Independent Travel Training is available for students aged 14 plus with a special educational need or disability who require assistance to travel independently to an educational establishment, resource base or work placement.
How are Students referred?
- SEND Students applying for travel assistance to Further Education establishments will be assessed by the Commissioning Officer and referred if suitable.
- By Special Schools (the Travel Trainers may work with groups of year 9, 10 & 11 students in Special Schools)
- Requests from others e.g., the school, a social worker, SEN (Special Educational Needs) Casework Team, parent, or carer.
How does it work?
- Once referred a Travel Trainer will be in contact.
- An initial meeting will be arranged with the student and/or parent/carer and or school.
- An Initial assessment of suitability will be made, and an explanation of training will be given.
- The Travel Trainer will discuss any concerns with parent/carer.
- Travel Trainer identifies and travels the walking route to the bus stop and bus journey.
- Travel Trainer looks out for anything that may crop up on the journey or any landmarks to look out for when pressing the ‘stop’ bell.
- Training is designed to make the student comfortable and reduce anxiety.
- The Travel Trainer will travel with the student to begin with.
- Training covers how to stop a bus, how to ask for a ticket, where to sit, how to behave on the bus and how to solve any problems (e.g., late bus or missing a stop).
- Once student is more confident the training will be through shadowing.
- Student is met at the bus stop but does the journey alone. They are met again at the other end.
- Eventually they will travel alone but are shadowed without their knowledge.
- Once they are travelling completely independently regular contact is kept up for a short period to check they are ok and see if they have encountered any problems.
For further information please contact Debbie Reed debbie.reed@somerset.gov.uk
