As you probably know, SNJ’s directors are all parents of children or young adults with special educational needs and disabilities, so what our parent readers are going through, we are going through or have gone through.
As such, several of us have experienced difficulties this month with their LAs finalising the transport set out in their child/young person’s EHCP. This is causing untold stress that simply shouldn’t be happening. The EHCPs aren’t new and so transport for September should have been dealt with weeks, if not months, ago.
And we know they’re not alone. Parents from Kent to Cumberland and all points in between experienced issues last week and many are still waiting for the agreed transport to get their child back to school. It’s simply unacceptable.
The issue has even reached parliament, with a question to Schools Minister, Catherine McKinnell this week.
“Local authorities are responsible for transport to education and training for 16-19 year olds. Post-16 transport guidance requires local authorities to make the necessary transport arrangements or provide financial support to ensure young people can participate in education or training. The needs of young people with SEND should be specifically considered and the arrangements put in place for each group must be documented in local authority transport policy statements.”
Not especially helpful…
A major cost for cash-strapped LAs
SEND transport is a major cost for LAs, especially as many children have to travel a considerable distance to school. Some also need to have an escort/personal assistant so they can travel safely.
Some transport firms have been known to charge a council significantly more per journey than they would do for an average customer. Read Matt’s article on pernicious County Councils Network claims, based on questionable research from those charmers, ISOS Partnership, that increasing costs are “driven by parental expectations”.
Our director Sharon Smith has a case in point:
“My daughter, who is 19 and has Down syndrome, has a split placement in her EHCP. She attends one college three days a week and another two days a week. This year, there was a new ‘hub’ to log into to apply for transport. The form had only one place for ‘setting’ so we had to add the second setting into the comments section. A week before my daughter is due to return to college, FIVE months after we had applied for transport, we are notified that she has transport for just the three-day setting and that the taxi firm commissioned for this was based ONE HOUR’S DRIVE away from our home.
“I was twice on hold to the LA for over an hour before being told the second setting had been missed (they’d originally claimed we hadn’t told them about it) and not been authorised by the SEN entitlement team. After more emails and calls, they admitted she was eligible for both settings and they’d ask the provider to cover the additional two days. I contacted the provider, who told me to speak to the council, so I do–this is two days before the start of term. A few hours later, the LA calls to say that they won’t be using that taxi firm after all, and will put her route back out to tender. We were finally notified of her transport arrangements at 4.25pm the day before she returned to college. We feel that we are one of the lucky ones though, as two of her college friends’ parents have been told they will have to take their young person to college until October, even though the adult transport duty applies and the parents are both working.”
Another of our co-directors, Gill Doherty, who founded SEND Action, has also had a difficult experience with her LA over transport for her son, who also has Down’s syndrome:
“Our local authority has taken a reckless and negligent approach to safeguarding on transport, switching children from individual transport arrangements with PAs to centralised minibus pick-up points and no PA support. This decision was taken without individual risk assessments or consultation with families and schools. We received the letter the night before school started, naming a transport company and drop-off point, but no contact details for the company, no named driver, no license plate number, and no driver-to-child ratio details. His school hadn’t been informed of the new arrangement, so there was no plan for the school’s end of the journey. We don’t know what information, if any, the driver had been given about our son’s needs.
“Apparently, no one at the LA could foresee any risks with sending an 11-year-old boy with Down syndrome with 1:1 support and significant medical and safety needs, to primary school on a minibus with a complete stranger, no PA or plan. Our son’s school told the LA the proposed arrangements are unsafe, but it’s also been ignored. Instead, the views of a transport manager who has never met him or seemingly read his EHCP, have prevailed. It was not a risk we were prepared to take, not least since there had already been a serious safeguarding incident on our son’s transport only a few months ago, which left him traumatised.
“I’ve heard from other families in our area whose children cannot attend school as a result of similar unsafe transport arrangements. I’ve previously spoken to transport staff who have been injured and fear for their safety and the safety of children on their routes due to staffing ratios and lack of training. It’s the same chaos all around the country every September. The avoidable stress and uncertainty caused by late and poor communication is bad enough, but the stakes are much higher. LAs’ desperate cost-cutting attempts are posing serious risks to disabled children’s safety and it’s only a matter of time before this negligence results in tragedy. The failure to provide appropriate, safe transport arrangements and in some cases, particularly post-16, any transport at all is resulting in many disabled children and young people being unable to access education.
“Local authorities need to focus on their legal duties to disabled children and young people, including safeguarding and basic safety, when making financially motivated decisions that could put them at risk. The government also needs to take urgent action to address this and review transport guidance that is not fit for purpose. “
These are not isolated experiences
Last week, we asked for other parents’ experiences on our social media Here are just a few, edited in some cases for length and clarity:
“Moved [within] same area….They then emailed [the] day before start of school to tell me they were cancelling [and] claimed I should pay £600 plus, as children were sick some of last term and said I would need to reapply for this year’s transport. It [has] now caused financial hardship as I cannot afford the daily cost of travel and was already paying for provision in section F they were under duty to pay for. It’s also caused real stress and anxiety”
“…email from transport saying son is entitled but they haven’t made any arrangements so I should, and they’ll pay an “independent travel allowance” and contact me again after term starts. I pushed back and a week later transport has been arranged for the first day of term tomorrow. It’s been so stressful though!”
“…The only place that can meet [my 18-year-old’s]needs is 22 miles away and not easily accessible by public transport, he is not an independent traveller. They have said they have no statutory duty to provide transport post 16 along with many, many other reasons for refusing and the “overriding expectation” is for parents to make arrangements. Parents have no duty to do this for an adult, have just submitted a Stage 2 appeal. There is no way we can drive 88 miles a day or accompany on public transport which is two hours each way. We still need to work and be at home for our younger son returning from school. So much pressure on our son and worry for us. Why agree to a placement if you won’t support a young person to access it”
“… place agreed today after appeal ([LA] conceded day after term started…I applied for transport back in May but obviously with the appeal we are now back to the back of the queue so we have no transport. Grandad is going to help out as we both work but it’s never easy. Transport [won’t] answer the phone. … we have been through so much appealing, and now we have to fight again for transport. Why can’t they sort this out with the placement?! It should be part of the package with no delay!”
“…My daughter starts on Monday and not heard a thing. Her school nearly two hour drive away”
“Still no bus pass even though it was authorised 13th August. Not issued because my son now doesn’t have an EHCP coordinator–not that we even met last year’s coordinator!”
“They agreed my daughter was entitled to transport but they haven’t allocated her a space in a taxi yet. She starts school tomorrow, I will have to drive her. I work in a school myself. I’ve been emailing the LA for two weeks for answers and promised replies but nothing sorted yet.”
“Child started back at school yesterday. LA still hasn’t confirmed transport arrangements. Been told to ‘ask family and friends to help’ in the meantime.”-
“We have been really lucky for most of her time in school, though the final year of primary was problematic. Lots of issues with contractors lots of different escorts, etc. High school now and it’s been nothing but problems which all seem to be passed onto parents. Currently appealing the bus stop arrangement as it’s next to a busy road and she struggles to wait and lashes out. Took two of us this morning but we both work, so aren’t always around at the same time. For her safety and ours, it isn’t an option going forward. Into battle we go!”
“My son has had transport for four years with no issue. Yesterday, first day back, no one turned up but I hadn’t been informed of anything. Took me four hours to finally get in touch with someone. No response to any emails. He still hasn’t been allocated transport and now I’m losing hours at work to take him. No timeline given and no apology.”
“With no warning, the taxi company terminated the contract from today. My son’s Dad had dropped him off from his house, but at 10.40a.m, I was informed the taxi wouldn’t be bringing him home.”
“I paid £600 to be told nothing was available for at least a month and it’s my responsibility to get him to school, despite being accepted and paying the LA for transport. Currently doing 64 miles daily. Cruel and unfair”
“First day back today – transport arrived THREE HOURS late. No communication about it. Stressed, anxious child, too upset to go in as a result”-
“Parents…are reporting lots of difficulties with the return to school this year. Last-minute notifications of routes or no prior notification at all. Time en route hugely extended, providers changing agreed arrangements (assume without knowledge of LA) and doubling up on routes with those on the second route arriving late to school. More of a shambles than usual – absolutely dreadful situation.”
“Because of cutbacks in the council they are putting more kids on one bus with no extra escorts, the drivers and escorts are feeling more pressure and don’t feel like it’s worth the hassle and stress for a part-time job and lots of them are leaving or considering leaving
False economy in the long run
While cuts to SEND Transport may seem like low-hanging fruit for LAs, especially for those over 16, these experiences raise concerns over safeguarding, accessibility, equity in education, and the wellbeing of vulnerable young people. The added strain on already hard-pressed parents is clear, adding to the logistical and financial challenges they already face. And of course, for parents in employment, being forced to take time off because their child cannot get to school means using holiday days, unpaid leave, or it may even mean they cannot work at all.
We all know LAs are under immense financial strain. We know their efforts to create more local provision, which would cut transport costs, has sometimes been thwarted by the government. So while SEND transport cuts may save some cash in the short term, long term, the education and therapies missed by disabled young people is more likely to mean they need greater support in adulthood, costing both local and national government more in benefits and social care costs. But who cares about that?
What should you do about SEND Transport issues and delays?
IPSEA has recently published an article about SEND transport. Their advice includes:
- Launch a complaint to the council and, if unresolved, on to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
- If the situation is urgent, go straight to judicial review.
IPSEA has further advice you may also wish to follow on the page linked above and Contact also has information here. We’ve also written before about research the charity is involved on the subject and about updated guidance
You can find the statutory guidance here for compulsory-school aged children and for Post-16 it’s here. Your area’s local policy will be on your LA’s Local Offer website– but if it clashes with the actual law, here’s some advice from Contact on how to challenge your LA’s SEND transport policy
You can also contact your local SENDIASS service and SENTAS has some helpful information and advice about School transport too
Also read:
The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reformsSeptember 9, 2026
Research: SEND case officers are LAs’ “human shield” gatekeepers. But parents shouldn’t have to be their own key workersSeptember 22, 2026
A council's "improvement journey"? How determined SEND parents catalogued the trail of their LA’s unlawful behaviourSeptember 29, 2026
WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government's SEND proposalsSeptember 3, 2026
From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled childrenAugust 28, 2026
- An essential Guide to SEND Transport
- New School Transport Guidance ignores both equality and case laws protecting disabled learners
- Uncovering the hidden truth about SEND safety valve agreements and how they’ll cut children’s SEND provision
- 83% educators say SEND learners aren’t effectively supported to achieve, says 2024 Pearson school report
- Does the SEND Tribunal have to pay attention to the views, wishes and feelings of the child?
- SNJ in Conversation with Brian Lamb OBE: Building good parental relationships is the key to fixing SEND
Don’t miss a thing!
Don’t miss any posts from SNJ – simply add your email address below. You must click the link in the confirmation email you’ll receive to activate your free subscription.
You can also keep up with us by following our
Want more? Be an SNJ regular donor!
SNJ is a non-profit and everyone who writes here does so voluntarily. We need your support to help us with costs by donating once or as a regular patron. Find out more here
She is a rare disease & chronic pain patient advocate with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.
- Oops, we did it again… The Government must now listen to more than 100,000 people who do not want to lose SEND rights - October 1, 2026
- Could using AI to filter Government consultation responses lead to “algorithmic silencing” of neurodivergent voices? - September 30, 2026
- DfE must give its SEND reform Child Rights Impact Assessment a do-over; this time, without marking its own homework - September 24, 2026
Please share this article!
Discover more from Special Needs Jungle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
My Son was offered a place at a special needs school once diagnosis in place. Autistic, learning difficulty, selective mute. He is 15 and never goes out alone as afraid and gets lost. He has EHCP and SEND staff at main stream school knows he needs school transport, I was told by SEND staff they are saying no to save on funding, even though the child needs it and entitled to it. Thats what happened. The send staff appealed for me and wrote a letter. The council got back to me and asked to provide proof from a Dr. I did this getting a letter from my GP that I had to pay £60 for. But I was just ignored by the council. My Son wouldnt get on a public bus during rush hour and too far to walk there. So I then chose to do home scholling.