School transport

How long is built into each pickup for boarding the vehicle?

Young people who are a walk-on passenger are given two minutes to board the vehicle. Young people who require a wheelchair are given 10 minutes to board an accessible vehicle. Times can be amended if required to meet the needs of young people and the school should be made aware if any additional time is required.

What training do passenger assistants have and how do we know they are qualified for the job?

Prior to being assigned to a contract, passenger assistants will complete mandatory e-learning, they will also be required to shadow experienced members of our SAN passenger assistant team. All staff will receive a yearly training session covering first aid, epilepsy, diabetes, child protection, simple sign language and autism awareness. If specific training is required, the school should be made aware so that the transport team can be notified.

Who do we contact if transport isn’t arranged? What are the timings for the office? Who do we contact when out of hours?

If you have not received transport for your child, your first point of contact is the school. If the schools are not open, please contact the SAN Transport team on the details below. If no one is available to answer the phone, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can. The office is open from 07:30-17:00 Monday - Friday.

Phone – 01835 826583;  Email – SANTransport@scotborders.gov.uk

Who do we contact if our young person is not attending due to sickness?

If your child is not attending school for any reason, you should contact your passenger assistant at the earliest convenience. The transport assistant will notify the transport team who can then engage with the operator.

How quickly will you provide times and details prior to a new term starting?

Changes will only happen in August and full details will be issued by the school prior to the summer holidays. Any minor changes made throughout the year will be issued by the school in a timely manner.

What will happen when there is a change to the passenger assistant or taxi?

If there is a change to the passenger assistant or taxi during school hours, we will notify the school and ask them to communicate this change with the parents. If the change was confirmed out of school hours, the Passenger Transport team will issue a Groupcall message to the parents to inform them of the change.

What is the protocol during bad weather?

During the winter months we use our website to provide updates on routes affected by weather or road conditions. The webpage will be updated from 7.30am as and when required. 

What is the process if the taxi is running late?

If the taxi is running late, it is the passenger assistant’s responsibility to inform the parents/carers of the young people on the transport. If they have not picked up the young person, the communication can be via a phone call. However, if there are young people on the vehicle a text message is sufficient.

What do I do if I am unhappy, or my young person is distressed on the journey? Who do I discuss this with?

All communication regarding transport should be discussed with your young person's school and then they will discuss any concerns with the Passenger Transport team.

What is the response timeframes for emails?

Emails will be responded to as soon as possible; however, replies could take up to five working days, especially during transport planning time.

Is there an option to be paid mileage by the local authority and transport our children/young people ourselves to and from their place of education?

Parents can be paid as a parent operator by us. This will require parents to have the correct insurance on their vehicle. The mileage rate is currently 13.9p per mile.

Who is responsible for physically securing young people in the transport?

It is the responsibility of the passenger assistant to secure all young people into the vehicle. If a young person can do it themselves, we would encourage this and ask the passenger assistant to support them and check it has been secured correctly prior to the journey commencing.

Do all children using special and additional needs transport have an individual risk assessment, and if so should this be shared with parents?

Not all children with special and additional needs have a risk assessment, however if a young person requires a risk assessment this would be carried out with the health and safety team which would be shared with the school and parents to ensure we have covered all areas for that young person.

What do you have in place for non-verbal young people in vehicles in the event of an accident?

We liaise with schools and education establishments to identify the best ways to communicate with individual young people. This information is provided via the transport request from the school.

Will you cover our mileage if there are days when parents are required transport their children to school?

If we are unable to provide transport for any reason, we can pay parents and carers who are transporting their own children to school. Parents and carers will need to need to be registered as parent operators for the payment to be made.