RESOLVED:

a)    That Cabinet noted the responses and officers’ analysis from the consultation on home to school travel that ran from 23 November 2021 to 5 January 2022 and agreed to the following changes to home to school travel arrangements:

b)    That Cabinet agreed to increase investment in travel training by £50,000 per year to support opportunities for the independence and well-being of the young person to travel to school/college independently rather than using supported travel  from the age 11 where it is appropriate

c)    That Cabinet agreed for officers to improve the offer of travel budgets (PTABs), by implementing a more transparent policy, making it easier for families to receive financial recompense and increasing their promotion. This will both improve the take up of this option by parents and the ease of its use, while also being more efficient for the Council  

d)    In addition to continuing to meet our statutory requirements for home to school travel for statutory school age children, to continue to support families with children of pre-school age and post 16 students with the most significant needs where it is essential to get their child to school, especially for those with severe and profound learning difficulties

e)    Not to introduce charging for receiving travel assistance.

f)     Travel support for post-16 students to in the future be predominantly through independent forms of travel assistance, such as travel training and travel budgets, where this is possible. Organised transport only for those unable to use independent forms of travel or where their educational placement agreed in their EHCP is too far away to be reached independently.

g)    Officers to continue work to ensure best value for money in providing travel assistance to children, including ensuring the most cost-effective means to procure the taxi market, efficient utilisation of the in-house buses and procured taxis, and more formal reviews with schools to ensure we meet the needs of children as effectively as possible including identifying children who could be supported towards more independent travel.

h)    For officers in Community and Housing Department, working with Children, Schools and Families, to update their policies in relation to post-19 home to college travel on the basis of the same strategy as above

i)     To delegate the Director of Children, Schools and Families, in consultation with the  Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Education, and the Director of Community and Housing in relation to the travel assistance policy for post-19 students, amendments to policy documents in line with the above for supported travel from September 2022