Travel assistance for children and young people with special transport needs

A DTAP is available to families of children/young people who hold an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and who are determined by TTS as being eligible for travel assistance from the County Council. Children/young people who do not hold an ECHP are not eligible for this form of assistance.

A DTAP is a personal budget payment that is made to a parent/carer to enable them to make their own home to school/college travel arrangements. Many families choose this option as it gives them more flexibility with travel arrangements. For example:

• Using the most appropriate arrangements to get a child to and from school/college/provision to fit in with a parent/carer’s personal circumstances.
• More freedom to look at other ways of transporting a child.
• An alternative to the traditional services that the council can provide.
• Choice and control over how funding is used to get a child to and from school/college.
• Flexibility on where a child is picked up and variation with times, e.g. to attend an after-school club or to go to a grandparent or other carer after school/college.
• To enable a child to attend outside appointments such as dentist/ doctor and still get their transport to/from school/college.

The amount of money a parent/carer/student would receive for mileage would be based on the distance between the family home and the child/young person’s school/college and would be paid at 45p a mile based on two return journeys each day. If a young person has been assessed as requiring an escort to support them when they travel the DTAP would also include a payment for the escort.

Parents/carers/students who request a DTAP will be sent a contract which details the terms and conditions of the DTAP which includes what can and cannot be purchased. Parents/carers/student will be issued with a pre-payment card to purchase travel related goods and services. The card will be loaded with the agreed amount at the beginning of each term.

In general, the DTAP can be used to purchase travel related goods/services that are essential in getting a young person to school/college. for example:

• You can use this for fuel,
• Pay for car insurance, MOT and Servicing costs,
• Use for occasional taxi travel (it will not pay for a taxi every day) bus or train travel.
• To purchase a travel pass for a child/young person to access public transport, including trains/trams

DTAPs are voluntary and if you find that you can’t keep up the commitment, you will be able to leave the scheme at the end of term. You will need to give notice of at least four weeks. This will allow sufficient time for alternative travel arrangements to be made by the Council.

The Council could cancel your DTAP if:

• Your child’s attendance is unacceptable and/or they are late for school/college/provision.
• You move home and your child is no longer eligible for home to school travel support.
• You have not made safe travel arrangements for your child.
• Your child leaves the school.

A Parental Mileage Allowance. This is a reimbursement of costs paid in arrears at the end of each month depending on how many days the child/young person has attended school/college/provision This is paid directly into the parent/carers bank account and is not audited. This is worked out at 22.6p per mile for 4 journeys between home and school per day.

A parent mileage allowance is available to families of children/young people who are determined by TTS as being eligible for travel assistance from the County Council. This is available or children who hold and Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) AND for those who do not hold an EHCP.

Where special transport is provided this will normally be to and from a designated collection/drop off point located within one mile of the home address. A pick-up and/or drop off at home will only be provided in exceptional circumstances; additional medical information may be required to support the request.

Transport will normally be in the form of a shared vehicle. Individual transport will only be provided in exceptional circumstances: additional information may be required to support the request.

Parents/carers are responsible for escorting their child to and from the vehicle at the designated collection/drop-off point. Where a parent/carer consistently fails to deliver/receive their child at the pick-up/drop-off point at the agreed time, the provision of transport will be reviewed and may be withdrawn.

Where a child requires medical intervention on transport, a transport care plan will need to be provided by the parent/carer before the application is assessed and progressed. The requirements in the transport care plan will define the travel assistance procured and may require a parent/carer to accompany their child to school if the medical needs exceed those provided by the procured transport provision. This transport may take longer to procure once agreed due to the complexity of the provision required.