Council support for young people with special educational needs or a disability

Many young people in Post-16 Education and older with SEND are able to travel independently or accompanied by a parent, carer, or guardian, using public transport, and the council cannot offer services to replace parental responsibility. 

Many young people with a special educational need (SEND) may also be able to travel with a parent or guardian accompanying them.

For those with a diagnosed SEND or as part of Preparing for Adulthood, as detailed on our SEND Local Offer website, we also support Young People with Independent Travel Training. 

Those already in receipt of SEND Transport in Year 12 in the 2024/2025 academic year will continue to receive support in the 2025/2026 academic year ie in Year 13, to support the transition in policy.

To be considered for travel assistance, a young person must meet each of the following conditions: 

1. the young person must be resident in Leicester City; and
2. the young person must have a complex SEND need and a placement specified in an Education Health and Care Plan. A complex SEND need for the purposes of this policy is where a young person has:
   
   
   1. A diagnosed terminal illness that has severe impact on their current physical and / or mental health and that is likely to significantly reduce their life expectancy and/or;
   2. If required to travel independently, the student’s SEND needs or disability would jeopardise his/her safety or that of others and/or
   3. The student has a mobility difficulty which requires specialised seating or a specialised vehicle e.g. tail-lift access that is not available to them (including on public transport where that has to be relied upon) and / or
   4. The learner is likely to require medical intervention or personal care during the journey to and from school;
      
      
3. the young person must be attending the nearest appropriate education or training provider; and
   
   
4. either:
   
   
   1. the education or training provider is more than 3 miles walking distance from the young person’s home, or
   2. if the walking distance is 3 miles or less, the young person is unable to walk to and from the education or training provider because of a disability or because the walking route is unsafe; and
      
      
5. the young person must be attending a full-time, publicly funded course (a full time course is a programme of at least 580 study hours per year).

A young person who satisfies each of the conditions above will be eligible for a personal transport budget, as explained in section 10.1 below. In “limited exceptional circumstances”, and where there would otherwise be “demonstrable financial hardship”, additional assistance may be offered. Section types of travel assistance available details the types of travel assistance that may be available.

Whether exceptional circumstances exist are determined by the Strategic Director of Social Care (or another officer exercising delegated authority) in the light of the specific circumstances of that case following an application. In each case, the council will require appropriate evidence as to any claimed exceptional circumstances. Applications can be made in cases where a young person or a parent/carer believes the young person’s needs are such that the standard PTB offer will be insufficient and without further support they could not travel to attend their place of education. Other reasons may exceptionally be considered.

None of the following is (taken in isolation) likely to constitute an exceptional circumstance:

• Single parent families.
• Parent(s)/ carers who work.
• Having other children to look after and/or at other schools.
• Travelling to an independent school out of area.
• Parents/carers/students unable to drive or having access to a car.
• Student uses a wheelchair. 

There would otherwise be ‘demonstrable financial hardship’ if in receipt of one of the following:

• Income support
• Income-based jobseeker's allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Child tax credit (provided you’re not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• The guarantee element of state pension credit
• Working tax credit run-on - paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit.
• Universal credit with annual net earned income of less than £7,400

For children and young people up to their 18th birthday, the financial hardship test will be based around the income of parents / carers. For adult learners, the financial situation of the adult learner will be considered in the context of the household income.

The fact that transport or travel assistance may have been provided in previous years does not indicate that the young person will be provided with travel assistance, under this policy. Accordingly, any planning that a young person and/or their family makes for future arrangements should take this into account.

The arrangements above for young people with SEND aged 16 to 19 also apply to young adults with SEND aged 19-25.