Transport issues leave many SEN kids unable to get to school for first day
The first day of the school term is one of the most important yet worrying days for a lot of kids and parents. This is especially true for those who have SEN children, change in their routines from school to the summer holidays, then back to school can cause a lot of anxiety.
Many children across the city rely on school transport, organised by Southampton Council. Each year there are a few teething issues, which is to be expected with the amount of planning required in organising transport across the city for many children.
This year it seems there were a lot more issues than previous years, with some children not having any transport arrangements in place for their first day of school.
One of our readers dropped us a message with their experience:
“On 29 August we called the transport team, to find out the pickup time for our child to take them to a SEN school the other side of the city, for the following Monday as no letter was received with any details of times etc. I was told that the letters would be with us by the end of the week with all the details needed.
Friday, we had still received nothing, we attempted to call the department again, however we were unable to get through, we put it down to them being busy so decided we would prepare our child for the pickup time we had the previous year.
Spending the weekend, going over the times and the plan with our child, making sure they have no surprises to add to their anxiety is usual practice as a parent of an autistic child. Due to the lack of planning/delays it was impossible to fully plan with times or mode of transport, however we did what we could.
Monday morning arrives, we go to the usual pickup point for shortly after 8am, as we did all last year. After 20 minutes with an agitated child, we went back home where we called the transport team at Southampton City Council.
It was said our child was missed when planning the transport and they would call a taxi and make sure that our child’s transport is as normal for the rest of the week. We went back outside and waited for another 40 minutes or so with no taxi arriving. We called the transport team again, once again they called another taxi. We decided to wait indoors this time, so our child could relax in a comfortable environment. The second taxi never arrived, at this point it became apparent, through social media and the school site, we were not alone in terms of these issues.
At around 10:30am we made the decision to keep our child off school. If we knew there would be problems, holidays would have been booked from work so that the school run could be completed. With two SEN children at separate schools, whilst working its just not possible to drop things last minute.
The school also contacted the transport department, this contact came with no reply. Tuesday morning, we had the same issue, except this time, the transport team’s phone number was unmanned, which it seems is always the case on a Tuesday and Thursday.
A voicemail was left, an email sent to the correct team who deal with urgent requests, and we took to social media to contact Southampton City Council (after contacting them the previous day and getting a reply 8 hours later). After 32 calls, an email, a twitter conversation and conversations with the school, it took someone sending one of my tweets to Cllr Satvir Kaur, SCC Leader. I was asked to email Cllr Satvir Kaur with the details of the situation.
Cllr Satvir Kaur then sent an email to the head of transport and the head of Education to ask for their help to resolve the situation. Whilst we didn’t receive an immediate response from either (that day), to help us prepare our child for school, it did the trick as the next morning (Wednesday) we received a call from the transport team, advising us a taxi had been organised and that the issue had been corrected.
Thankfully, our child has coped with the last-minute changes and has since had 2 good days at school, however the uncertainty caused several moments where their anxiety was at breaking point.”
Since this has happened, the transport manager has communicated a letter to the SEN schools, with another number to call that will be manned on a full-time basis. It is good to see that things will be put in place to stop these issues happening again. In the letter the council advised the issues were to do with the large increase in the number of eligible children requiring school transport this year. They also advised that there has been a shortage of transport operators who are able to accommodate the increased requirements.
If you are still having issues with school transport, over the next few weeks you will be able to contact the relevant team on 023 8083 2419 during office hours (07:30 – 17:00).