Demands and protests from the Oxfordshire SEND Parent Action for an independent review into transport failures has been currently denied.
Hundreds of families were left without transport for SEND children at the start of the academic year.
SEND Parent Action handed in a petition to the County Council with 583 signatures, expecting a formal apology and an independent review whilst also protesting outside of the County Council in Oxfordshire.
Speaking to Ruth, a mother of an SEND child, she stated how she has been affected by transport failures: “My son needed transport for the first time, we applied on time and heard nothing. My husband therefore had to start taking him, travelling four hours a day.”
“We were finally emailed on short notice on the 22nd, about a taxi picking him up in the morning until the end of term. But, that was an interim taxi and we now have a new taxi. Luckily, my son isn’t anxious, he has autism, ADHD and learning delays because a lot of children would not cope with sudden change like that.”
We got paid the sum total of £36 per day for the travel my husband did for fourteen school days. Four hours travel is a lot of a day too and that’s not for paying him , that’s just our wear and tear on our car apparently.”
“The only reason my husband could take him is because he lost a contract, so in that time he couldn’t be looking for work, half a working day.”
“It was a stressful summer holiday, wondering what is going to happen, especially with a new school.”
(Sean Gaul)
Sean Gaul, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for children’s services, spoke to protesters, offering his sympathy and acknowledgment of transport issues.
Speaking to Sean Gaul, he expressed that: “The service itself has been under huge pressure and it is every year. The start of the academic year is a real pinch point for the service.
“The service is carrying out 20,000 journeys every school day, spending more than 43 million pounds every year.”
Mr Gaul explained how he wants to start work on fixing transport issues in January rather than May, making sure planning, transport coordination and a huge amount of work is figured out in a good amount of time before the academic year starts.
Despite the County Council meeting about the proposed plans, the independent review has been turned down, leaving the Oxfordshire SEND Parent Action group disappointed.