Following an intense public campaign waged by children, parents and trade unionists, Leicester’s Labour-run City Council has now been forced to withdraw their immediate plan to stop funding school travel plans that support post-16 children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities.
The initial consultation process on the significant service cut, which would make it harder for children to get to school, began in late 2021 and ended on January 16, 2022. And at the time the Council had tried to sell their proposed service cut as something positive stating the “proposed amendments” will help the Council offer “more cost-effective alternatives as the first offer, while also promoting independence.” However, as everyone has known for some time, the consultation was “deeply flawed” and only nine individuals participated in the consultation. Yet this failure to adequately consult did not stop the Council with their plans, and in their March 2022 review of the consultation process they reported:
“Only 9 responses were received as detailed at Appendix A. Of those who responded the majority confirmed they understood the changes, 50% suggested the policy met the objective of helping children to prepare for adulthood [THIS WAS NOT CORRECT], and just over 50% confirmed the policy was easy to understand. Whilst the level of response was disappointing it would suggest people do not disagree with the proposals.”[1]
This hardly represents a glowing endorsement for the proposed cuts, and it certainly indicates that something went very wrong with both the consultation process and the interpretation of the consultation itself. Either way “Appendix A” of the report did list some of the serious concerns raised by the few people who voices were then ignored. Some of the points raised included that:
- “The council expects parents of SEND children and young people to be experts, and that the council should take some accountability for meeting needs.
- “There is no acknowledgement of children with divorced parents who provide overnight care arrangements. One person felt discriminated against, because they are a single parent.
- “There is not enough acknowledgement on the different support needs, specifically a lack of clarity on what moderate learning disabilities are and the need to be flexible when providing transport provision to people.
- “Regarding the council’s responsibility to provide travel assistance to young people aged 16-18 years – If an expectation is made on colleges to provide bursary, then SEN needs should be clear on EHCP.” (p.11)
In addition, “Appendix A” demonstrates that only four of the nine individuals who participated in the ‘consultation’ (a minority) answered yes to the following question, “Does the policy meet the objective of helping children and young people prepare for adulthood?” (One person did not answer this question and four individuals answered “no”.) The Appendix also goes on to explain:
“For people that did not think that the policy meets objectives, they said:
-“The policy changes reduce transport provision for children and young people.
-“The policy is counter productive to enabling children and young people.
-“The policy should be clear on what efforts will be made to help children and young people correct behaviour that could result in transport being withdrawn.
-“Priorities should be made to make sure that vulnerable children and young people are not expected to travel alone or with strangers.” (p.12)
As if these comments were not damming enough, the Appendix later adds:
“Lastly, people were asked how the changes to the SEND home to school/ college transport policy would affect them/ people with SEND. 6 people provided comments:
-“The policy makes transport arrangements difficult, and may affect school attendance and even parents’ working status.
-“It is not clear what will be changed with the proposed policy.
-“Independent travel training and annual assessments will have a greater focus, to prepare children and young people for adulthood.
=“The policy make create barriers because of the language used.” (p.14)
The Council had therefore planned to end funding for post-16 SEND transport this July, which of course sparked massive anger and frustration with anyone who understood what was happening. In an effort to fight back, a number of protests against Leicester City Council’s proposed cuts were held this year,[2] with the most recent lobby of Council officials taking place on May 16 on Town Hall Square with local social MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, showing up to back the campaigners. The Leicester Mercury (May 18) then ran an important article about this dispute titled “Anger over city cuts to special needs transport.” The article quoted Tom Barker, a UNISON steward at Ash Field Academy saying:
“The actions of Leicester City Council threaten to prevent SEND students from being able to attend school – something which is a statutory requirement. What are they and their parents expected to do? At the very least, the Council needs to re-run the consultation in a more comprehensive way, so that it can properly understand the true impact of these changes before making a final decision. We need to develop a serious strategy to prevent vital services like these from being cut, but once again Leicester City Council is claiming there is nothing to be done.”[3]
Initially at least Leicester’s Labour councillors remained adamant that they would not bow to popular pressure to pause the cuts, but on May 22 it became apparent that they had been forced to change to mind. The Leicester Mercury (May 23) ran an article titled “Council to re-run consultation on SEND transport cuts” wherein Sam Randfield, UNISON Leicester City’s assistant branch secretary for schools said:
“This victory is testament to the commitment and resolve of the campaigners – many of them Unison members – who have fought so hard to have their voices heard; we are immensely proud of them for doing so. We call upon the council to now ensure that this new consultation provides real, meaningful, and comprehensive engagement with all those who would be affected.”
While Lisa Crabbe, a parent campaigner was reported by the Mercury as stating:
“After months of campaigning and starting as one parent with a petition I have been joined together with a group of parents in similar circumstances. Worry, fear, bewilderment, many sleepless nights later worrying about how I am going to get my son to college when the council have cut his funding.
“But today send post 16+ campaigners announced victory that the council will re-run a consultation at the beginning of June. This will give every parent an opportunity to voice their opinion. This should have happened originally.”
FOOTNOTES
[1] This summary of the consultation was presented in a report at the Children, Young People and Education Scrutiny Commission – Tuesday, 8 March 2022. The lead Council member responsible for overseeing the production of this report was Councillor Elly Cutkelvin. For a related discussion of how the City Council previously consulted on cutting other SEND services, see “Leicester’s Labour City Council is enabling Tory cuts to SEND schools budgets!” (October 29, 2020) and “Fighting to save Ash Field’s Residential Services and ALL other SEND services” (January 2, 2023).
[2] The first major protest was held outside City Hall on March 26, 2024; this event was reported in the Leicester Mercury article “‘Most vulnerable will suffer’ say Leicester SEND parents ahead of transport cuts protest.” This article includes many compelling arguments for why Leicester’s Labour Council should refuse to cut SEND transport. Here follows a long quote from the article:
“One parent, Lisa Crabbe, has set up a petition – Change local authority decision to cut transport funding for special needs students – to urge the city council to change their decision. It now has nearly 1,400 signatures.
She said: “I am campaigning for those who can’t stand up for themselves. The voiceless, those who sense the stress and anxiety. Those who are non-verbal. Those who look to their parents to put it right as they’re unable.”
Ms Crabbe added: “Leicester City Council is scrapping financial support and transport arrangements where a school placement is over three miles from the students home. Hundreds of parents received a letter but it was the first they heard of any change.
“This means again students will suffer and families put into financial deprivation. Once again the most vulnerable in society suffer again. Leicester City Council must overturn their decision.”
One parent said in response to the petition: “It is impossible for some SEND kids to just be ‘popped in’ a private taxi. What if they have a seizure? What if they are in a wheelchair? Yet the government insists by law that they attend a place of education until the age of 18.
“The specialist schools are more often than not miles away from their homes and parents cannot afford to give up work to do a school run of 40 miles round trip twice a day. Stop picking on the weak and vulnerable thinking that they will not have the energy left to keep fighting. They have to fight every single step of the way for absolutely everything.”
Another added: “I have two daughters who both have special needs and one is 15 nearly 16 and attends a special school in Birstall, she gets a taxi due to her SEND needs, and I don’t know how we will get her to school if the transport for her is taken away.”
A third commented: “SEND students deserve an education like everyone else. Most will be unable to attend without transport, leaving them isolated. Families with SEND children already have to fight for recognition, treatment and support, I am disgusted.”
“Children have to legally attend education now beyond 16 and these children are vulnerable and need transport funding,” a fourth said. “Their parents have had to fight for their children’s needs all their lives and for some it will mean giving up work to take their children to and from school or college. Leicester City Council need to find this money to continue providing transport and should be ashamed of themselves.”
A young adult who is affected by the changes added: “Why does no one understand me even when I write how I feel. I love my college. Will I still be able to go mum? What will happen if we can’t afford it? Why me mum? I feel sad mum.”
[3] To read UNISON’s full statement on the proposed cuts, see “Council consultation on planned SEND transport cuts inadequate and must be re-run, says UNISON” (May 3, 2024).
Thoughts of a Leicester Socialist 