By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter
Bromley council has been asked to apologise to the mum of a child with special educational needs (SEN) after they were wrongly suspended from school transport.
The fault was revealed in a recent report from the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.
The report said that the mum, named Ms X in the report, had a child with SEN and qualified for travel assistance in a shared taxi when they started at secondary school in September 2023.
Bromley council reportedly wrote to Ms X in August 2023, to confirm the travel arrangements, as well as the expectations of the behaviour of the child.
The information said the authority would discuss any incident with all parties before taking action.
The ombudsman said that the child was then involved in an incident with another pupil on the way to school in November 2023.
The incident was reported to the council by the transport provider on the same day and the authority informed Ms X via email that her child was suspended from school transport for two days due to their behaviour.
Ms X took her child to school during the two-day suspension and complained to the council, claiming it had failed to follow its policy and discuss the incident with her before suspending her child.
Bromley council responded by claiming it had acted within its own SEN transport guidance and those set by the Department for Education, prompting Ms X to complain to the ombudsman.
Bromley council was asked to apologise and compensate the mum her child was wrongly suspended from school transport (Picture: Joe Coughlan)
The council responded to the ombudsman by accepting it should have issued a written warning beforehand and it was wrong to suspend the child.
The report said: “The council also accepts it failed to follow its own policy and should not have suspended the child.”
The council was also told to pay the mum £66 for the two return journeys she made each day while her child was suspended from the school’s transport.
The ombudsman told the authority to provide evidence that training had been delivered to the council’s SEN transport team following the incident.
A Bromley council spokesman said: “SEN school transport methods can include car-pooling arrangements where taxis are shared between pupils taking them to and from school.
“When behavioural offences occur these arrangements can sometimes become temporarily untenable and result in suspensions for the safety and wellbeing of all those travelling.
“Bromley council cooperated fully with the ombudsman’s investigation and agreed with the recommendations which have been fully implemented.
“The council is committed to working with families of children eligible for travel assistance and to provide this through safe and suitable arrangements, to ensure they can fully participate in their education.”
Pictured top: Churchill Court, the site of Bromley council’s new headquarters (Picture: Joe Coughlan)