Transport to/from school - it's a nightmare!

[NikkiSmith]

I've had a quick search through previous messages and cannot find one covering this, so hopefully somebody can point me in the right direction.

 

Ds2 is 4yrs old and goes to a CLD school and currently goes to and from school on a minibus with 3 other children, an escort and a driver (neither of whom are particularly nice to ds2 because he's difficult!)

 

The other children all do as they are told (2 are non-verbal and the third gets on after ds2 so I don't know her) and sit still and are quiet...... ds2 fights them at every point, throws his shoes and dummy at them, takes his socks off and tries to eat them........screams, wails, kicks out at the escort etc.

The escort sits at the front of the bus with the driver, even though I have spoken to the transport office who say the escort is supposed to sit in the back with the children!

The driver rarely turns around, but when she does it's only to tell me how awful my ds2 has been

 

I am having to physically carry him (kicking, screaming, biting me) to the bus in the mornings and get on with him to fight him to sit on the booster seat whilst the escort tries to put his harness on. It is a heartbreaking experience that happens daily! He screams at me the whole time - but the escort frequently tells me that it's ok because "he shuts up as soon as we get to the end of the road." She tells him that he is a naughty boy and that "naughty boys don't get to keep their shoes and socks on" and that he is silly.

 

School tell me that by the time he arrives at school he is absolutely fine!

 

I cannot keep doing this everyday, it is a nightmare, but only with this bus! When he was part-time in the nursery he went on one bus in the morning and home on another at lunchtime - no problems at all! The escorts sat in the back with him, the drivers were chatty and pleased to see him etc.

 

I've spoken to transport who say the best thing they can offer is if I take him to school in the mornings they will pay me a petrol allowance! This is impossible when I have 2 other boys who need to be places at 9am too!

 

How do I go about fighting to get a taxi for him? with a sensible/nice/normal/reasonable escort!

Who do I need to fight? (LEA? transport?) and how do I go about it?

 

Sorry for the moaning, but this has been going on for too long and I can't keep fighting him.

 

 

Thanks,

Nikki.

[Mother in Need]

My son's bus driver ended up refusing to take him in the end, so they didn't have much choice really. Though they did tell me I had to take him in myself, with that so-called petrol allowance that doesn't cover the cost, I too had another child to get to school and refused. IPSEA helped me, there are places to look for official rules etc, I'd look for the link but don't have time right now, check on IPSEAs site I am sure it is there. The taxi is now written in his statement.

[Bagpuss]

Hi Nikki,

 

We had a few probs with transport, in so much that it became unreliable for a time. Then the journey time my dd had to do kept getting longer, until she was travelling 3 hrs per day. There are guidelines in place to cover transport......your dept should be following them. When we found out about them we quoted them to our transport dept and they switched dd to a taxi, until a better journey time on the minibus could be organised. I know the guidelines do cover stress etc, so may be worth investigating more....I'll have another look round, see if I can find my original post about our probs with transport for links etc that other members left me. We've always been very lucky with the chaperones, all have been lovely, apart from one, who was abit over familiar. Drivers don't tend to interact with the kiddies at all from my experience, but they all seem friendly enough BTW...I wouldn't tolerate the chaperone telling a child he was naughty etc....maybe putting something in writing would help. We had to complain about one of our chaperones (the one I mentioned earlier) and it was dealt with appropriately.

Edited February 28, 2007 by Bagpuss

[NikkiSmith]

Thank you both for your responses.

 

I rang the LEA who put me back through to transport, who agreed that they had a SEN transport policy and then questioned who I was and why I wanted it! So he took my child's name and phone number and promised to look into the situation - which is odd because he said that weeks ago!

 

I think I'll get in touch with IPSEA and see if they can help with the right words to use!

 

Thank you again!

 

Nikki.

[Bagpuss]

Nikki,

 

I'm sure there is a way of reading their transport policy on line.....I did it with mine. Will go now and have a look for that thread as promised

 

sorry Nikki, can't get link to work, will PM you

Edited February 28, 2007 by Bagpuss

[NikkiSmith]

Yippee!! The transport office called me today to tell me that ds2 will be on a different route as of Monday! He will be in a 7 seater people carrier with a brilliant escort who will sit next to him and hopefully make the experience a more pleasurable one!!

 

Cannot believe asking for a copy of their policy was all it took.

 

 

Thank you!!!

Nikki.

[Bagpuss]

Great news Nikki

[elun1]

That's really good news Nikki. Hope Monday goes well for you both

Elun x <'>

[NikkiSmith]

I am keeping my fingers crossed for Monday morning!

I have his booster seat and harness all ready and waiting (though the fuss the driver made about having to take it off the minibus on Friday was ridiculous - she was muttering the whole time that it was stupid to move him and what difference would it make to a silly boy being on a different bus, just more people he can upset!) I bit my tongue and walked away thinking thank goodness that was the last time I would have to deal with her!

 

Roll on tomorrow!

 

 

Thank you all!

 

 

Nikki.