Parents in call to close SEND transport 'loophole'

Parents in Leeds have called on the government to change the law around transport for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to include older teenagers.

They say legally a disabled young person is expected to be in school or training until they turn 18, but the local authority does not have a legal duty to cover travel costs once they turn 16.

Last year, Leeds City Council said SEND students aged over 16 would no longer be provided with a free school bus which would save the authority around £800,000.

The Department for Education said local authorities had a legal duty to set out a transport policy, although there was "flexibility in deciding these arrangements".

Campaign group Save Our School Transport said it was "morally wrong" to axe transport for over-16s.

Abbie Goldstone's daughter Poppy will turn 16 next year and would not be entitled to free transport to college as a result of the change of policy by Leeds City Council.

Ms Goldstone said Poppy currently "loves" the school bus and it gave her independence, but she would not be able to cope on public transport.

She does not believe those who have made the decision at the council have "ever met our kids or spent a day with these children".

She added that they were "all functioning much lower than their cognitive age, so age is irrelevant".

Although legally young people have to remain in education or training until they are 18, there is no legal requirement for local authorities to continue to cover the transport costs for those with SEND.

Ms Goldstone believes that local authorities have "exploited" a "loophole", which was "not illegal, just morally wrong".

Along with other members of the Save Our School Transport group, she would like to see the government change the law so local authorities had to continue providing transport for those in education with SEND.

She also pointed to government guidance which says through the adult transport duty, local authorities are required to provide free transport for certain adult learners, once they turn 19 (young people over sixth form age).

Steph Ward is a parent carer support worker at Carers Leeds and her son Lyall ,16, would also be affected by this policy.

She pointed to the "loophole" in the law which she thinks "cash-strapped councils are exploiting".

She fears what has not been taken into account is the effect cuts to post-16 transport for young people with SEND would have on parent carers.

Ms Ward said: "For many parents the only break they have is when a child goes to school.

"If you take away the transport to get that child to school, then many children won't go."

Parents from the campaign group gathered outside a council meeting earlier this week to protest against the changes. They said more than 1,000 children would be affected by the policy changes.

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said it remained committed to supporting young people in accessing education.

Cllr Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council's Executive Member for Children and Families, said that Leeds continued to offer discretionary support that went "beyond legal requirements".

She pointed to zero-fare travel passes, independent travel training and personal transport allowances, and said applications and appeals were reviewed with care to ensure exceptional circumstances were fully considered.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "This government inherited a SEND system left on its knees.

"Through our Plan for Change, we're already making progress, investing £740m to create more places for children with SEND in mainstream schools, while increasing early access to speech, language and neurodiversity support to prevent needs from escalating.

"Local authorities have a legal duty to set out the travel arrangements to support young people to attend post-16 education including specific arrangements for those with SEND; there is local flexibility in deciding these arrangements."

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