Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration introduced a report on the SEND Home to School and Post-16 Travel Assistance Policies 2021/22.

The Cabinet Member stated that every local authority had a duty to publish its policies that set out how it would provide support to some of its most vulnerable families and individuals with travel to and from school each day. More specifically, this requirement extended to the publication of two distinct policies, as follows:

1.  The Council policy for providing home to school travel assistance for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); and

2.  The Council policy for providing travel assistance and/or support for young people aged over 16 when travelling to or from further education settings.

The Cabinet Member advised that the home to school travel assistance policy for children and young people with SEND remained unchanged for families following review.  It was noted that the current provision was COVID secure and would continue until the Council were advised otherwise.

The post-16 Travel Assistance Policy had been updated with two minor amendments.  Firstly, the policy now made clear that transport would continue to be considered as part of the transition process for all SEND children.  The second amendment was that independent travel training would be considered as a preference to enhance the independence of young people.

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the ‘Home to School Travel Assistance Policy 2021/22’ for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), as set out at Appendix 1 to the report; and

(ii)  Approve the updated ‘Post-16 Travel Assistance Policy 2021/22’, as set out at Appendix 2 to the report.