Brighton & Hove City Council’s Home to School Transport Service

Independent Travel Training (ITT)

Independent Travel Training (ITT) supports young people in preparing for adulthood as part of independent living and skills for life.

Travel training provides tailored and practical help for children and young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), to travel independently and without fear to school by public transport or on foot.

Aims of ITT

Research by the Department for Transport indicates travel training is most effective if it’s delivered prior to a transition in the learner’s life, for example, from primary to secondary school. The HTST Service aims to maximise independence for all its young people, and to enable that independence as early as possible.

Independent travel is a valuable life skill as well as an essential employability skill, and it provides greater opportunities for young people, not least by increasing confidence in their abilities and reducing their sense of reliance on family members.

There are more than 1,000 children and young people in Brighton & Hove who receive transport assistance from the council to get to their educational setting, of which 603 have SEND. The council is committed to supporting as many pupils as possible to be equipped with the skills and confidence to travel independently.

Our proposal

From September 2022 a local provider will be offering voluntary, structured and bespoke travel training to up to 10 local children and young people to support them to travel independently to their educational setting. This is a completely voluntary initiative and undertaken with the consent of parents and carers.

Each child will have their own personalised travel plan, which will cover the following three areas:

1. Learning the route – looking for safe points and landmarks
2. Crossing roads – using the “green cross code”
3. Safety on public transport – how to hail a bus, where to sit and how to get off safely, recognise stranger danger, peer danger and digital safety

The duration of the training course will depend completely on the child or young person’s needs. It may take some children longer to travel independently, and some may start the course but not be able to continue. 

We understand this, and therefore during the course children and young people will still be entitled to free travel from HTST, though they may not always get their usual crew.

Transport Crews

All transport crews must pass an enhanced DBS check and have undertaken full mandatory training prior to providing a service. Every crew member, regardless of which taxi or minibus firm they work for, are required to adhere to the HTST code of conduct and provide the same level of service.

Who would be eligible?

To be eligible for the voluntary travel training offer, the child or young person must:

1. Be aged between 11 and under the age of 19 on 31 August 
2. Have SEND and be eligible for home to school transport service
3. Live in Brighton & Hove
4. Have a journey to school or other educational facility which it is possible to complete by public transport within 75 minutes
5. Be suitable candidates who are looking to learn their public transport journey safely
6. Have parent/carers who wish their child to learn the journey and are supportive of this

The following criteria may also be considered:

7. Existing level of independent travel skills
8. The frequency of the journeys required

Please be aware that the Independent Travel support staff do not undertake any support worker or care duties. This programme would not be suitable to any young person requiring 1 to 1 care support.