Proposals look to build independence for young people

Article date: September 20th 2024

Travel training, along with advice, is one of the ways that St Helens Borough Council is looking to support families create strong foundations for young people to prepare for adult life.

It will feature as one of the proposals in the consultation with families on how the council will provide school transport in years to come, focusing on the opportunity to build vital life skills for those young people who would benefit from the support of a trainer who teach how to use things like public transport.

Other measures to help support families build confidence and independence include centralised pick-up points for those using specialist transport to help their families access schools and the introduction of personalised budgets for some families that gives them greater control over their child's transport options.

Councillor Nova Charlton, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said: "Building independence is an essential part of childhood and the transition into adult life. For some families with young people who have SEND we want to focus on giving them the right support to give the whole family the confidence that will help their child gain greater independence and open up their world to positive opportunities in the future. For many families a greater level of independence will provide just that, instead focusing on what someone is capable of achieving rather than what they cannot.

"We continue to see the rise in demand for school transport and we want to make sure that families needs are met. This is why we will be consulting with families who use our service on the range of measures to help us meet the pressures that increasing demands bring. By introducing a wider range of options, as many of our neighbouring councils have, we hope families will get greater level of flexibility in how they support their children with their studies. Each case for transport support will be based on family's circumstances and we would encourage parents to engage with the consultation and tell us your experiences to help us shape our service."

With greater demands on the service there is also the proposal to ask for a financial contribution for travel, in line with a standard term time travel pass, for those receiving 16-18 education who meet a certain criteria.

The consultation will run from Monday 30^th September to 11^th November with a range of face-to-face sessions:

·       Monday 7^th October: 10am-11:30am at Lansbury Bridge School

·       Wednesday 9^th October: 10am-11:30am at Mill Green School

·       Tuesday 15^th October: 6pm-7:30pm at St Helens Town Hall

There will also be an online questionnaire. Families will be contacted directly to take part in the consultation.