Essex County Council have been delivering a very successful Travel Training service in Essex for over 10 years. Suffolk County Council have a contract with Essex County Council to deliver travel training to students and adults with special educational needs or disabilities in schools, colleges and adult day care services/accessing the community in Suffolk. To date over 350 young people and adults have completed their training and become independent travellers.
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| Travel Training Guide (PDF 6.7MB) | Travel Training Guide Easy Read (PDF 909KB) |
What is travel training ?
Travel Training teaches young people and adults with special educational needs, disabilities or learning disabilities, a safe way of travelling independently that will build self-esteem and confidence. Being able to travel on public transport is a key life skill which lets young people and adults make choices about how they live, go about their daily life and fulfil their potential.
The training involves supporting trainees to use all forms of public transport and where appropriate walking routes to their place of education or day service provision/community.
What does Travel Training cover?
The training covers all aspects of travelling independently giving the trainee many skills for life. Specifically, it covers and gives:
- Safe ways to travel independently, including specific training on stranger danger and road safety
- Confidence in using buses and trains
- How to use timetables and buy tickets
- Preparing the young person for adulthood
- Enhances the young persons and adult’s life skills
- What to do when things go wrong (e.g. the bus is late, lost bus pass, bus broken down)
- Regular communication with the trainee, their families, school, college or day service provision
Our expert team of travel trainers train students and adults on a one-to-one basis. A trainer will create a training plan for the trainee that meets their individual needs as every trainee will learn at a different pace. This will take into account all suitable routes for the trainee’s destination.
Is it for me?
Our trainers work one to one with all students and adults over a number of weeks to train and assess their ability to make the journeys. Once the trainer is confident that the trainee is ready to become an independent traveller they will be “signed off” and receive a certificate. The training can take a few weeks to several months, but as long as progress is being made by the trainee the trainer will continue to provide support and training, providing regular updates to families.
Even if you are unsure if travel training is right for you or your child it is best to submit a referral and a travel trainer will arrange a home visit to talk through the process and assess suitability.
How much does it cost?
It’s FREE. There is no cost for this training. For a young person, we require the journey destination to be a place of education, whether it be school or college. For adults, we require them to be attending day care services or accessing their community.
Once a trainee is Travel Trained, if they were travelling via a taxi this taxi service would be cancelled. This enables the trainee to maintain their new life skill. We encourage the trainee to use their SCC obtained bus pass, if eligible, and assist them to apply for a Concessionary bus pass to allow free travel after 9:30 am, and also the Endeavour Card (16-19 year olds) to get a discount on fares before 9:30 am.
www.suffolkonboard.com/concessionarytravel
www.endeavourcard.co.uk
For college students, this can be a considerable saving in the cost of their Post 16 transport which SCC is unable to provide free of charge. We also want them to use their new life skill, to reinforce their learning engraining it into their everyday life.
Want to find out more?
ECC have some fantastic Travel Training videos available to further explain Travel Training. You can also see the views of some young people who have benefited from the training.
Travel Training Students
Travel Training Service
How do I apply?
To participate in Travel Training a referral needs to be submitted which can be completed online at www.travel-training.co.uk. Alternatively, you can call 0345 6032200 where your details will be taken over the phone and submitted on your behalf.
A referral can be made by the trainee, their family or carers, or professionals involved with the trainee such as Social Workers and school, college and day service staff. Before any training can be considered, an assessment of the trainee and their route will be carried out by the trainer. If the trainee or the route is not suitable at that time the referrer will be notified and the referral closed. A further referral can be submitted again at a later date and there is no limit to the number of referrals that can be made.
Still not sure?
The service looks to support the trainee and the family every step of the way.
We can revisit training if need be, we can provide additional training on a further route if the trainee moves to a new college/school/day service.
Everything is centred around the trainee, as we want them to be successful at gaining the life skill which will enable them to make choices about how they live, go about their daily life, and fulfil their potential.
What's it like to be a Travel Trainer?
Read stories from some of our current Travel Trainers based in Essex and Sufolk
Read the story - Mark gives us an insight
Read the story - Suzanne shares her experience
Further Information
View contact details for bus service operators in Suffolk
Find a timetable for your bus service
For general enquiries please call 0345 606 6173 or email passenger.transport@suffolk.gov.uk
Page last updated: Tuesday 3 December 2019