Home-to-School Transport: Children with SEND

Families in Central Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire struggle with long travel times and insufficient transport support due to rural context and local authority failure to place-plan appropriately.

Anna Dixon noted that local authorities spent £1.4 billion on home-to-school transport in 2022-23, a significant increase since 2015-16. She welcomed the Government's additional funding but emphasised the need to prioritise mainstream schools for better outcomes and reduced costs. Anna Dixon briefly intervened, asking Victoria Collins if she would give way to speak. Asked the Minister if she would give way to ask questions about local government funding and support for innovative solutions.

Anna Gelderd highlighted the unique challenges in rural areas for SEND children, including longer distances to schools and lack of public transport. She urged the Minister to consult with SEND families to tailor services better.

Acknowledging the Labour council's decision in Fulham to provide free educational transport for disabled children up to age 25, Ben Coleman highlighted that across other areas, disabled young people face denial or charges for school transport at 16. He noted that nearly half of families experience stress and financial difficulties due to these costs.

Children in Bicester and Woodstock face long journeys of up to 1 hour and 45 minutes each way due to multiple children added to the same taxi ride, leading him to ask for more capital funding for special schools locally.

Both SEND free schools promised for Wokingham are waiting approval; he requests a meeting with the Minister, council executives, and director of children's services to discuss Government plans for reform.

Jessica's son in Bexleyheath has been required to pay £400 towards transport costs, despite receiving universal credit and being on the highest mobility component rate for personal independence payment. Children in the same class with identical circumstances do not have to contribute because they live in a different borough.

In his casework, Danny Beales pointed out the challenges faced by co-parenting families sharing custody across different boroughs who struggle with local authority disputes. He also highlighted issues for homeless families in temporary accommodation outside their traditional borough, making it hard to secure continuity in school transport.

Costs have trebled in Southampton over the past few years, straining council resources. He welcomes the Education Secretary's commitment to a whole-system review and proposes collaboration between Departments for Transport and Education with bus companies.

In Dewsbury and Batley, the local council budget has been slashed by £1.6 million, leading families to cover transportation costs for 300 sixth-form pupils with SEND. The current funding system is unsustainable due to the crisis in local government funding.

Since 2017, the number of children needing SEND transport in Wigan has increased by over 80% while costs have risen by 103%. This year alone, the council faces a £2 million overspend against a budget of £5.53 million.

Jodie Gosling, a special educational needs coordinator, highlighted the difficulties in securing EHCPs for children under five and the challenges in arranging transport and chaperones. She stressed the need to extend childcare and early years education offers with adequate support for SEND children from an early age.

Emphasising the importance of home-to-school transport for rural areas, John Whitby discussed the difficulties faced by a constituent with autism and other conditions who had to travel nearly three hours daily without transport support. He stressed the significant burden on families' time and finances due to post-16 system inadequacies.

In Derbyshire, there are failings in the SEND system as highlighted by a recent Ofsted report. Suggested improvements include better integration between stakeholders and early planning for transport management to save money and benefit children.

Josh Fenton-Glynn reported a significant increase in children with EHCPs in Calderdale from 1,068 to 1,761 between 2018-19 and the last year. He stressed that parents face stress due to late transport plans and highlighted cases of epilepsy triggered by school-related stress.

Laura Kyrke-Smith suggested three improvements: timely information about transport provision, sufficient funding for personal transport budgets, and better regulation of transport providers to ensure safety and reliability. She cited an example where a parent faced an £84 daily taxi fare.

Under the Education Act 1996, local authorities are under a duty to provide free school transport to eligible children with special educational needs and disabilities. The national council spending on SEND transport increased from £728 million in 2019 to £1.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach £2.2 billion by 2027-28, an increase of 57%. Councils transported an average of 1,300 pupils in 2023-24, up from 911 in 2018-19, a growth of 43%.

In Stratford-on-Avon, many children were left without home-to-school transport at the beginning of the academic year, leading to unmet educational needs and complex networks of transport issues due to lack of local SEND provision.

Expressed gratitude to all speakers and highlighted the record number of contributions in an hour, urging Guinness World Records to recognize this achievement.

She supports her friend's comments on free transportation but notes that it is not free for local authorities, with North East Lincolnshire spending £1.4 million last year alone to transport 114 children out of area. She advocates for more specialist provision within areas and combined support in mainstream schools.

In Surrey, a 16-year-old girl named Polly with special educational needs has been denied assistance for her sixth form education. Her parents appealed but were turned down because the council made a financial argument that it could not sustain providing travel assistance due to the parents' full-time jobs.

Parents and children in Birmingham Erdington are frustrated due to cuts to school transport, with over-16s no longer receiving support. A mother's son with Down's syndrome was forced to stay home because of lack of transportation support.

Congratulated the hon. Friend and highlighted cases where families face financial barriers to support their disabled children's education, emphasizing the need for a long-term goal of inclusive education and stable statutory framework.

Highlighting reliability issues in transport for SEND pupils, Rachel Taylor shared a case where parents faced difficulties during the start of term with no transport arriving. She also mentioned challenges in her semi-rural constituency due to proximity to neighbouring counties, complicating school allocation based on travel distance.

Discussed the importance of proper travel services for SEND children, highlighting the social costs of inadequate provision and the impact on families' wellbeing.

Asked the hon. Member to acknowledge that local authorities seek to do the right thing, noting that Cumbria councils have more than doubled spending on SEND transport in five years.

In North Yorkshire, children in taxis for up to two hours daily are impacting their ability to learn; the council projects a spend of £27 million on SEND transport next year despite being 148th out of 151 local authorities for high needs funding.

Victoria Collins highlighted the growing need for SEND provision due to increased demand, citing a doubling of students with EHCPs from 105,000 eight years ago to 230,000 in 2023. She noted that councils are often left to fund transport themselves, leading to significant financial strain and charging families up to £933 per year for transport services. Collins emphasised the urgent need for additional funding and a fairer funding formula to reduce costs for schools and ensure children can access tailored learning and support closer to home.