Post-16 transport policy

Post-16 transport provision 2008/09

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Introduction
The Calderdale Transport Partnership includes representatives from:
- Children and Young People's Services
- Health and Social Care
- Calderdale College
- Learning and Skills Council
- Calderdale schools
- Regeneration and Development Directorate
- Calderdale and Kirklees Careers Partnership
- West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (Metro)
- Service users
The Calderdale Transport Partnership's main objective is to bring about higher participation and retention rates for learners in schools and colleges of further education. This provision is essentially concerned with assistance with transport costs. The central principle is that no learner should be prevented from taking part in full-time education because of the lack of support travelling to and from school or college. Wherever possible, assistance will be provided that enables the maximum flexibility in travel arrangements.
Who qualifies?
The guidance applies to all learners living in Calderdale who are attending school sixth forms, including the independent sector, and colleges of further education, who are:
- of learner age
  applicants must be above the statutory school leaving age of 16 years and be attending school sixth forms and further education colleges up to the age of 19 years. Where a learner has enrolled on a course prior to his/her nineteenth birthday and which continues beyond their nineteenth birthday, support will continue to be available until that course finishes;
- attending school or college
  learners must be enrolled on and attending a course at a school or college funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Usually assistance will only be provided for one provision even if the student attends more than one provision;
- home learners
  a home learner generally means that a learner must have settled status in the UK and must have been ordinarily resident for the three years preceding the first day of the academic year of their course. Strict conditions apply to residency eligibility. Advice is available from your school office or college student services;
- attending full time
  learners will normally be attending full-time courses at school or college. A full-time course is one that comprises 12 guided learning hours per week (450 within the academic year). Providing assistance for part-time courses will be considered in special circumstances;
- able to prove need
  applicants must demonstrate that in the absence of an award they would experience difficulties accessing or completing their education because of financial constraints and barriers;
- living more than three miles from a school sixth form or college
  applicants must be attending a school or college over three miles away from their home measured using the shortest walking route;
- attending their nearest school or college
  applicants must be attending the nearest school or college to their home address which offers the same or a similar course in order to qualify for assistance;
- learners with special educational needs
  will be supported up to the age of 25 years, subject to finance being available;
- learners on work based learning courses
  are not eligible for support through this policy.
Priorities
Regard will be given to those applicants who can be said to be socially excluded through their personal circumstances and priority will be given to those people who fall into 'widening participation' categories, namely:
- dependants of unemployed people receiving Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) income based;
- dependants of those receiving an income based benefit including those on working tax credit and child tax credit with an income of less than £20,817 (including EMA) or those who are eligible for fee remission. Please note that priority will be given to learners who do not qualify for an EMA because of changes to circumstances;
- learners living independently on low income;
- learners in care, or have been in care;
- learners who are very young parents;
- learners with disabilities who need support (mobility allowances will be taken into account);
- learners on probation;
- learners considered to be at risk;
- learners who are carers.
Learners will need to travel from various locations to school or college and costs will vary with the distance travelled. Priority will be given to those arrangements that give maximum flexibility to attend school or college at different times to take account of the timing of individual courses and learning programmes where it is cost effective to do so.
Provision
Learners up to their nineteenth birthday who meet the qualifying criteria will receive a School Plus Metrocard which will entitle them to free travel seven days a week on all buses anywhere in West Yorkshire at any time of day. However students will need to purchase a Young Person's Metrocard (current cost £2) in order that passes can be used. Passes will be reviewed on a monthly or weekly basis subject to students continuing to meet the relevant criteria as detailed.
Where it is not appropriate to issue a School Plus Metrocard due to the learner's specific circumstances or the learner is aged 19 or over, the cash equivalent to the School Plus Metrocard will be issued in the majority of cases. The partnership will assess each case individually and provide the most cost effective transport solution.
Alternative provision can be made by purchasing bicycles if learners prefer. If the learner wants to take advantage of this provision this must be indicated on the application form. An allowance of up to £300 will be provided to purchase a bicycle and the safety and security equipment required. Receipts will be required as proof of purchase and the bicycle will be expected to last throughout the college / school course.
Other transport solutions which may be provided, if the provisions detailed above are unsuitable, may include (this list is not exhaustive):
- payments to parents / learners to arrange their own transport;
- a walking escort;
- an escort to accompany on public transport;
- transport from a pick-up point (taxi or specialist transport);
- home to school or college transport (taxi or specialist transport).
Learners with Special Educational Needs
Learners who have special educational needs will be treated no less favourably than other learners and recognition is given to the differential costs they may incur in comparison with other learners. Please note although the Access Team will assess all applications, if successful transport assistance may be financed by partnership funding: Access Team, Calderdale College or Health and Social Care. Further information will be provided to successful applicants.
Mobility allowances will be taken into account. Parents in receipt of the Higher Rate Mobility Component (HRMC) of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will be expected to use their vehicle where they have obtained one through the Motability Scheme, as this has been provided for the benefit of the learner. Where a parent has NOT obtained a vehicle the HMRC of the DLA will still be taken into account when determining any assistance. A mileage allowance will be provided for parents / guardians to make their own arrangements.
Consideration will be given to providing transport assistance for post-16 students with special educational needs where the distance is less than three miles. In such cases an assessment of need may be necessary.
A learner will be regarded as having a disability / learning difficulty if the partnership is satisfied that he or she:
- has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of persons of the same age, or
- has a disability, which either prevents or hinders him or her from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided by institutions providing post-16 education or training.
A learner will not be regarded as having a learning disability solely because the language (or form of language) in which he or she is taught, is different from that which has at any time been spoken in his or her home.
Learners with disabilities or learning difficulties will receive assistance with travelling expenses provided they:
- Live within the Calderdale boundary and are full-time learners attending a school or college within Calderdale.
- Are full-time learners attending the nearest school or college outside the Calderdale boundary where an equivalent course of study cannot be undertaken in Calderdale.
- Are able to prove need. Applicants must demonstrate that in the absence of an award they would experience difficulties accessing or completing their education because of financial constraints and barriers. Households with an income of above £30,810 will be given reduced assistance with transport costs (this is higher for students with SEN to reflect the higher costs involved). A contribution of up to 50 per cent towards the cost of transport or reimbursement of 50 per cent of the transport costs, if transport is arranged by a parent/guardian, will be provided.
- Had a Statement of Special Educational Needs which explicitly identified transport in their statement at the time of leaving a mainstream secondary or special school.
- Previously had a Statement of Special Educational Needs that did not identify a need for transport (ie due to the proximity of their home to the school) or since leaving school have subsequently developed learning difficulties as defined by the partnership above. In such cases an assessment of need may be necessary. These will be undertaken by the Access Team's independent travel co-ordinator and will take into account the information supplied by the learner/parent on the application form, additional advice supplied by other relevant professionals and, in certain cases, observation of the learner to assess their travel capabilities.
Please note that support is allocated each academic year and new applications have to be made each year by all learners. The Post-16 Transport Policy is reviewed every May and applications are then assessed against the new guidance. If transport assistance is provided for the next academic year a learner's travel needs will be reviewed to ensure the appropriate provision is made.
Different approaches of providing transport assistance will be pursued wherever possible in order to make best use of the limited funds available.
Independent travel
As learners become older and move towards greater independence they may want to develop their skills of independent travel and, for some, this may mean using public transport or walking to school or college. For others transport assistance may be required throughout school / college life.
An independent travel co-ordinator has been appointed to the Access Team supporting schools and colleges in providing identified young people with the skills necessary to become more independent in their travel.
Schools and colleges work in partnership with the co-ordinator, learner and their families to enable learners to achieve greater levels of competency in their independent travel.
If you would like more information about the independent travel co-ordinator's role please contact:
- Name
- Tracy Bird, Independent Travel Co-ordinator
- Address
- The Access Team
  Children and Young People's Services
  Northgate House
  Halifax HX1 1UN
- Telephone
- 01422 392654
- Email
- tracy.bird@calderdale.gov.uk
Learners attending residential schools and colleges
Support will be given to those learners who meet the criteria set out in this guidance.
Learners who are boarding at a specialist residential college will receive payment of approved travelling expenses for journeys made to and from the college at the start and end of each full academic term and at half terms.
Approved travelling expenses will be based upon the cheapest available fare by public transport for a given journey (and will also be expressed in terms of a mileage allowance by car for that journey).
Learners with special educational needs who require specialist transport to access college will be provided with such transport (please see point 5 for eligibility requirements).
Choice of school or college
Learners are able to exercise reasonable choice to attend relevant courses and may take up appropriate education outside of the Calderdale Council boundary where appropriate subject to:
- Resources
  The partnership is required to have due regard for the efficient and effective use of resources, which are finite. Any award made will be subject to the amount of funds available.
  The partnership will continually pursue alternative methods of providing assistance to guarantee the efficient and effective use of partnership funds.
- Distance
  Payment of or assistance with transport costs will be made where a learner has to travel more than three miles to the nearest school or college in Calderdale which offers the appropriate course.
- Out of Authority schools and colleges
  Assistance will only be provided to learners attending a school or college outside the Calderdale boundary where an equivalent course of study cannot be undertaken in Calderdale. Specific details of the course will need to be given in order that an assessment can be made regarding suitability.
  Transport costs will only be made available to learners who are attending their nearest available school or college outside the Calderdale boundary.
Learners who do not qualify under the criteria
Those learners who do not meet the criteria for support within the policy are nevertheless able to access a range of concessionary bus and rail fares. The concessionary Metrocard is also available to those on work based courses.
Help and advice on all public transport services times and fares within the West Yorkshire District is available through the Metroline telephone information and comments service (Tel: 0113 245 7676) or by visiting Metro: Schools and Colleges| . In addition, further information regarding school transport can be found at Generationm|
Information is also available from your school or college office.
For contact details and a summary of fares schemes see Concessionary fares .
Conditions
Support will not be given to learners if there is no reasonable progression in their studies. This will be established by staff at the school or college who have discretion to determine whether satisfactory attendance (under normal circumstances pupils will be expected to attend more than 85 per cent in any one month) and conduct is being maintained in the context of a learner's individual circumstances, and with reference to any student learning agreements which may be in place.
Learners who are in receipt of transport assistance and who subsequently fail to attend school or college without a valid reason or who terminate their attendance will be required to pay back to the issuing organisation any outstanding monies.
All passes remain the property of the issuing organisation and must be returned when requested.
Appeals procedure
The chair of the Local Transport Strategic Partnership Group has the discretion to approve requests for transport assistance in special circumstances if applications are found to justify approval outside the guidance. Learners who wish to appeal against the decision not to award support or to withdraw existing support should do so in writing to the Chair of the Partnership, c/o Children and Young People's Services, Access Team, Northgate House, Halifax HX1 1UN clearly setting out the grounds for their appeal.
If learners are not satisfied with the outcome of this appeal, a further appeal may be made to the Appeals Panel, which will meet when necessary to consider appeals. An application form is obtainable from Children and Young People's Services, Access Team, Northgate House, Northgate, Halifax HX1 1UN.

If learners wish to make a further appeal this can be done in writing to the Discretionary Support Team, Learning and Skills Council, Learner Support Directorate, 3rd Floor, The Straddle, Victoria Quays, Wharf Street, Sheffield S2 5SY.
Applying for support
Applications may be requested by contacting:
- Name
- The Access Team
  Children and Young People's Services
  Northgate House
  Halifax HX1 1UN
- Email
- tracy.bird@calderdale.gov.uk
- Telephone
- 01422 392542.