Travel assistance / Travel training

Hi

I'm new to this,

My daughter is 16 yrs old and will be leaving school soon. She has ASD,ADHD and learning difficulties. She doesn't have a ECHP.  Just a school plus learning plan.She is at a mainstream school.

The college she wants to go too is a distance from home,I can not take her. There is a public bus that goes pass the college.I'm looking for travel assistance for her. travel training.Does anyone know where I can get some help with this.Point me in the right direction

Any help appreciated

Parents
  • Hi NAS36494,

    Most areas have their own (different) companies who offer Travel Training. I would therefore suggest you go on your Local Authorities website and look under their 'Local Offer' to find out what company is operating in your area.

    Travel Training in my area is great as you can self refer to them and they will work out a plan of helping your child become an independent traveller, such as accompanying them on their bus route several times, teaching them how to buy a ticket and read bus timetables etc, and then follow up with a couple of journeys with 'remote adult assistance' (surveillance only) until your child feels confidant to use public transport alone.  

    I would have liked to hope that your child's SENCo would know who the company operating in your local area is and could help you with making a referral for your daughter as part of her Transition (into Higher Education) Plan... 

    Best of luck.

  • Hi AngelDust, Thank you for replying.What you wrote sounds wonderful.It would be perfect for my daughter. I did try my Local Authorities which is Surrey  But because my daughter doesn't have a ECHP I can't have any help.I will see what the SENCo has to say.

    Thank you

  • Hi Dance, 

    I had a quick look at Surreys Local Offer. Below is a link to their page which lists ‘Professionals who support Post-16 Transitions…’ perhaps there may be some professional or organisation listed there who could help or signpost you to someone who can?

     https://www.surreylocaloffer.org.uk/kb5/surrey/localoffer/advice.page?id=Dy9HqRJqBdY

    It sounds as if you are currently stuck between a rock and a hard place if your daughter is being denied access to the things she really needs simply because she doesn’t have an EHC Plan. However, I would personally not accept this unsatisfactory situation without a (polite but rigorous) fight, as it is not an answer and does not help your daughter. Either you are being told incorrect information or, if your daughter really cannot access the support she really needs without an EHC Plan, then quite frankly, your daughter needs an EHC Plan. And if the latter is the case, this needs to be raised with your daughter’s school. And its never too late for school to help you apply for a plan if she needs one. 

    An excellent route could be to contact the actual Colleges SEN Department itself and talk directly to them about your daughter’s application, her additional needs, and ask them if they have any information or advice to offer you about this situation as they will have loads of other students who regularly access Travel Training, and they will know whether an EHC Plan is needed to access this service or not. Meeting with the Colleges SEN Dept. in advance could be a good idea as they can give you some idea of what routine support they can put in place for your daughter without her having an EHC Plan, and may be able to advise you further as to whether she possibly needs one.

    In this respect I think that your daughter’s SENCo and her future college should ideally be communicating with one another and working collaboratively over the next coming months in order to enable a positive transition for your daughter, including her travel needs, if they are not already doing so. Effective Transition Plans are absolutely essential in enabling our NDs the best possible chance of moving on positively into higher education. So I think I might ask your SENCo exactly what they are doing or intend to do to actively support your daughter at this really critical time.

    For example, my youngest ND is starting 6th Form at a local college in Sept, we have been home educating for the past few years so I have been dealing with his future college directly (not through a school SENCO,) and between us we have already organised a fantastic Transition Plan for him which includes things like; a phased transition which includes attending college days before Sept, meeting his future tutors 1:1 in advance, meeting a Key Worker they have allocated to him who is going to meet with him for 30 minutes every week to check on how he is doing and ensure he is okay, and give him 1:1 extra help with accessing  ‘whole college life’ such as where, who and how to seek help if he is feeling unwell, uncertain or unsafe; how to access social activities such as clubs and groups on offer (help with making friends,) and how to use the onsite facilities such as the Library and Café independently etc. These are all on offer without an EHC Plan, and will be implemented before he starts 6th Form and beyond, ongoing. However, if your daughters SENCo is not in active contact with your daughters future college their SEN Dept may simply not be aware of her and thus cannot help with any of this. 

    So, hopefully your SENCo will actively implement this sort of Transition Plan for your daughter too in collaboration with her future college (including her travel needs,) if they have not already begun to do so?

    Very best of luck.

Reply
  • Hi Dance, 

    I had a quick look at Surreys Local Offer. Below is a link to their page which lists ‘Professionals who support Post-16 Transitions…’ perhaps there may be some professional or organisation listed there who could help or signpost you to someone who can?

     https://www.surreylocaloffer.org.uk/kb5/surrey/localoffer/advice.page?id=Dy9HqRJqBdY

    It sounds as if you are currently stuck between a rock and a hard place if your daughter is being denied access to the things she really needs simply because she doesn’t have an EHC Plan. However, I would personally not accept this unsatisfactory situation without a (polite but rigorous) fight, as it is not an answer and does not help your daughter. Either you are being told incorrect information or, if your daughter really cannot access the support she really needs without an EHC Plan, then quite frankly, your daughter needs an EHC Plan. And if the latter is the case, this needs to be raised with your daughter’s school. And its never too late for school to help you apply for a plan if she needs one. 

    An excellent route could be to contact the actual Colleges SEN Department itself and talk directly to them about your daughter’s application, her additional needs, and ask them if they have any information or advice to offer you about this situation as they will have loads of other students who regularly access Travel Training, and they will know whether an EHC Plan is needed to access this service or not. Meeting with the Colleges SEN Dept. in advance could be a good idea as they can give you some idea of what routine support they can put in place for your daughter without her having an EHC Plan, and may be able to advise you further as to whether she possibly needs one.

    In this respect I think that your daughter’s SENCo and her future college should ideally be communicating with one another and working collaboratively over the next coming months in order to enable a positive transition for your daughter, including her travel needs, if they are not already doing so. Effective Transition Plans are absolutely essential in enabling our NDs the best possible chance of moving on positively into higher education. So I think I might ask your SENCo exactly what they are doing or intend to do to actively support your daughter at this really critical time.

    For example, my youngest ND is starting 6th Form at a local college in Sept, we have been home educating for the past few years so I have been dealing with his future college directly (not through a school SENCO,) and between us we have already organised a fantastic Transition Plan for him which includes things like; a phased transition which includes attending college days before Sept, meeting his future tutors 1:1 in advance, meeting a Key Worker they have allocated to him who is going to meet with him for 30 minutes every week to check on how he is doing and ensure he is okay, and give him 1:1 extra help with accessing  ‘whole college life’ such as where, who and how to seek help if he is feeling unwell, uncertain or unsafe; how to access social activities such as clubs and groups on offer (help with making friends,) and how to use the onsite facilities such as the Library and Café independently etc. These are all on offer without an EHC Plan, and will be implemented before he starts 6th Form and beyond, ongoing. However, if your daughters SENCo is not in active contact with your daughters future college their SEN Dept may simply not be aware of her and thus cannot help with any of this. 

    So, hopefully your SENCo will actively implement this sort of Transition Plan for your daughter too in collaboration with her future college (including her travel needs,) if they have not already begun to do so?

    Very best of luck.

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