Parents who get council help getting their youngsters to school are to be given much more freedom and flexibility over the transport arrangements.
Parents of children 16 and over with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) are to be given their own budgets to pay for transport to school – putting them in the driving seat for their children’s needs by allowing them to pick the option that suits them best.
The new policy, which, if agreed by the council’s cabinet, will replace the current one where Oldham Council directly organises transport options for families.
A public consultation ended earlier this year to ensure those affected by the changes could have their say on the new proposals. POINT, an organisation that supports families with additional needs, worked to make sure families understood the consultation proposals.
Andrew Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of POINT said: “We understand that changes to the routines of children with SEND can be difficult so we worked closely with Oldham Council and the families who access or may access SEND transport so that they are informed of the proposals. It’s vital that we engage with families and listen to their voices so I’m glad we had the opportunity to be involved, gather feedback and experiences and ensure the needs, views and wishes of families are central in decision making.”
Councillor Mohon Ali, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills said: “Listening to families and those directly affected by these proposals it was clear that people valued having greater control over their transport needs, so I’m confident this is a change for the better.
“We’ve also been clear in this new policy that to ensure people are getting the right support, individual assessments will still be used to identify a young person’s travel needs. This will involve completing an assessment form that will help us understand each child. Once this assessment is complete, a flexible travel budget will be assigned on a case by case basis.
“A big thank you to all of the families who took part in our consultation and of course to POINT for helping us to engage with them.”
The council notes that a personal travel budget may not be appropriate in all circumstances, especially for young people with the most complex needs. The proposed approach will allow for council-organised transport to be provided to meet the needs of individual pupils where a personal travel budget would not be appropriate. This will be determined via the assessment process. A process of appealing the assessment will be in place if it is felt the outcome was incorrect, which will involve a first review by council officers and then a second review by an independent panel.
The proposals will be considered at an Oldham Council Cabinet meeting on Monday 24 March.
