Sheffield SEND pupils face long journeys as council struggles with rising transport costs
As reported by BBC News, children with special educational needs and disabilities in Sheffield are clocking up round trips of up to 50 miles a day to reach schools outside the city, new figures show.
Council data reveals that 2,520 children are entitled to school transport funded by Sheffield City Council, with 114 pupils travelling beyond city boundaries – either with parents who are reimbursed or via council-funded taxis and minibuses. In the most extreme case, one child is taken 117 miles to a residential school each week, with a taxi dropping them off on Monday and returning on Friday.
The soaring demand has left the council facing a £7m overspend on SEND transport, which it has called “unsustainable expenditure needing urgent and sustained action”.
Coun Dawn Dale, who chairs the education, children and families committee, said that while some pupils must attend specialist schools outside Sheffield, the council’s teams “consistently look at minimising any journeys or external placements, in line with the needs of the children and young people.”
The figures, obtained by the BBC through a Freedom of Information request, highlight growing national pressure on SEND provision.
A Department for Education spokesperson said the government was “listening closely to parents” to improve the system, adding: “This government inherited a SEND system on its knees… We are investing £740m this year to create more specialist school places and ensure every child can attend a good local school that meets their needs.”
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