As we head towards the last few weeks of the autumn term, there are some young people who haven’t yet made it as far as the college gate. They are not reluctant to attend – in fact many are desperate to be at college. They simply can’t get there because their local authority has not provided them with the transport support they need to make the journey. Findings from a survey of Natspec member colleges published today show that 65% had learners, all with Education Health and Care (EHCPs) in England or Individual Development Plans (IDPs) in Wales, who had been unable to take up their specialist college place at the start of term because of transport issues. One college reported having no fewer than 30 learners in this situation.
Fair access to a high-quality education is one of Natspec’s key policy priorities. To date we have focused on the rights of young people with more complex needs to a suitably specialist placement, the need for better quality information, advice and guidance about post-16 options, and the importance of young people’s voices being heard in the decision-making process. It is becoming increasingly clear that there is an even more basic issue to address: ensuring that young people can physically get to college so they can benefit from further education. It cannot be right that local authorities (LAs) are naming colleges in learners’ EHC plans, but not providing the transport support to help them get there.
LAs are not statutorily required to provide transport support for post-16 learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the same way they are for school-aged children. Instead, they have to publish a post-16 transport policy statement in which the needs of young people with SEND are prioritised. It is clear that cash-strapped LAs, reluctantly or otherwise, are seeking to reduce their spend on post-16 transport, with 69% of survey respondents saying that their learners had found it more difficult to access transport support this year than last, rising to 80% in London. A Westminster Hall debate on SEND transport, held on Tuesday this week, the International Day of Person’s with Disabilities, confirmed that this issue is not confined to specialist colleges. Young people across the country on roll at schools and colleges, both specialist and mainstream, are being affected.
Some LAs have introduced more restrictive policies with narrower eligibility criteria while others have tightened up their application processes to make it more difficult to obtain transport support. Learners and families are having to jump through hoops in terms of forms to complete, panels to pass through and lengthy appeals processes to navigate. Information on how to apply for support is difficult for families to find in some local areas. As a result, fewer learners are being offered LA-arranged transport and families are being asked to make a greater financial contribution, regardless of their own financial circumstances.
In their attempts to cut costs, some LAs have been offering completely inappropriate transport support like bus passes for learners who cannot travel independently or unsafe options such as vehicles for wheelchair users that are not fitted with appropriate restraints or tail lifts. Learners with high medical needs have been offered transport with no accompanying escort or asked to share vehicles with other young people with incompatible needs. Some have been experiencing extended routes to college as their shared transport picks up learners from a wider geographical area than previously. They are being dropped off after the start of the college day and picked up early, so that their transport can complete its rounds.
All of this taking its toll and learners and their families. 82% of respondents said that learners were experiencing anxiety as a result of transport issues. The physical health of some is also being affected. Families are suffering from stress as more of them juggle work and personal commitments with responsibility for getting their young person to and from college. Some are also struggling with the increased financial burden of having to make a greater contribution to travel costs.
And if the situation is bad now, it’s only going to get worse. During the course of our research, we have identified at least a dozen LAs which had made no changes to their post-16 transport policies this year but have already signalled that they will be tightening them up for the next academic year. That’s why Natspec is calling for an urgent change in transport policy at national level that will put 16–25-year-olds with SEND on a level playing field with children of compulsory school age. If we truly believe in fair access, then getting young people to the college gate has to be a non-negotiable.
