In its report on home to school transport published today, the National Audit Office rightly highlights the essential role that transport plays for 16–25-year-olds with SEND, many of whom could not access education without it. The report recognises an increasing number of learners accessing home to school transport over the past decade, placing growing pressure on local authority budgets. However, the report importantly notes that the absence of statutory guidance for post-16 transport provision has made this support particularly vulnerable to cuts, meaning learners are missing out while parents are forced to reduce their working hours or leave employment altogether to ensure their children can get to school.
We welcome the NAO’s inclusion of Natspec’s evidence on the impact of these reductions, particularly the effect on young people’s ability to access and sustain their education. The report draws an important connection between rising numbers of learners not in education, employment or training and difficulties in accessing transport, reflecting the experiences of Natspec members, who frequently see students unable to start college because transport arrangements are not in place.
The NAO concludes with a recommendation that better management of SEND transport is wrapped up in the forthcoming SEND reforms. While the push for more inclusive mainstream schools within upcoming reforms may reduce travel costs for children attending dispersed special schools, the same cannot be assumed for post-16 learners. With 90% of FE students with EHCPs already enrolled in general FE colleges, cost reductions will not follow the same pattern. A fairer, more effective system for post-16 learners will require different solutions. Chief among these is extending the statutory duty for transport support to include 16–18-year-olds and 19–25-year-olds with an EHCP. This change would align with Raising the Participation Age legislation and the 0–25 SEND framework, rather than limiting provision to compulsory school-age children. While there was once a logic to having age 16 as a cut-off point, it is now an arbitrary measure and rationing access to transport support in this way, rather than by need or family circumstance, is no longer tenable.
The NAO also notes that analysis of the current transport landscape is hindered by significant gaps in data on home to school transport collected by the DfE. Completion rates by local authorities in relation to post-16 are especially low and detail on type of setting attended, eligibility criteria, and transport costs, all of which are collected for school age children, are not even sought for post-16 learners. We therefore support the NAO’s recommendations to review the current data collection and ensure higher completion rates from local authorities.
With the Education Committee recommending a statutory transport duty up to age 25, this new report provides further evidence that transport access is a barrier to accessing education for post-16 SEND learners. The DfE must ensure that these issues are addressed in forthcoming reforms.