We asked, you said, we did

We asked

We asked for your views on our proposed Compulsory school aged (5-16) SEND Travel Assistance Policy. We have been reviewing our policies to make them clear, and easy to understand for people who are thinking about or applying for transport. We have also aligned our proposed changes with the Department for Education’s (DfE) revised guidance on Home to School Transport, which was published in June 2023.

You Said

A total of 47 residents participated in the consultation, including 17 who confirmed they are parents/carers with children in Barnet schools.

• Safeguarding principles and training: 58.97% of respondents find the safeguarding principles and training information for passenger assistants and drivers to be clear, with only 15.39% disagreeing.
• Appeals process: 47.23% of respondents agree that the appeals process is clear, while 13.89% disagree.
• Medication and medical equipment handover: 64.1% agree that the information on the handover of medication and medical equipment is clear, with only 5.12% disagreeing.

We did

We recognise that where the Council makes the transport arrangements for your child this can be restrictive. For this reason, we are placing greater emphasis on Personal Travel Allowances which allow greater flexibility and choice. We are seeing a year-on-year increase in the number of children and young people supported this way.

We have ensured that all our transport policies allow for exceptions and will continue to consider every request for transport on an individual basis

We remain committed to ongoing engagement with families and stakeholders and will continue to seek feedback and adapt our services where we are able to do so.

You can read the full results here and the key changes here.