MAKE A DIFFERENCE

A statement from our chair  Warrington Parents and Carers want to reassure you that we are very aware of the current issues around home to school transport. There have been historical problems with the coordination and communication of transport for a number of years but we have certainly seen an escalation during the lead up to this term. Although WarrPAC work with reduced capacity during the Summer break, given our own caring responsibilities, we have been working away, fielding all of your concerns, including some of our team concerns as here at WarrPAC we are not immune to transport issues either! We have offered assistance, guidance, information and advice where possible and have escalated all of your complaints to the transport team and the education lead at the Local Authority. I have spoken on a number of occasions to the SEND Lead and transport team personally and asked specifically that they prepare the statement below. WarrPAC are committed to working with parent/carers to capture your voice, concerns, ideas and solutions to ensure our children and young people’s transport is fit for purpose going forward. Please keep in touch VIA EMAIL , via our Website and Social media as we are planning a face to face consultation with parents/carers where we are hoping the Local Authority will be present and able to address, answer and plan appropriate transport arrangements for our children and young people. Please know we ARE working tirelessly on your behalf to ensure services are fit for purpose. We are guilty of not sharing enough about the work we are involved in and that needs to change. So please get behind us and help us to exact the changes needed. The more voices we have alongside us, the more impact we can have and the more we can help change. Thank you for your support in advance Jean Fitzpatrick Chair: Warrington Parents and Carers Message from the Transport Team at Warrington We know that over summer, some of you have experienced delays in receiving information about your child’s arrangements for transport to school or college. First and foremost, we would like to apologise for this disruption. We know how important clear and timely communication is in helping families prepare for the start of the academic year. This year, we have had a significantly higher volume of requests than in previous years. This is a national trend, and something in Warrington we’re trying hard to manage and provide the best possible support. The team have been working hard to finalise arrangements for applications that were submitted before the 15 August deadline, and we believe there are now only a few cases where we are asking parents to support with transport, while we finalise operator contracts. Please be assured that we are giving this our full attention and will continue to work with families until all submissions are resolved. Equally, we are also committed to working through applications made after 15 August as soon as possible. We are grateful to WARRPAC for their constructive scrutiny. They represent your views, and we are committed to keep listening to and working with WARRPAC, to try to prevent any delays in future. Useful information and quick survey SEND TRAVEL ASSISTANCE page on the local offer outlines how to apply, eligibility, types of offer and changes in circumstances If you have any queries about your application, please contact sendtransport@warrington.gov.uk or call the SEND Team on 01925 442175 We have created a very brief survey to see how SEND transport is faring this year - you can complete it HERE

Learn more about the graduated response for special education in Warrington for children and young people that need extra help in schools