Agenda item

To receive a report by the relevant Cabinet Member and Corporate Director for Education and Young People’s Services to consider and endorse or make recommendations on a decision.

1.            The Cabinet Member, Mr Gough, introduced the report advising that SEN Transport was an area of the Education Budget that had often proved difficult to control.  The aim was to save money and boost the experience for the young people and the schools that manage those relationships.  This would be carried out through a single provider and route optimisation for each of the schools undertaking the pilot.  At present there were three Special schools; Ifield, Gravesend, St Nicolas, Canterbury and Grange Park, Wrotham.  There had been extensive engagement with the schools, the parents and the providers as the process moved closer to the contract award next April 2016.

2.            The Head of Admissions and Transport, Mr Bagshaw, advised that there had been a move from contracting on a single route basis to schools to one where all the different transport routes to a school had been looked at to seek procurement for all of the routes to one school through one operator or a group of operators that came together.  The benefits of this approach would provide the opportunity to drive down costs, improve the quality of supporting the journeys and challenging poor performance.

3.            Mr Leeson, Mr Bagshaw and Mr Good responded to questions by Members as follows:

a)    Mr Bagshaw advised that there had been engagement with all the operators.  There were a number of small operators that would not be able to cover a contract as large and as in depth as this on their own.  Those small businesses had been encouraged to come together as a consortium to ensure that they an opportunity to bid for the contract.  This was a pilot and how the market developed to meet the change was awaited.

b)    Mr Bagshaw and his Team were congratulated for the work they carried out

c)    Mr Bagshaw agreed to supply the exact number of students that were receiving home to school transport, but advised that this figure was fluid.

d)    Members commended the communications made with parents, students, schools and operators.

e)    Mr Good advised that lessons learned through this process would be used in the future to ensure that schemes were sustainable.  There was an understanding that each school would have different needs and the transport arrangements would be designed with those in mind.

f)     Mr Good advised that within the SEN transport contracts there would be clauses that would be mandatory including meeting with parents and the child beforehand and attending parents evening during the Spring Term.  Where there was a struggle with change for the family there would be a phased approach so that disruption was minimised.

g)    Mr Leeson said that this was well planned.  Headteachers were supporting the project.  Phase II would be rolled out next year.

4.            RESOLVED that:-

(a)  the responses to questions by Members be noted; and

(b)  the Cabinet Committee endorsed the decision to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Education and Health Reform for the award of contract for SEN Transport Provision in Phase 1 following completion of the procurement process for the provision of SEN Transport provision on a single school basis.