Home To School Transport Guidelines

Home To School Transport takes your child from their home address to their school or college. Your child's home address is the address registered with their school or college. If you need us to take your child from or to another address, contact Home To School Transport.

Home To School Transport won't provide transport to improve school attendance. We won't provide transport for other journeys such as:

• reintegration visits
• lessons based in other schools or colleges
• travel to work experience

Schools arrange and fund these journeys.

You can't discuss or change any arrangements with the driver. If you need to make emergency arrangements contact Home To School Transport.

Any pastoral support programme or other agreement for alternative education, must have a time limit. Home To School Transport will support this on agreement with relevant professionals.

Your child is your responsibility until they're on the vehicle. Your child becomes your responsibility again as they leave the vehicle.

Drivers and vehicle passenger assistants aren't allowed to lift or carry your child.

If your child uses a wheelchair, the driver will:

• load and unload the wheelchair
• make the wheelchair secure in the vehicle

At pick up

Your child must be ready when transport arrives. Take your child to the transport vehicle, either at their home address or at the pickup point.

We tell drivers to wait for 5 minutes before leaving and continuing their journey. This is because the transport needs to keep to its timetable. If there's a medical reason, the driver might wait for longer.

If there's a longer delay you'll need to make arrangements to take your child to school or college.

At drop off

An adult listed on the child's Pupil Information Form must always collect your child. If it's not always a parent or carer collecting your child, you can name an alternative adult.

A young person can only be left at home alone if:

• it's safe for them
• Home to School Transport has given consent
• their parent or carer has given consent

How to tell us about a change

If there are any changes to your child's arrangements, such as their address or respite, contact Home To School Transport.

What to do if your child is ill

If your child is ill, contact the transport operator. After this, contact Home To School transport.

The driver will fit the seatbelt to the vehicle and to your child. The driver will look to check the harness is secure before driving off. If your child needs another harness, Home To School Transport must approve this. We'll put this in your child's Risk Assessment & Pupil Travel Information documentation.

Trained adults will assist your child where required.

A parent or carer should go with your child, unless there's a good reason.

If there's a vehicle passenger assistant, they'll be in the vehicle for the whole journey. Vehicle passenger assistants won't give any medication. They can transport medicines on your behalf.

We will:

• ensure children and young people are given support to be safe and comfortable during their journeys
• use the pupil travel information to create individual risk assessments (including any support needed)

Children should behave reasonably, and treat others with courtesy and consideration.

To contact us:

• send an email to HometoSchoolTransport@brighton-hove.gov.uk
• phone 01273 293 501

Or write to:

Home to School Transport, First Floor, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 3BQ.