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, named Y in the report. The information said the authority would discuss any incident with all parties before taking action.
The ombudsman said that Y was 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.
Bromley Council was told to prove to the ombudsman it had retrained staff after the incident
(Image: Joe Coughlan)
Ms X took Y 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. She added that Y’s transport was unsuitable and the authority had failed to meet her child’s needs.
Bromley Council responded by claiming it had acted within its own SEN transport guidance and those set by the Department for Education. It said the taxi was suitable for Y’s needs, prompting Ms X to complain to the ombudsman. The council responded to the ombudsman by accepting it should have issued a written warning beforehand and it was wrong to suspend Y.
The report said: “[The council] also accepts it failed to follow its own policy and should not have suspended Y. This was fault. As a result, Ms X suffered frustration and had to take Y to school herself.”
The ombudsman also investigated the mum’s claim that Y’s transport was unsuitable, but found no evidence to suggest the taxi provision did not meet their needs. The authority was instructed to apologise to Ms X for the frustration caused by its failings.
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 spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “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.”
They added: “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.”
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