Home to school transport - Code of practice

NPTCBC will:

• Provide travel assistance where the Council has assessed a learner as eligible, in line with the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 and Welsh Government statutory guidance.
• Applications for travel assistance (mainstream and ALN) received during the school term can take up to 20 working days to process. Once approved, parents/carers will be contacted with details of their child’s transport.
• Ensure any equipment required for safe transport (e.g., a car seat or high back booster seat) is provided by the operator, the Council, or parents/carers, as appropriate.
• Ensure drivers and passenger assistants on ALN/Social Services contracts complete a meet and greet before transport commences.
• Facilitate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks to ensure drivers and passenger assistants are suitable for the role. Approved staff will be issued with an electronic ID badge.
• Monitor school transport routes and services regularly. Some vehicles may be fitted with CCTV, which may be used as evidence in cases of misconduct or misbehaviour.
• Review policies regularly and circulate to operators on an annual basis.
• Investigate complaints and incidents.
• Ensure safeguarding standards are met.

• When travelling by bus, pupils should be at the correct stop at least 5 minutes before the scheduled arrival time. At the end of the day, parents/carers of primary-aged pupils must be at the stop in good time to collect their child.
• Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring their child’s safety when travelling to and from the bus stop.
• Where door-to-door transport is in place, parents/carers (and pupils) should be ready and watch for the taxi/minibus. A parent/carer must accompany the pupil to and from the vehicle, as other passengers cannot be left unattended. The taxi/minibus will wait a maximum of 5 minutes if the pupil is not ready.
• Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring their child is ready for transport at the agreed time.
• A responsible adult must be present at the home address or bus stop when the pupil returns from school.
• If door-to-door transport is in place and your child is unwell or cannot attend school, please contact the transport provider as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary journeys or delays for other pupils.
• Parents/carers are responsible for encouraging good behaviour on school transport. Deliberate misbehaviour may result in disciplinary action, including withdrawal of transport.

Passenger Assistants and drivers play a key role in ensuring safe and comfortable transport for young people. For many pupils with ALN (and their parents/carers), the school journey is an important and integral part of the school day.

• Hold an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check arranged by the Passenger Transport department before working on school transport.
•  When renewing your DBS, start the process at least 90 days before the expiry date.
• Maintain a high standard of professionalism at all times and respect the confidentiality of information about pupils and their families.
• Comply at all times with the Council’s Safeguarding Policy.
• Drivers and Passenger Assistants must maintain a professional and courteous attitude at all times, including using appropriate language and maintaining confidentiality.
• Drivers and Passenger Assistants must be familiar with the route, pick-up locations and the school.
• Drivers and Passenger Assistants must have an appropriate level of English and/or Welsh language ability for communicating and supporting the children. Clear communication and safeguarding responsibilities are central to the role.
• Use appropriate, age-appropriate language and do not use swear words. Many pupils may have communication difficulties, so speak slowly and clearly and ensure you are facing the pupil when speaking.
• Do not discuss matters of an inappropriate nature with pupils.
• Avoid physical contact with pupils unless it is required to ensure a pupil’s safety.
• Treat all pupils equally and consistently. Where possible, follow the school’s advice (and parents’/carers’ advice) on managing pupil behaviour.
• Avoid confrontation, but ensure incidents of bullying, violence or inappropriate behaviour are reported promptly to the school, parents/carers (as appropriate) and complete the Council’s incident reporting form and submit it to passengertransport@npt.gov.uk
• Maintain clear professional boundaries. A good rapport with pupils, colleagues and parents/carers is important, but overly familiar relationships can make necessary route/staffing changes difficult and may place staff at risk of allegations.
• Do not eat, drink, smoke or vape in or near the vehicle or on school premises.
• Operate routes as set out in the contract. Do not change pick up times, pick up locations, passenger lists or transport other children unless agreed with the Passenger Transport Department.
• Arrive at the stop/pick up point at the designated time. If a child is not ready, wait no more than 5 minutes.
• Use hazard warning lights while pupils are boarding or alighting (where it is safe and appropriate to do so).
• The operator must take reasonable steps to ensure passenger safety not only while pupils are aboard the vehicle, but also while they are entering or leaving (e.g., do not open doors until the vehicle has stopped).
• Keep vehicle doors closed unless the vehicle is at a complete standstill. Pupils must not operate doors.
• If a drop off requires a road crossing and this is unavoidable, pupils must be supervised across the road.
• Ensure pupils are safely seated and wearing seatbelts before the vehicle moves off. Drivers and Passenger Assistants must also wear seatbelts.
• Ensure passengers, and any bags, luggage or equipment, are secured appropriately before moving off, and that passengers are comfortable (e.g., not too hot or cold).
• Passenger Assistants should sit where they can best supervise and engage with pupils during the journey.
• Passenger Assistants may be required to assist the driver with reversing manoeuvres when necessary.
• Vehicles must be driven carefully and in accordance with the Highway Code. Drivers must not use mobile phones unless hands free.
• Staff providing school transport for ALN pupils must be competent in the use of relevant equipment (including ramps, lifts, seatbelts, harnesses and wheelchair/occupant restraint systems). It is the operator’s responsibility to ensure staff receive sufficient training.
• Drivers and Passenger Assistants operating ALN routes, must carry emergency contact details for the operator, Council, school and pupils on the vehicle, and must be familiar with the procedures to follow in the event of an emergency (including illness, accident or breakdown).
• Drivers and Passenger Assistants operating mainstream routes, must carry emergency contact details for the operator, Council and the school, and must be familiar with the procedures to follow in the event of an emergency (including illness, accident or breakdown).
• Drivers must conduct a daily vehicle safety check.
• Drivers and Passenger Assistants must report accidents or incidents involving a vehicle, and incidents of poor behaviour, using the Council’s incident reporting form within 24 hours.
• Drivers must adhere to each school’s traffic management policies and procedures.
• Ensure pupils are handed over to a member of school staff or a parent/carer, as appropriate.
• Drivers must check the vehicle after every journey to ensure no pupil has been left on board and to check for lost property.
• The operator must ensure that, during a contracted service, the driver can be in immediate contact with (and is contactable by) their home depot by safe and legal means.

• Arrive at the designated pick up point or bus stop at least 5 minutes before the scheduled pick up time.
• Stand well back from the road and board the vehicle in an orderly manner.
• For Secondary mainstream pupils, have your travel pass ready to show the driver. The driver will report those boarding without a Pass to the Council, which may result in refusal to travel.
• Sit down promptly and remain seated.
• Where seatbelts are fitted, you must wear them (this is a legal requirement).
• Do not distract the driver.
• Do not shout, bully, fight, throw objects, or move around the vehicle.
• Wait for the vehicle to stop completely and for the driver/passenger assistant to open the doors before getting on or off.
• After getting off, step away from the vehicle and wait in a safe place.
• Never cross the road in front of or behind the vehicle.
• Do not eat, drink, smoke, vape, or carry alcohol/drugs or other prohibited substances.

• Schools must ensure they meet their obligations under the Welsh Government’s Learner Travel (Wales) Measure and promote the Travel Behaviour Code to pupils.
• Schools must ensure appropriate staff are available to receive pupils in the morning and to supervise pupils at the end of the school day.
• Schools should ensure contractors are aware of any arrangements for boarding/alighting and/or the handover of pupils. This information must also be provided to the Council’s Passenger Transport Department. Schools should also help ensure school entrances are not blocked by inappropriate parent/staff parking at drop off and pick up times.
• Schools must ensure the Council’s transport staff are provided with any relevant information about pupils’ needs and their ability to travel, particularly where circumstances change.
• Primary and Additional Learning Needs (ALN) pupils should be reminded to use the toilet before the afternoon journey. Pupils should not be placed on transport if they are distressed or upset.
• Where a school closes earlier than normal, the school is responsible for ensuring that a parent/carer (or other responsible adult) is available to receive primary and ALN pupils.
• Schools must notify the Council’s Passenger Transport Department and the Child and Family Support Team of INSET days and planned school closures before the start of the academic year, or as soon as possible, to avoid unnecessary transport costs.
• From time to time, the Council’s Passenger Transport staff will undertake checks on school transport vehicles, drivers, and passenger assistants. However, they are unable to observe arrangements on a daily basis. Schools can assist by reporting issues or sharing feedback with the Council’s Passenger Transport Department, for example:
  • Persistent late running.
  • Unsuitable vehicles or equipment.
  • Concerns about driver or passenger assistant conduct.
  • Exemplary service or good practice.

• Schools will notify the Child & Family Support Team of any closure. This information will be published on the Council’s website.
• The operator will make the final decision on whether a route will operate during adverse weather.
• Where the operator runs the morning journey, the afternoon journey should also operate unless conditions deteriorate significantly during the day or forecasts indicate a rapid worsening.
• If the morning journey cannot operate due to inclement weather, operators must inform schools and the Passenger Transport Department immediately.
• Where the morning journey does not operate, operators must consider whether conditions may improve sufficiently for an afternoon journey to be practicable. Where parents/carers have taken pupils to school, parents/carers of ALN or mainstream taxi pupils must notify the operator that their child attended and that transport home will be required. Operators will not be expected to transport a pupil home where an assessment confirms that an afternoon journey is not operable.
•  If weather conditions deteriorate during the day, headteachers may decide to close the school early. In these circumstances, operators will be asked to provide transport as promptly as possible. Where a school closes earlier than normal, the school is responsible for ensuring that a parent/carer (or other responsible adult) is available to receive primary and ALN pupils.