Written evidence submitted by Natspec (HTS0007)
About Natspec
Natspec represents 140 specialist further education (FE) colleges whose students aged 16 to 25 all have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and education, health and care plans (EHCPs). They are state-funded through the high needs funding system. Natspec also provides SEND-related CPD for professionals in mainstream settings across the FE and skills sector and is a DfE-funded Centre for Excellence in SEND, tasked with sharing specialist knowledge, skills, and experience with mainstream FE settings.
Although the committee only references schools in its call for evidence, we are submitting evidence that relates to home-to-college transport, given that it is critical in enabling many learners with SEND aged 16 to 25, such as those in our member colleges, to access education. We are also aware that the National Audit Office has considered the availability of home-to-college transport within its report.
Requirements of LAs in relation to transport support for learners with SEND aged 16 - 25 in further education
Unlike for children of compulsory school age, there is no statutory duty for local authorities (LAs) to provide free transport for learners with SEND aged 16 to 18. Post 16 transport and travel statutory guidance states that local authorities (LAs) should prioritise young people with SEND when deciding which groups to target for support. They are also required to publish a transport policy statement detailing arrangements for this age group. LAs, therefore, can exercise discretion in determining whether or not to offer transport support to this age group, how much and in what form.
For 19 – 25-year-olds, the LA has a duty under section 508F of the Education Act (EA) 1996 to make transport arrangements that it deems ‘necessary’ to help with the attendance of adults receiving education at settings maintained or assisted by the LA and providing further and/or higher education, or within the further education sector. LAs have considerable discretion over how they define the term, ‘necessary’ and therefore over the extent to which they provide transport support for 19 – 25-year-olds.
Reduced transport support for learners with SEND aged 16 - 25 in further education
With demand for transport support for children and young people with SEND increasing, along with costs for providing that support, LAs have been seeking ways to limit their spend. Provision for young people aged 16+ has become a specific target because its non-statutory status makes it easier to cut than provision for pre-16s.
LAs are statutorily required to ensure that the travel arrangements they make for pre-16s take account of the needs of the individual child concerned. Guidance states that arrangements should enable the child to travel in reasonable safety and comfort, and without undue stress, strain or difficulty, so that wherever possible they arrive at school ready to learn. However, no such requirements apply for 16 to 25-year-olds, meaning that LAs are free to compromise the quality of their support as they implement cutbacks.
69% of specialist colleges responding to a Natspec member survey in autumn 2024 said in their experience it was more difficult for their learners to access transport support this year than in the previous academic year. 59% reported a decrease in the number of learners accessing LA-arranged transport and 51% said some families have been asked to contribute more to transport this year than last.
Many LAs have reviewed and revised their post-16 SEND transport policy, making changes that restrict eligibility, reduce subsidies and place a greater onus on young people and their families to arrange transport. Much greater use of personal travel allowances is being made and these are typically capped at a level which would require considerable parental financial contribution for many young people.
Many of the LAs revising their transport policies state that the changes are equally motivated by better supporting young people’s independence and addressing financial challenges. Some are increasing access to free independent travel training, which is very welcome, although there will always be some young people whose needs or circumstances mean that this is not the form of support that will enable them to get to college, as illustrated by one of the specialist colleges responding to our survey:
I have one student this year who lives in a very remote area… There is one bus from and to the village… and no train service – yet he is supposed to make his own way to college. The local authority said that they offered him travel training, but my argument was what [transport] were they going to travel train him on?
Reducing the spend on transport support appears to be the primary goal of most revised policies. In Leeds City Council’s recently revised policy, for example, the personal travel allowance (PTA) for 16 – 18 year olds is capped at £3,000 per annum and council-organised transport, such as a mini-bus or taxi, will only be provided ‘on a discretionary basis in exceptional circumstances’. Where parents are not financially able to make up the difference between the PTA and the actual cost of transport, young people may simply not be able to get to college.
Kent County Council has recently approved a policy change that means that learners aged 19 – 25 must first apply to the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund for transport support, and only if this is insufficient to facilitate their attendance at college or training, can they be considered for support in the form of a mileage payment. The LA will only consider providing transport ‘in exceptional circumstances’. Given that learners must be on roll before they can apply to the bursary fund, those who cannot get to college without transport support may be forced to turn down their placement.
Impact on young people, families and colleges of reduced post-16 transport support
Lack of suitable transport support is affecting learner attendance at college. 65% of respondents to the Natspec member survey stated that transport issues had resulted in learners being unable to attend college or attending intermittently, with one college reporting that 21% of learners had been affected by transport issues. One college reported 30 learners had been unable to start in September because suitable transport support had yet to be agreed.
82% reported increased stress and anxiety for SEND learners as a direct result of transport issues. 81% stated that increased stress was also an issue for learners’ families, with 72% aware of families struggling to balance work commitments whilst providing transport themselves.
74% reported that they were having to spend increased staff time on supporting families with transport issues, with staff having to provide transport directly themselves in some cases. 67% reported that educational provision was being disrupted due to the late arrival or early departure of students caused by transport issues.
40% of colleges said that some learners had been offered transport that was unsuitable or unsafe including
One college provided the following illustration of the way in which transport cutbacks have affected their learners:
One young person who struggles with transitions was initially provided a shared minibus with five other students. His difficulties delayed all the students travel time. Subsequently, he was given a taxi with one other student in which he often hits the other student or gets hit by him and is able to bang his head on the windows. Another young person has had their home routine entirely disrupted due to the length of his journey increasing, because there are more people on his shared transport. This has affected his access to therapies provided outside of college and impacted his health (increased seizures due to longer travel times and disrupted medication schedules). Several of the accessible minibuses regularly arrive with incorrect or insufficient wheelchair restraint systems, damage to vehicles and unreliable tail-lifts. One young person taxi-shares with children attending another school and is required to arrive at college 30 minutes before his college day starts and to leave 15 minutes before it finishes to accommodate the children's start/finish times.
Containing costs while guaranteeing fair access to transport support for 16 to 25-year-olds with SEND
The following recommendations seek to balance the imperative to support young people with SEND to get to college with the need for a financially sustainable transport support system.
The statutory entitlement for transport support should cover the full range of school and college-aged students with SEND from the age of 4 to 25. Eligibility for support should be based on the individual’s need and circumstances, rather than age. Capping support at 16, when young people are required to remain engaged in education or training to 18 and when we have a 0 – 25 SEND system is anachronistic and anomalous.
Transport arrangements agreed pre-16 should be continued throughout a young person’s learning journey post-16 unless their need for transport support has changed. Transport arrangements should be reviewed as part of the Year 11 annual review. Subsequent changes in place of learning, personal/family circumstances, a young person’s needs, skills development or maturation, and/or the journey to be undertaken may result in adjustments to pre-16 arrangements.
Transport arrangements should be agreed in principle at the point at which a college is named in an Education, Health and Care Plan so that young people do not find themselves in a position where they have secured a suitable placement but do not have the means to access it.
Efforts should be made at local and national level to address the rising costs within the transport market, as highlighted in the report, The Future of Home to School Transport, commissioned from Isos by the LGA. This could involve exploring new ways to encourage competition among providers, implementing frameworks for more transparent pricing, and ensuring that contracts are structured to incentivise efficiency and quality of service. LAs could also explore contracting directly with specialist colleges for the provision of transport, where a college is able to provide a pick-up/drop-off service.
Public funding should be available for independent travel training (ITT) to enable all young people with SEND who can benefit from it to participate. ITT should be a standard part of the preparing for adulthood curriculum from year 9 onwards, with young people accessing it at a point appropriate to the individual. This should help reduce the overall demand for transport support over time. LAs must recognise, however, that some young people with never be able to travel to college independently and the availability of ITT must not be used as a reason to withhold transport support from this group.
The disabled person’s bus pass should be operational at all times of day. Currently, use is restricted to off-peak hours which means it does not promote easier access to college or to work placement for those able to access public transport independently.
November 2025