Safety of children with special education needs or disabilities (SEND) is being left to a “lottery”.
That is according to a concerned local mother at the centre of a “chaotic” school transport system in Northern Ireland amid a potential plan for parents to foot the bill for taxis.
The Education Authority (EA), which arranges bus and taxi travel for 9,000 SEND children has now warned the limitations of the current approach will become increasingly clear.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the mother, who wished to remain anonymous said: “The EA initially put my child into a bus, there is no way this could have worked.
“I got extremely upset by this and didn’t think they would actually sort it.
“It was typical EA, I have all the consultant letters, tell them exactly the needs and then, it’s a bus.”
The young primary school girl who is neurodiverse also suffers from epilepsy.
The risks of her individual medical needs were alerted to the EA by the mother, which could have been increased with the potential for an emergency situation on a bus with other children on board.
The mother added: “My daughter is extremely sensory sensitive, has panic attacks and seizures.
“My child has problems walking at times so even getting in and out or walking to a bus and in a crowd would not be suitable at all.
“I got an email the day before school saying the bus chaperone was for all children and not epilepsy trained.
“They (EA) do not put transport needs into a statement even when you have consultant letters that say the child needs specific transport to school.
“Not putting this in a statement means that every year it is the same lottery if you will get transport, or not, and is it suitable or not.
“Putting her onto a bus would have been a major safety concern.”
A local councillor who works alongside autism groups, has also identified the risk being compounded by a rural bus journey of up to two hours to school and another two hours back home.
The concerned mother said:”The EA have now organised a taxi, but they still need to have someone on the journey to be epilepsy trained.
“All year last year we did not get transport even though my child was unable to walk.
“I didn’t even fight for it then as I was too tired.
“But they should have provided it.
“The EA would save a lot of money and time if they worked properly and efficiently in the first place.”
According to the EA website, the authority receives over 15,000 applications for transport assistance and arranges transport for more than 9,000 children and young people with a SEND.
It adds, the EA will determine the form of assistance that is provided, taking into account a pupil’s needs and the need for the efficient use of available resources.
An employment difficulty arose earlier this year when EA contracts for taxi operators were cut by £900k as drivers were asked to reduce their rates by 10% or their work could be terminated.
Founder and chairperson of ADHD Hub, Newcastle, Janet Cunningham has also shared her concerns on the SEND transport system, saying:“Not finding out about transport until the last minute is incredibly difficult and nerve wracking.
“We’ve had taxi drivers introducing themselves as the new taxi driver the day before school has started.
“We’ve had parents being told the day before school there’s no transport.
“It’s chaotic and completely unnecessary.”
Mournes Alliance councillor Jill Truesdale is a former teacher who works with a number of local autism support groups.
Speaking to the LDRS, she said:”Parents and guardians of children with additional needs are being continually let down by EA, be it allocation of places or transport.
“These parents have to fight on a continual basis for their children and it should not be like this.
“Transport contracts still out to tender in the first week of school is completely unacceptable.
“Every parent is anxious about their child returning to school, but for those who have additional needs it is even more compounding.
“The whole situation throws back into perspective an issue which has been raised many times in Stormont and that is the journeys many of these children have to make to get to school.”
Councillor Truesdale added:“Living in a large rural constituency such as Mourne we have primary school children picked up at 7am to get to Rathore in Newry by 9am. Two hours on the bus.
“We have children picked up in Bessbrook at 7am travelling to St Columban’s for 9am and home in private taxis with no escorts.
“Not only is the journey long, but without an escort taxi drivers are leaving themselves in very vulnerable positions.
“Year on year EA hits the news for all the wrong reasons, and it always seems to be with our most vulnerable children.”
A statement released by the EA reads:“The Education Authority recognises the dedication and hard work required to meet the demand for SEN school places for the new school year.
“But it has warned that the limitations of the current approach to SEN provision will become increasingly clear.”
In a new statement (4 Sept) the EA adds:”Building on our work to improve the cost effectiveness of school taxi contracts, EA has concluded further important work for the new school year.
“In doing so, we have tendered over 1,200 runs.
“Early analysis indicates that mileage rates tendered have reduced by around 15%.
“EA welcomes the support of those taxi operators that worked with us to achieve this outcome.
“Regrettably, however, there remains a number of routes where this improvement has not been made.
“We are of the view that on some of those routes, operators are charging excessive rates.
“One example is a route of just under 20 miles where the lowest priced bid received is in the region of £250 per day.
“This is the equivalent of £42,000 per year and is over three times the value
of the established DFI taxi rates.
“This illustrates the difficult choice facing EA – either pay the excessive rate (meaning that – in the context of a fixed budget – other services will suffer), or refuse to do so, meaning there is a risk the child will not be able to get to and from school.
“Throughout August, we have sought to drive down rates in the subsequent re-tendering exercise.
“Now that the school year has started, EA’s immediate priority is children being able to attend school and we have decided to now award those runs to the lowest tendered operator to maintain continuity of service for the young people involved.
“Improving the cost effectiveness of taxi provision remains a priority, and we will continue to focus attention on the smaller number of routes that are in this position to determine what further action can be taken throughout the school year.
“This will involve further engagement with taxi operators.
“Looking to the future, unless we can secure arrangements that improve cost effectiveness, EA may have no option other than to provide transport assistance in the form of a parental payment.
“EA will work closely with the affected families should there be the need for any further changes.
“Like all publicly funded bodies, we have an obligation to continue to pursue efficiencies, particularly given our current budget shortfall and the associated potential consequences for services.”
