Home to school transport for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabled (SEND)
Sandwell Council is inviting transport firms to provide home to school transport for eligible Special
Educational Needs and Disabled (SEND) children and young people.
A new council framework is to be established to award individual contracts to approved transport operators for the transport of Sandwell children and young people from home to school. Families that use this service will be contacted by Sandwell Council during the summer holidays to discuss the new arrangements and are reassured the current arrangements will remain in place until the end of this school year.
Any taxi or private hire operator interested in providing this service on behalf of the council must visit Sandwell’s In-tend website where all details are published. Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, leader of Sandwell Council said: “We are committed to giving children and young people in Sandwell the best possible start in life.
The pandemic has affected everyone in different ways but children who have missed school, and particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), have been amongst the most severely impacted. “We’re determined to support children and young people the best way we can, and this new model for SEND transport will provide them with the highest quality services to travel between home and school.
“We hope this process will attract local firms and by commissioning multiple providers it will provide value for money and ensure the council can maintain a resilient service. “This new approach provides the safest and most convenient transport options for children and their families.” The procurement exercise is to award contracts for Home to School Transport in Sandwell for the period of two years 1 September 2022 – 31 August 2024 with option to extend for 12 months