Independent Travel Training

• Young people who have had travel training may find the increased independence gives them improved self- esteem and confidence.
• They will be less reliant on parents and carers to take them to places. This again will increase confidence and opportunities.
• Greater opportunities to participate in social activities e.g. sports, Guides, Scouts, Youth activities.
• More likely to find themselves paid work or volunteering opportunities in the future because they can travel.
• Increased chances of living independently.
• Potential increased health benefits.
• Promotes equality of opportunity and independence.

Obviously this is an individual decision based on circumstances and the needs of the child/young person. In general, however, the earlier the training starts the better, given that it can take years to practice and to embed the procedures. Some children may never travel independently, but the aim would be to possibly be more independent than previously, ie be able to walk a familiar route.

Certainly, if not started before, the ideal time is Year 10, during the transition phase, as once the young person leaves school at the end of Yr 11 the rules for Post-16 transport change. An application needs to be made for those who need any form of travel assistance. A Post-16 contribution, which can vary annually, will have to be be paid (unless the family has a low income and if a student is eligible under the Post-16 Transport policy). The contribution will be £700 for the academic year starting in September 2022 and can be paid over 7 months starting in October. Schools/colleges have a 16-19 bursary which can be applied for.

Here are some basic ideas and suggestions to start with, which can be done at any age:

• Encourage your child to think independently about what they need for any occasion before leaving the house i.e. coat, bag, money, keys etc.
• Teach money handling skills when you both go to the shops.
• Encourage your child to speak to or point out other authority figures when out in the community i.e. Police

Community Support Officers (who have often been in schools), adults in the ticket office at stations, train stations and point out which adults could help them in the future. Increasing communication skills will assist your child across all scenarios.

• Encourage your child to start buying their own ticket, with supervision, at self-service machines at train and bus stations for example, when you travel together.
• Try a day trip on public transport. (ideas are below of how to do that.)
• Walk around your community, to the park, shops etc. Talk about safe places to cross and explain how to use a pedestrian and zebra crossing.
• Try to teach telling the time in both analogue and digital format as public places may have either.
• Apply for communication cards which are often available from specific charities i.e. National Autistic Society

These can be handed out if your child becomes uncomfortable in a public place. They often state the child’s difficulties i.e. autism, communication difficulties and states that they may require assistance and/ or being left alone if their behaviour alters whilst out in public.

• Parent/Carer could wait outside school door at the end of the day (rather than go in)
• Parent/Carer waits at the school gate at the end of the day to allow child to walk that far themselves
• Parent/Carer gradually staying further back at the beginning and end of the school day to allow entry and exit into/out of school independently
• Once your child can use a phone, perhaps encourage them to undertake a small journey and text you when they are there (reassurance for both of you!) This could be a trip to the local shops to spend pocket money, for example.
• If your young person is currently on a taxi/minibus then they could be met at the end of the road, for instance. Or some students are capable of letting themselves into a house.

Buses

• Arriva Bus - guidance making bus travel easier for customers with disabilities
• Brighton and Hove Helping Hands scheme - covers Crawley
• National Express - help and advice
• Stagecoach - information on journey assistance cards

Travelling by Train

Maybe you travel by car or walk so travelling by public transport is new to you too. Help is at hand. There is a good network of public transport available within West Sussex and you can find out different ways of doing the same journey by using a journey planner.

Journey Planner

• https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/travel-and-public-transport/plan-your-journey/ops
• Travel Line South West has a journey planner that can also be used for the South East of England.

• Barnardo's Moving Forward Project West Sussex Life Skills Youth Group Crawley based www.kids.org.uk/chichester-short-breaks
• Springboard Horsham and Crawley based
• Autism Sussex children offer 121 outreach support

As part of their offered programmes independence skills are often offered as a course. Personal budgets can be used to ask a PA to take a young person out into the Community and teach some travel skills i.e. reading a bus/train timetable, walking to an activity rather than driving etc.

Some of the above charities, like Barnardo’s in Crawley, run personal independence programmes that are organised over a number of weeks and cover skills such as money handling, food preparation and staying safe. PACSO in Chichester runs a Jobs Club, for instance, one weekday evening.

Special Schools often do some basic travel training as part of the curriculum (i.e. walking to shops as part of Cookery lessons) and Colleges, if offering a Skills for Life/Independent Living programmes, should be providing independent travel training skills as part of the curriculum.

If your child/young person has an EHCP it is worth checking, as part of the Annual Review process, that any training, which has been offered as part of the curriculum, is being undertaken. Indeed, the travel requirements for your child will be reviewed annually at this meeting, and the current levels of transport assistance are not always guaranteed on an annual basis.

GPS can be activated on your young person’s phone and/or you could teach your young person to text, so you can be in communication once they start the small steps of independence i.e. asking to post a letter in a box at the end of the road etc. Apps can be downloaded from the various travel companies onto a smart phone. These give real time information about the arrival times/platform numbers (where applicable) of trains/buses. This information can help reduce anxiety as they help reduce the unexpected.

Why not ask your PA to walk/take a bus/go on a train/practice a route to school/College with your child? If they are both going on a cinema trip etc then why not walk/use public transport rather than going in the PA’s car?