Select Committee on Education and Skills Appendices to the Minutes of Evidence


Memorandum submitted by Mencap (ST 12)

  Mencap recognises the potential benefits of enabling a limited number of authorities to trial new approaches to school transport. Its purpose, to reduce numbers of children going to school by car and the high cost of school transport, is well understood. However, we are deeply concerned that issues surrounding free school transport for disabled children are being overlooked and that an unintended consequence of the draft Bill could be to worsen the provision of this vital service.

TRANSPORT FOR DISABLED CHILDRENTHE CURRENT POSITION

Statements

  Mencap believes that provision of free school transport for disabled pupils should not be dependent on a Special Educational Needs statement but on an individual's need. However, it is the reality that a disabled pupil who lives within the walk to school area cannot be guaranteed free school transport provided by the LEA unless it is written into their statement. LEAs are legally obliged to provide whatever is specified in part 3 of a statement. Transport provision can also be made under part 5 of a statement but LEAs have greater discretion over the type of provision.

  There is growing evidence that LEAs are seeking to reduce the numbers of children with statements. Under the current system this could well mean that the provision of free school transport for disabled pupils would be cut further.

  It should also be noted that if a parent of a disabled child chooses to send their child to a school other than the one named in the statement, transport to the school of choice does not have to be provided by the LEA if a closer school were able to provide what they deemed a suitable education for that child.

Quality of transport provision

  Disabled children using transport provided by the LEA may travel on school buses, service buses, minibuses and in taxis. Calls to helplines indicate that the quality of this provision varies greatly.

Journey times

  Parents of children with a learning disability often express concern about the travel arrangements in place for their children, in particular the time it takes to get to and from school. The Travelling to School: A Good Practice Guide (Department for Transport, September 2003) states that the maximum travel time should be 75 minutes. We do not think it is acceptable for any child, and particularly a child with a learning disability, to have to travel an hour and a quarter at the beginning and end of each school day.

Inclusion in mainstream schools

  Increasingly, children with special educational needs are educated in mainstream schools. Travelling to School: A Good Practice Guide says that LEAs' home to school policies should take account of the needs of children with SEN so that whenever possible they travel with their peers to mainstream school unless their needs have to be met by specialised transport. Mencap is strongly supportive of mainstreaming in principle but believes transport for disabled pupils must be appropriate for the individual's needs. Some pupils, in particular those with challenging behaviour and more profound physical and learning disabilities, will not be able to access shared transport and appropriate arrangements to make sure their individual provision is safeguarded must be made. The understandable desire to cut costs must not lead to inappropriate transport provision and extending of journey times to unacceptable levels.

THE DRAFT BILL—MENCAP'S CONCERNS

  We want to ensure that this Bill does not in any way worsen current transport provision for disabled children. There is a danger that the lack of clear guidance about how LEAs should provide for disabled pupils will exacerbate the current trends described.

  We would like the Bill to state explicitly an LEA's responsibilities towards disabled pupils. Particularly, we would like to see the following concerns addressed through the Bill:

    —  Overall provision of school transport for disabled children.

    —  Quality and appropriateness of transport provision.

    —  Length of journey times.

    —  Discriminatory costs to families of disabled children.

    —  Competence of bus drivers and escorts.

Overall provision of school transport for disabled children

  We would like to see a clear statement from Government that the provision of free school transport for non-statemented disabled children will remain so that if the LEA policy of reducing the number of statements continues, it can do so in a climate of trust.

The appropriateness of transport for disabled pupils

  We would like the Bill to state clearly that school transport provision must be appropriate for a disabled pupil's needs.

Length of journey times

  We believe that the maximum aggregate journey time going to and from school for disabled children should be no more than two hours per day (ie one hour each way).

Discriminatory costs to families of disabled children

  For those parents of disabled children who pay for school transport provision, we would like it stated clearly that they must not pay more than non-disabled children.

Disability equality training and police checking for all school transport drivers and escorts

  Provisions within the Disability Discrimination Bill may mean that public transport providers and LEAs will have to provide disability equality training for staff. However, this is far from certain at this stage. We feel it is particularly vital that those people tasked with driving or escorting disabled pupils to and from school have received extensive disability equality training and have been police-checked.

April 2004





 
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