‘Shocked and annoyed’ - Hebburn mum’s anger over proposed changes to SEND school transport

Mum-of-two Lorna Beston, from Hebburn, has spoken out about proposed changes to the SEND Home to School Transport scheme operated by South Tyneside Council.

Currently the scheme picks school pupils, who are aged between five and 16-years-old with additional needs, up from their homes and takes them to school - free of charge.

However, South Tyneside Council has launched a consultation into proposed changes to the scheme, which include:

• Post 16 charges: Families will contribute to the cost of the transport once their child is aged 16 and over. This will be based on household income, with low-income families being exempt.
• Pick-up points: The Council proposes to introduce a number of pick-up points across the borough in instances where lots of young people are travelling to the same school or college from the same area.

Lorna, whose six-year-old son Archie uses the service, has revealed to the Shields Gazette that she wasn’t contacted by the local authority regarding the proposals and actually found out via social media.

The 40-year-old said: “I’m not an avid user of Facebook so I didn’t know anything about the proposed changes until a post was sent to me by a friend.

“No one at the Council has even contacted me to let me know that they were looking at making changes to the service, it has only been since I’ve made my views known that someone has been in touch.

“I was quite shocked, angry and annoyed when I found out as you don’t realise how difficult it is to get the support that a child with additional needs requires until you actually go through the processes yourself.

“I want my child to have the same access to education as any other child but it feels like they are picking on a section of the community who are quite vulnerable.”

Lorna has hit out at the proposals which she says will impact families financially or could have an effect on the wellbeing of the children who use the service.

She added: “The first proposal doesn’t directly impact me as Archie is only six but why should families that have child with a disability be disadvantaged financially by paying for them to get to school?

“It will work out at something like over £100 a month but if the local authority actually had provisions on their doorstep then these children would be able to access school the same way as anyone else.

“The thing that will impact me and concerns me the most is if Archie has to go to a ‘pick-up point’ as he has a lot of sensory issues.

“Right now he can leave for school from the safety of his own home, where he has everything that he needs should any problems arise.

“However, the walk to a ‘central location’ could cause additional stress, the environment is unpredictable and these children could become a target to others in the community.

“They say that the children will need to be assessed for things like a pick-up point but every child that has access to this transport has already gone through a rigorous assessment process.

“The Council know exactly what disability every child has so why do they need to go through another assessment?

“I’m not even sure how much money they’d actually save by making these changes, I’m just dumbfounded by it all.”

South Tyneside Council has stated that it isn’t “reducing its services” but is instead trying to ensure that the service is “sustainable” for all that use it.

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A spokesperson for the Council commented: “We are in the early stages of a consultation on our Home to School Transport offer.

“We have invited general comments via email ahead of a full questionnaire being launched. The consultation will run until Friday 15th November.

“This is not about reducing services but is about reshaping them to promote independence within our young people, it relates predominantly to those over 16 years of age attending sixth form or college.

“As part of our commitment to ensuring all young people are prepared for adulthood, we have enhanced our independent travel training offer to ensure that they are able to gain the vital skills needed to be independent.

“As demand continues to increase, we need to ensure that families, schools and colleges understand their roles and responsibilities in terms of provision of transport so that they can take control of the type of transport their child receives, with more young people able to travel independently where possible and with fewer relying on the unsustainable use of taxis.

“The Council has a responsibility to provide transport for all eligible children and young people (16-19).

“To do so we must ensure that this offer is sustainable, the Council does not have a statutory duty to provide Post 16 transport free of charge.

“South Tyneside is now one of the only authorities locally and nationally that fully provides transport to young people aged 16-19 and which does not apply a means tested contribution for transport.

“Any changes are intended to be beneficial to both the child/young person and parent/carers as well as the Council.

“We also have a duty of care to provide a high quality and sustainable service which at present is heavily subsidised.

“There are two proposals that we are consulting on. The first is to introduce a ‘low income assessed’ post 16 contribution of £1,116.70 per child, which is equivalent to the cost of an annual Nexus travel pass, towards taxi transport costs.

“It is important to note that those eligible for free school meals would be exempt from this and that additional support is also available for low-income families from sixth forms and colleges.

“The second proposal is the introduction of safe and appropriate collection points where young people attending the same provision will be collected and dropped off at via transport.

“This will support in developing those first steps to independent travel and will also help reduce mileage and impact on our carbon footprint.

“A risk assessment would be carried out prior to deciding whether a young person could use pick up points. This will consider all their physical, mental and educational needs to ensure that it was safe for them to travel in this way.

“We know there are varying levels of need in the current system and want to consult with all families before proposing any changes to our service.

“We have already brought in a range of changes to home to school transport by working successfully with schools and families to provide shared transport arrangements, increase travel training and promoting independence.

“It is important to stress that all comments will be welcomed and will feed into a final set of proposals to be considered by cabinet in the future.

”The consultation wants to engage with children and young people, families, and other relevant stakeholders, before any updated policies and procedures are considered.

”We are not just looking for response from current service users but also wider views from people across the community.

“Travel to education provides an opportunity to encourage independence as young people move towards adulthood, supported by schools, colleges and the council.”

You can find out more about the Home to School Transport consultation by visiting: https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/20233/Overview and you can have your say on the matter at: https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/20235/Tell-us-your-views.