A senior Central Bedfordshire Council officer has apologised for the chaos around home-to-school transport at the start of the autumn term.
The local authority is reassuring parents and carers that “it’s committed to listening and learning when we don’t get it right”.
After changes to CBC’s home-to-school transport policy, there was only one pick-up for some young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) attending colleges in North Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes.
Any students whose course finished at 12.30pm faced a four-hour wait to go home to their safe place, a CBC scrutiny committee was told.
A week later, travel service provider Cozys chose to withdraw services on a Friday afternoon at short notice over alleged unpaid invoices, leaving the council, schools and families to make alternative arrangements.
In a SEND news update, CBC said: “We’re working closely with the SNAP parent carer forum (PCF) to address recent challenges faced by some families using SEND school transport at the start of the academic year.
“After concerns raised by parents and carers, CBC’s director of children and families, the deputy chief executive and director of place and communities, and the head of passenger transport met with the SNAP PCF on Monday and Tuesday (September 15 and 16).
“These constructive talks have led to a commitment to deliver improvements and ensure families have greater confidence in SEND transport services.
The measures include:
- simplifying transport forms to make them clearer and easier for parents and carers to complete;
- improving website information, such as updates to the SEND Local Offer, and ensuring transport portal messages are clear and accessible;
- creating frequently asked questions to help parents understand what to expect from SEND transport;
- strengthening communication with regular updates through drop-in sessions, SEND news bulletins, SNAP PCF channels, and by working earlier with special schools;
- addressing EHCP-related delays and prioritising cases where transport arrangements are held up;
- reviewing transport change processes to ensure families are informed clearly and in good time;
- improving the complaints process, making it easier for families to raise concerns across SEND services;
- and highlighting parental mileage options by ensuring families understand available alternatives, if they wish to transport their child themselves.”
CBC’s director of place and communities, Lorna Carver, said: “We know that recent problems with school transport have been difficult for children and their families, and we’re sorry.
“We also know how important having reliable, safe and supportive transport is, and we’re committed to listening and learning when we don’t get it right.
“Our focus now is on making improvements and ensuring families can have greater confidence in the service going forward.
“We’re especially thankful to the SNAP PCF for working so openly and constructively with us to get to the heart of the issues and find solutions.”
The SNAP PCF explained: “We know how stressful the start of the year has been for some of our families.
“Your voices have been heard, and we’re pleased that CBC has committed to working with us in partnership.
“Together we aim to make lasting improvements to SEND school transport for children and young people in Central Bedfordshire.”
By Euan Duncan
Local Democracy Reporter
