School transport
Fuel shortages and SEN transport
As you may well be aware, over the last few days there has been a national fuel shortage due to issues with the supply line.
Although the impact on the service of the SEND transport department has been minimal up until now, there is the potential that this could disrupt some of the established routes that we currently have in place for schools and colleges that your children attend.
We are working closely with all of our transport providers to minimise the effect this crisis will have on the service; however, we cannot guarantee that there won’t be an impact at all.
In terms of the consequences of this crisis on children and young people, some routes may be delayed and subsequently, pick up times and drop off times may vary.
Our team will inform you of any changes that may occur. As things stand, we do not foresee any route cancellations but we will continue to monitor the development of the crisis and keep you updated as the situation develops and find solutions to the problems that come from this where possible.
Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation. If there are any issues, please do not hesitate to contact the department via email at School.Transport@haringey.gov.uk or on 020 8489 2723.
COVID-19 Safety Guidance for the SEND Transport Team
The guidance below is issued to ensure drivers, escorts and buddies are kept as safe as possible during the current COVID-19 crisis.
To ensure safer travel for both children and staff, and until further government guidance is issued, all escorts, travel buddies and SEND Transport Staff are expected at all times to adhere to the guidance.
SEND Transport Event - February 2020
- We held an event to gather your experiences about SEND transport - find out more below
SEND Home to School Transport Survey 2020
We are asking our residents to take part in the Home to School Transport Survey 2020.
Find out more and take the survey
The council can provide transport to support your child to attend a special school if you live outside the distance requirement, which is a walking distance of two miles from your home to the special school if your child is under 8 years or three miles if your child is 8 years old or over.
For a child with SEN or a disability, the nearest suitable school may well be farther away than for other pupils, and walking may not be an option.
In this case, the council provides a home to school transport service for pupils. For more information please see our SEND travel policy 2018-2020 (PDF, 201KB).
Apply for SEN Transport and Travel Assistance
You do not have to reapply for transport each year. Only reapply if there has been a change in your circumstances.
In order to get in touch with our Transport Department please contact us at the address below.
The transport team
The escorts and travel trainers are Haringey employees and a key part of the SEND Integrated Service. They are trained to a high standard in order to meet your child’s needs.
Their training includes:
- Managing children’s behaviour through strategies such as Team Teach
- Makaton signing
- Safeguarding disabled children
- Communicating with children with disabilities
How we decide on transport
Entitlement to transport is based on assessment of your child’s needs, as outlined in your application form. If agreed, the transport team will discuss with you the type of transport and travel assistance to be provided to your child. This will be decided dependent on your child’s physical abilities and a risk assessment of how your child is able to travel most safely.
The risk assessment is made partly through your application form, so please make sure to include information about your child's medical needs, ways of communicating with people, particular likes and dislikes or fears (such as road drills etc). This will help us make a risk assessment. If your child is known to the Haringey SEN team, please let us know and we will ask for a copy of your child's Education Health and Care plan.
Types of Transport
The types of transport and travel assistance available includes:
- Bus or coach transport with escort
- Travel buddying and travel assistance
- Travel training
We do not offer door to door pick up and drop off, so you will be expected to bring your child to the vehicle and pick up your child from the vehicle. You can expect to be called by the bus escorts so that you know when to be ready to pick up or drop off your child.
The drop off and pick up point may be different for each family, and will depend on your child’s age and physical ability. If your child is older and physically able, you may be given a drop off point at a nearby bus stop. If your child is younger, the pickup and drop off are likely to be on your road.
All transport arrangements are designed to maximise young people’s independence as far as possible, with a focus on working towards independent travel training.
We are able to provide independent travel training for young people with a wide variety of needs.
This includes training or assistance to make their way to a nearby transport pick up point, and how to behave when waiting. It also includes planning for what to do if something unexpected happens in order to ensure your son or daughter is as confident in their travel skills as possible.
We regularly review transport arrangements, and a child’s individual transport needs will be looked at during the annual review of their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or Statement.
Parental preference and transport
If you choose to send your child to a school that the council does not consider to be the nearest suitable school, the council has no duty to provide free transport. In such circumstances parents will be required to make their own transport arrangements.
Personal Budget and Paid Mileage
If you are entitled to transport, but want to make your own arrangements in getting your child to school, you can discuss with the transport team being paid mileage for your own arrangement. You can also discuss a personal budget for transport instead of receiving a managed service, if you do not have a car you can use to transport your child.
The personal budget is calculated according to the distance of your house from your child’s school.
The values are:
- If you live 2 miles from your child’s school your personal budget will be £2,000
- If you live 3 miles from your child’s school your personal budget will be £3,000
- If you live 4 miles or more from your child’s school your personal budget will be £4,000
If you would like to be considered for a personal budget, or paid mileage, you will be asked to fill in an application by the transport team to set up a personal budget account with Haringey. This account is audited to ensure that the money is used for its proper purpose.
Contact
In order to get in touch with our Transport Department please write to:
- Passenger Transport Service
Alexandra House - 2nd Floor
10 Station Road
Wood Green
N22 7TR
Contact Name & Number:
- Viviane Austin - 0208 489 4376
- Kathleen Johnston - 0208 489 5692
- Pembe Hippolyte - 0208 489 5629
- Ricky Morris - 0208 489 6937
Please note that if you have a general enquiry, please avoid calling at peak times such as 7.45am-8.45am and 2.30pm-3.45pm. If your query is urgent please do call and we will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible.
SEND Transport Event - February 2020
We held an event to gather your experiences about SEND transport.
We recognise that getting the SEND transport service right makes a big difference to your family's life. We wanted to know what's working and what's not, and how we can improve our service.
When and where?
The event was held on Wednesday 5 February 2020, at Marcus Garvey Library, with 3 sessions held throughout the day.
There was also an online survey so that feedback about the service could be submitted.
Full details of the event are in the leaflet: