Consultation on proposed changes to Home to School Travel Assistance Policy
Spring 2017
Introduction
St.Helens Council is proposing a change to the Home to School Travel Assistance Policy. The proposed changes will offer a wider range of travel assistance, particularly to those children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/ or disabilities (SEND). It will also introduce charges for Discretionary Travel Assistance for Children under the age of 5 and young people aged 16-25 (with SEND or disabilities) attending further education.
There has been an increase in numbers of pupils/ students applying for school travel assistance due to increases in the pupil population and also in the proportion of children with complex special educational needs and disabilities requiring travel assistance to Special Schools. At the same time the Government has reduced the funding allocated to St.Helens Council for School Travel Assistance. Therefore, we need to review how we can make more effective use of the reduced budget available whilst ensuring that we can still fulfil our statutory duties and provide a reasonable level of discretionary support to all families in need.
The current situation
St.Helens Council currently provides free school/college travel assistance for all
children and young people who are;
- entitled under statutory distance/and or statutory low-income
- attending a Special School,
- attending Specialist Provision within a Mainstream School
- attending Foundation Learning at an appropriate FE establishment
- have a statement of Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) or an Education, Health and Care Health Plan
St.Helens Council has a duty under the Education Act 1996 and Education and Inspections Act 2006 to make such travel arrangements considered necessary to enable attendance of “eligible children” within their area, at their nearest “qualifying school”. Such travel arrangements must be free of charge.
The duty applies to “eligible children” in the authority’s area who are attending their nearest “qualifying school”, where:
- the school is beyond the statutory walking distances of 2 miles for children below the age of eight and three miles for those aged eight and over;
- the walking route to school is hazardous;
- the child is attending the most nearestappropriate school to meet their special educational needs;
- the child is from a “low income family” and attends a qualifying school between 2 and 6 miles from home (as long as there are not three or more nearer suitable qualifying schools) or attends a qualifying school, preferred on the grounds of religion or belief, that lies between 2 and 15 miles from home
The Education and Inspections Act 2006 defines
- “qualifying school” as:
- a community, foundation or voluntary school,
- a community or foundation special school,
- non-maintained special schools,
- a pupil referral unit,
- a maintained nursery school, or
- a city technology college, a city college for the technology of the arts or an Academy.
- “eligible children” as:
- a child who is of compulsory school age, and;
- a registered pupil at a qualifying school which is not within statutory walking distance of his home; or
- a pupil where no suitable arrangements have been made by the local education authority for enabling him to become a registered pupil at a qualifying school nearer to his home; or
- a pupil living within statutory walking distance but unable to walk in safety to school because of the nature of the route; or
- a pupil with special educational needs, a disability or mobility problems that cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school.
- “low income family” as:
- being entitled to free school meals, or whose families are in receipt of the maximum Working Tax Credit.
Section 508C of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 provides Local Authorities with discretionary powers to make school travel arrangements for other children not covered by Section 508B but the transport does not have to be free. The Post 16 transport to education and training statutory guidance (Feb 2014) places a duty on LAs to give specific consideration to learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Therefore it is permissable for the Local Authority to charge for Post 16 SEN transport.
Details of the proposed changes
Proposal 1 - Post 16 SEND Transport
We have a duty to set out in our Post 16 Statement (for those students age 16 -19 and for young learners with SEND up to 25 years of age) the transport provision available to all students.
There is no duty to provide free transport, however the Secretary of State can direct a local authority to make transport arrangements or provide financial assistance for travelling expenses for individuals or groups of learners, where financial assistance or travelling expenses for individuals or groups of learners have not been included in the Local Authority’s transport policy statement.
We therefore propose to develop a new policy and process for Post 16 Travel Assistance applications, as set out below:
- Improve the current application form for all Post 16 Transport Assistance, to enable officers to assess family circumstances (ie. access to car, low income) and details of the applicants’ disability (i.e mobility issues, mental capacity).
- Charge post 16 students who qualify for travel assistance. Other Local Authorities i.e Cheshire West and Chester Council have already introduced charges for SEN students aged 16 -25.
- Tighten up the application process for EHC Plans to ensure that the nearest suitable FE or HE college is stipulated at the outset of the application process, so that if parents prefer a college further away than the nearest suitable provision, it is clear to them that the LA will not cover any transport cost.
- If eligible to assistance, offer independent travel training and a bus pass or an application for a free National Travel Pass as a first option, if there’s a reasonable prospect of success based on the student’s disability/SEND.
- Offering personal travel budgets or direct payments as a more flexible and cost effective option.
- Only offer transport by minibus or taxi if there is no suitable alternative. This could involve a pick up point close to home rather than door to door transport, and would also be subject to a charge.
The Independent Travel Training Scheme (ITTS) could make a real difference to the lives and expectations of young adults, as well as reducing costs to ensure that all students with needs benefit from assistance through a limited budget. It enables young adults with learning difficulties and disabilities to have the same life experiences as their peers. They also develop independent skills which they can take with them as they grow older. Therefore reducing the need to access Adult Social Care services and improving their employment prospects.
The average cost of a place on Post 16 SEN transport provided by the Council is £5,197.20 per annum.
We would welcome feedback on the following:
Q1. Your views on Proposal 1 and the Travel Assistance options outlined.
Q2. Are there any other options that would benefit you or your child that you would like to be included?
Q3. In St.Helens we currently pay 28p per mile to compensate parents who transport their children to and from school. Do you think this is:
a)Too high
b)About right
c)Too low
Q4. Your preferred charging level (see below) that families would need to pay from September 2017 for Post 16 Travel Assistance where the only feasible option for the applicant is to be transported on a door-to-door bus. The average cost of a place on Post 16 SEN transport provided by the Council is £5197.20 per annum.
- High Level of Support – Charge of £538 per term
- Medium Level of Support – Charge of £867 per term
- Low Level of Support –Charge of £1732 per term
Q5. Should we offer protection to existing children/ young people in receipt of school travel assistance and only apply the new policy to new applications from September 2017?
Q6. We would seek to protect families who qualify under “Low Income Criteria” (qualify for Free School Meals or where the parent is in receipt of the highest level of Working Tax Credit) from the full charges above. Please indicate your preferred charging level (see below) that families who qualify under low income criteria should pay.
- Charge of £100 per term
- Charge of £150 per term
- Charge of £200 per term
Q7. Should discretionary travel assistance to Post 16 students cease and funding focused on other areas of travel assistance support?
Proposal 2 – SEN School Transport
We have a duty to provide travel assistance to eligible children under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (which includes children with SEN, a disability, or mobility problems who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to the nearest suitable school). For such children the assessment should be made on an individual basis to identify their particular travel requirements.
We propose to develop a new policy and process for SEN School Transport applications:
- Develop a new application form for School Transport Assistance applicants, to enable officers to assess family circumstances (i.e. access to car, low income) and details of the applicants’ disability (i.e. mobility issues, mental capacity). This form will need to be completed by all applicants –pupils with an EHCP or Statement will no longer be passported to travel assistance by the Additional Needs Team. Appendix 1
- Tighten up the application process for EHC Plans to ensure that the nearest suitable school is stipulated at the outset of the application process, so that if parents prefer a school further away from home, it is clear to them that the LA will not cover the additional cost of transport and has no duty to provide travel assistance.
- If eligible to assistance, offer independent travel training as a first option alongside the issue of a free bus passor an application for a free National Travel Pass, if there’s a reasonable prospect of success based on the child’s disability/SEND. ITTS will be offered where appropriate to pupils of Secondary School age.
- Offer parental mileage as the next option if it is clear that parents have access to a car.
- Offer direct payments to those parents/carers of students who are attending an out of borough provision. Thus allowing families to make more flexible arrangements.
- Only offer transport by minibus or taxi if there is no suitable alternative. This could involve a pick up point close to home rather than door to door transport.
As stated above under Proposal 1, the Independent Travel Training Scheme (ITTS) could make a real difference to the lives and expectations of young people. The Local Authority would only seek to offer this option to Secondary School age children with SEND, where the assessment indicated that they should be of sufficient maturity to travel independently, safely.
We would welcome feedback on the following:
Q8. Your views on Proposal 2 and the Travel Assistance options outlined.
Q9. Are there any other options that would benefit you or your child that you would like to be included?
Q10. In St.Helens we currently pay 28p per mile to compensate parents who transport their children to and from school. Do you think this is:
a)Too high
b)About right
c)Too low
Q11. Should we offer protection to existing children/ young people in receipt of school travel assistance and only apply the new policy to new applications from September 2017
Proposal 3 – Nursery Transport for Children with Disabilities
The Children with Disabilities Team currently holds a small budget to offer support to children under the age of 5, attending the Bridge Centre, to assist in assessing their needs. Changes to the Early Years National Funding Formula introduced by central government from April 2017, which restricts the amount that Local Authorities can retain for central support services, means that St Helens Council will no longer be able to fund thediscretionary support in this way.
We propose to introduce the following policy. Where a pre-school child either has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and the nearest qualifying primary school or special school in St.Helens is named in the EHCP, in accordance with the Children and Families Act 2014, they may be entitled to travel assistance if it exceeds the statutory distance for children under 8. To be considered eligible there needs to be medical or social reasons, supported by professional evidence for example from a social worker or medical professional, why the child cannot attend the place without Council travel assistance. If deemed entitled to travel assistance a chargewould be levied. The charge would be £500 per term and payment would be required at the start of the term. A Parent would have to escort the child to and from the Early Years setting.
We would welcome feedback on the following:
Q12. Your views on Proposal 3 and the Travel Assistance outlined.
Q13. Are there any other options that would benefit you or your child that you would like to be included?
Q14. Should discretionary travel assistance to under 5s of non-compulsory school age cease and funding focused on other areas of travel assistance support?
Reasons for the proposed changes
(i)Promoting increased independent travel for all children and young people with SEND to ensure they receive similar life experiences to their peers.
(ii)Deliver improved social interaction, access to education, training and employment, and confidence for young people with SEND adopting independent travel.
(iii)To offer more options and flexibility to families in the way that travel assistance can be provided.
(iv)To manage the increasing demand on the service.
(v)To ensure that we can continue to offer a reasonable level of support to all families within the budget limits of the service.
Consultation Period
St.Helens Council will be consulting on these proposed changes from 27th February until 23rd April 2017. We will be attending meetings with a range of parent groups and drop in sessions will be arranged during the consultation period to allow you to find out more and feedback your views. Dates and times of these drop in sessions will be publicised on the Council’s website.
You can respond to the consultation by writing to us at the following address:
Clare Sutcliffe
School Transport Manager
Atlas House
Corporation Street
St.Helens
WA9 1LD
Or
The closing date for responses to the consultation is Sunday 23rd April 2017.