Parents of disabled children due to start special schools in September are receiving letters from Birmingham City Council refusing escorted transport on specially adapted vehicles and advising that they should catch a public bus instead.
Template forms seen by Chamberlain News explain that a request for a place on a minibus has been turned down even if a child lives more than the maximum three miles walking distance from school, ‘has special needs, behavioural difficulties, has no sense of danger and would need to catch several buses to get to school’.
The form, from education officials, states that the request for home to school transport has been carefully considered, but: “We do not however consider there are any reasons as to why your child’s special educational needs should prevent you taking your child to and from school on public transport.”
A separate form for children under eight living under the two-mile qualifying distance for free school transport states: “We do not consider there are any reasons as to why your child’s special educational needs should prevent you walking with your child to school accompanied by yourselves as necessary.
“We do not consider there are any special reasons as to why you should not be able to arrange to take your child to school and also take other siblings to alternative schools.”
An official in the education department has confirmed to Chamberlain News that refusal letters have been sent to parents of reception age pupils suffering from autism who are due to start school in September.
The council could not, though, confirm how many children with autism had been refused specialised transport.
The forms were drawn up following approval of a new home to school transport policy. Transport assistance for pupils with special educational needs will now only be considered if the child attends the nearest school to its home.
Parental choice of “a more distant school will not be supported”, the council confirmed.
The decision angered disability campaigners who pointed out that most people attending Birmingham special schools have to travel across the city because facilities are not available close to where they live.
WTF! Excuse my French but these people obviously have not been in the same situations with their home life and the difficulties in which we all face. They need an eye opener!
This is a disaster that was all too predicted. The last administration ducked the issue when it was realised what the consequences of such decisions would be.
Cabinet Members shouldn’t express any surprise at the inevitable outcry as not only are the decisions patently stupid and unfair but always astonishingly illegal.
Officers have continued to disregard the law wehn drawing up proposals and are now blaming Councillors for endorsing their suggestions.
These absurd decisions – such as 4 year olds with autism expected to travel on busy rush hour buses to get to schools – are being replicated across the city. Blind pupils are also being refused transport to get to their new secondary schools
These decisions are all for pupils changing or starting at schools; the Council is also consulting on plans to change the transport arrangments for existing pupils
The application forms for SEN Transport are appalling and this is leading to terrible decision-making. will Councillors respond?
This will save money albeit by illegal policy implementation – another Judicial Review case soon ? In the meantime we will see increased absences, late arrivals, anxious pupils in schools . Does anyone agree with these decisions?
My local council withdraws specially-adapted buses for disabled children
.@ChamberlainFile the primary aim is not to save money, but to prevent kids attending schools the council did not want them to go to.
Brum council tells special needs kids they can’t have escorted transport to school any longer @ChamberlainFile