SEND pupils sharing school taxis cuts £5m from bill

The cost of transporting children with extra needs to school in Sheffield has been reduced by £5.6m.

Sheffield Council has cut more than 300 routes where taxis were transporting just one student to school. The authority's budget for SEND transport in the last financial year was £20.5m, but council calculations had previously projected a £7m overspend.

More journeys are now shared and the council's transport fleet has been increased, a council report documented.

Currently about 2,700 children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities receive SEND transport support to get to school, with 43% travelling by taxi.

The education, children and families committee heard the council had increased the number of independent travel trainers, who work with children and families to help youngsters feel confident to make the journeys to school by themselves.

More families have also taken up personal travel budgets to make their own arrangements.

A report showed the potential overspend of £7m for the last financial year dropped to £1.4m and this year it was predicted to "broadly break even", said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Twelve children were listed as having completed the independent travel training by March. Another 51 were taking it and 38 more were ready to do it, the report said.

Meredith Teasdale, strategic director for children's services, said training was going well but the council was working with special schools in particular to improve the uptake.

"We are slowly moving in the right direction but this is the work we are continuing to make sure we are adhering to our policy," she said.

Councillor Rob Bannister said that he could see that the changes were working as a parent of two children at special school.

"The single-use taxis used to be all over the road. Now they're much reduced, people are coming on buses," he said.

Parents of post-16 children have to pay towards travel costs but the council said there were monthly and termly payment options, plus concessions.

Families with more than one child in special education would pay only once, not for each child.

Officers signpost parents who need it to extra financial support.

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