the last survey when 68% had not made any complaints. One in ten had complained to the bus/taxi operator, the school or a member of County Council staff about school transport, see Table 5.

Table 5

Complained to someone else:

Count
CountyTransport Services / 1
Kym Allen / 1
Social worker / 1
T.A.C. meeting / 1
Totals / 4

The main complaints were the behaviour of other children, the Escort or punctuality of the transport.

Table 6

Other complaints:

Count
Children not getting picked up / 2
Amount of children in taxi / 1
Complained about a previous provider, not the current one / 1
Lack of training for escort/driver / 1
Picking up children late / 1
Re-Routing/Splitting routine / 1
Safety issues / 1
Too many different escorts/drivers / 1
Unplated car picking up child / 1
Wrong wheelchair clamping system being used / 1
Totals / 11

Four fifths of complainants received a verbal response. 12% did not receive a response and 9% received a written response, the number not receiving a response has improved slightly since the last survey when 17% did not get a response.

Table 7

Over four fifths (83%) received a response to their complaint within 1 week, this is an increase of 17% since the 2008 survey.

Table 8

Over three quarters (77%) of complainants were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with the response that they were given, satisfaction with complaints responses has continued to increase since 2006, when just 41% were satisfied, and satisfaction has increased by 30% since the 2008 survey. The number dissatisfied is 9%, a drop of 24% in 2 years.

Table 9

Most of the respondents that were dissatisfied with the response to their complaint were dissatisfied because they thought that there was no interest shown in their complaint.

Reasons for dissatisfaction:

Count
Taxi set on fire - worry about the road worthiness of vehicles used / 1
Son picked up late/not picked up - transport company were rude when I complained / 1
Ken Routledge was rude when discussing transport during floods, I asked him not to pick child up again / 1
Totals / 3

Table 10 shows the transport providers that gained a very satisfied or satisfied outcome response from complainants.

Table 10

Transport Provider / Number of complainants satisfied with response
Beeline / 2
Dalton Cabs / 2
Stacey's / 2
Shanklands Taxis / 2
Alistair Cook Minibus and Coach Services / 1
Blue Star Taxis / 1
Caldew Coaches / 1
Carefree Taxis / 1
Don't know / 1
Eden's Taxis / 1
Hederson's Garage, Alston / 1
Jack's Taxi / 1
John Bowman / 1
John Hoban / 1
Lady Cabs / 1
Pete's Taxis / 1
Robert / 1
Routledges Coaches / 1
Yeowarts / 1

The following transport providers received a neither satisfied nor dissatisfied outcome response from complainants:

  • Carefree
  • Dalton Cars
  • Lakeland Coaches

The following transport providers received a very dissatisfied or dissatisfied outcome response from complainants.

  • Airport Services/Lakeland Coaches
  • Benson's
  • Routledge’s
  • Service safety
  • 41% of respondents were aware that all Escorts must attend a 2 day training course. Three fifths are not aware of this.
  • Two thirds (66%) are aware that all buses and taxis have to have mobile communications. A third is not aware of this
  • 91% are aware that all drivers and Escorts are checked out by the CRB and CSD.
  • 67% are aware that Cumbria County Council has made a Code of Practice for transportation of children with a statement of needs. A third is not aware of this.
  • Results of the safety questions are very similar to the last transport survey.

Table 11

Two thirds are very confident that messages will be passed from the Escort to the school and overall 89% are confident. Just 1% does not have confidence in messages being passed from the Escort to the school. Results have remained consistent since 2006.

Chart 11

Overall, 94% are satisfied with the Escort (including four fifths that are very satisfied). Just 1% say they are dissatisfied. These results have stayed consistent since 2006.

Chart 12

Of those that made comments on Escorts generally, four fifths made positive comments about their child’s escort/driver/transport company/happiness or safety.

Table 12

Count / Percent
Happy with my child's escort/Escort cares for the children / 32 / 33%
Happy with my child's driver / 15 / 15%
Happy with transport company / 14 / 14%
My child is happy travelling to school / 8 / 8%
My child's escort/driver understands their needs / 7 / 7%
Children need consistency with escorts/drivers / 7 / 7%
Escorts need more in-depth training on children's disabilities/needs etc / 3 / 3%
My child feels safe when travelling to school / 2 / 2%
Escort communicates messages to/from school/parents / 2 / 2%
A file should be held on every bus containing home contact numbers and each child's medical problems in case of an emergency / 1 / 1%
Concerned over the safety of my child when drivers are using unplated vehicles / 1 / 1%
Bus is in poor condition / 1 / 1%
My child is not very confident when using the steps on/off the bus / 1 / 1%
Transport company do not contact parents if delayed / 1 / 1%
Sometimes there is no safety seat (booster) for my child / 1 / 1%
There are no mobile communications available to the taxi driver by their employer / 1 / 1%
Totals / 97 / 100%

7.4Arranging your child’s transport

89% are satisfied with the way the County Council dealt with the process of setting up their child’s transport arrangements. 6% are dissatisfied. Satisfaction has remained high in all the transport surveys and is similar to satisfaction in 2008 (91%).

Chart 13

Reasons for dissatisfaction are listed in Table 13:

Table 13

Count
I am not being listened to / 2
Information about my child/children does not get passed on to the relevant people / 2
Parents should be notified early if there are changes to transport, children need stability and do not like change / 2
At the time, we were not allowed the taxi until we got a diagnosis, which was very distressing / 1
Contact should be made with the family to confirm who is coming and at what time when a new school year starts / 1
Totals / 8

7.5Overall satisfaction

Overall, 95% are satisfied with the Special Needs Transport Service (including three quarters that are very satisfied). Just 3% are dissatisfied. These figures have remained stable since 2006.

Chart 14

Any other comments about provision of SpecialNeedsSchool Transport in Cumbria:

Two thirds of the comments are positive comments regarding satisfaction with the service. 15% reiterated the importance of consistency with escorts/drivers when transporting children with special needs requirements, see literal report for full list of comments made (summarised in Table 14).

Table 14

Count / Percent
Very happy with the service provided / 18 / 27%
Children need consistency with escorts/drivers / 10 / 15%
This is a much needed and appreciated service / 8 / 12%
My son is changing schools in September and I would really like him to continue to travel with the same transport company / 7 / 11%
Parents/drivers/escorts need to be able to communicate to each other (e.g. if late, emergencies etc) / 4 / 6%
My child is happy travelling to school / 3 / 5%
Happy with my child's escort/Escort cares for the children / 3 / 5%
Escorts need training to understand child’s disabilities / 2 / 3%
Journey takes too long / 1 / 2%
Safety is very important / 1 / 2%
My child gets stressed if transport is late / 1 / 2%
My child does not receive any form of mobility training / 1 / 2%
Happy with my child's driver / 1 / 2%
My child's escort/driver understands their needs / 1 / 2%
Unsure about transport for further education / 1 / 2%
Distance should not be a factor for transport provision / 1 / 2%
I would like my son to travel by train, as he gets confused using the buses / 1 / 2%
Buses need repaired straight away / 1 / 2%
Transport companies should be aware that each wheelchair is different and if they don’t clamp it down properly, children could have an accident / 1 / 2%
Totals / 66 / 100%

8.0Appendices

8.1Appendix 1 – Questionnaire

1

CN Research, The White House, Dalston Road, Carlisle, CA2 5UA