Originally published in Bromsgrove Standard 05/08/2016
There are often things happening locally which go under the radar, alerting only those who are directly impacted. I wanted to highlight one such issue that is resulting in a number of parents having a very difficult and stressful time this summer.
Birmingham City Council is planning to remove dedicated transport to and from school for children with special needs. Parents rely on these services to help their children get to school safely and in a mind-set prepared for learning.
I realise that Birmingham is being hit hard by Government cuts, but, from what I know so far, I cannot accept that this is a reasonable response by the Council. Parents of children with severe autism or other challenging conditions have told me that it simply isn’t feasible to expect them to take one, two, or sometimes three buses to get them to and from school. In some cases I have heard of, it would be downright dangerous to even try. Even where it may not be dangerous for children and their parents to catch buses to school, their need to carry specialist equipment with them may make it impractical for them to do so. But on top of all of that, there is the wellbeing of the children and the parents to consider. The long-term impact of this could be devastating on individuals and families.
To make matters worse, the communication of this decision to affected parents, schools and the community has, quite frankly, been unacceptably poor. Many of them found out just a few weeks before the end of term, leaving them with a summer of stress. Some received nothing in writing and only found out when they called the Council about their application, leaving them in a state of panic. Putting families through this during the summer holidays is appalling, especially as schools are closed and unable to help them. All of this whilst they still do the incredible job of continuing to care for their children whose needs are complex and challenging. This is, quite clearly, a poor decision which has been poorly made by the Council.
In my view, this change should be suspended and school transport should continue as usual until proper discussions can take place and there are full considerations of the impact. But more importantly, it would alleviate some of the stress on the parents and children who will be worrying about this ahead of the new school year. I have taken this up with Birmingham City Council and will continue to be pressing them for a suspension or reconsideration.
I realise that Birmingham is being hit hard by Government cuts, but, from what I know so far, I cannot accept that this is a reasonable response by the Council. Parents of children with severe autism or other challenging conditions have told me that it simply isn’t feasible to expect them to take one, two, or sometimes three buses to get them to and from school. In some cases I have heard of, it would be downright dangerous to even try. Even where it may not be dangerous for children and their parents to catch buses to school, their need to carry specialist equipment with them may make it impractical for them to do so. But on top of all of that, there is the wellbeing of the children and the parents to consider. The long-term impact of this could be devastating on individuals and families.
To make matters worse, the communication of this decision to affected parents, schools and the community has, quite frankly, been unacceptably poor. Many of them found out just a few weeks before the end of term, leaving them with a summer of stress. Some received nothing in writing and only found out when they called the Council about their application, leaving them in a state of panic. Putting families through this during the summer holidays is appalling, especially as schools are closed and unable to help them. All of this whilst they still do the incredible job of continuing to care for their children whose needs are complex and challenging. This is, quite clearly, a poor decision which has been poorly made by the Council.
In my view, this change should be suspended and school transport should continue as usual until proper discussions can take place and there are full considerations of the impact. But more importantly, it would alleviate some of the stress on the parents and children who will be worrying about this ahead of the new school year. I have taken this up with Birmingham City Council and will continue to be pressing them for a suspension or reconsideration.
