Independent Travel Training

This RFQ relates to the purchase of a service that is able to independently deliver travel training to children and young people and the successful provider will need to demonstrate: a thorough understanding of the barriers children and young people with special educational needs and / or disabilities may encounter when accessing public transport and the support required to overcome these; and the requirements for a young person to be certified as a competent traveller, in line with the Independent Travel Training accredited course.

The key outcomes that we want to achieve are for the children and young people undertaking the training to be feel confident in navigating and using public transport to travel to and from school / college. They will also be confident in being able to problem solve when something goes wrong, such as a bus or train being cancelled or being late to the bus stop or train station, and will also have a competent understanding of road safety, being able to read and interpret road signs and use a variety of different crossings. Additionally, we would also hope to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, thereby reducing the Local Authority's carbon footprint as well as reducing the demand for home to school transport.

Added benefits to the development of young people being able to travel include: an increase in accessibility to employment and therefore a reduction in the reliance on welfare benefits; promotion of cross-departmental working; and economic benefits as more people are employed and will therefore spend, (Travel Training: Good Practice Guide).

Please register your interest on the Chest and download the documents from there, www.the-chest.org.uk