Independent travel training for young people with special educational needs and disabilities

Independent travel training

Our Independent Travel Training Programme (ITT) is designed to support young people with special educational needs and/or Disabilities to use public transport. The programme supports young people through obtaining knowledge and experience of a planned route and attaining a high level of road safety skills. 

Oxfordshire county council provides Individual travel training on a bespoke one to one basis with young people. By directly assisting the young people, their families and support networks, the training is tailored to suit the needs of each individual student. 

For young people 

Many young people across Oxfordshire may struggle with routes on public transport to get to their school or college. This can be because they don’t feel confident, struggle to navigate or even they are unfamiliar with their local area. This can make things difficult to meet up with friends and family, or even join after school clubs or groups. 

We hope that by meeting a trainer on an individual basis can help with making things easier for the young person to make some great steps towards skills for adulthood. 

For Schools and colleges 

Training and assessments can be carried out whilst the young person is at school/college. They may request time out of lessons to do so. This will be discussed with the individual and the school/college during our first meeting. 

If the young person is transitioning from school to college or other education, we can also assist by preparing and training them for their new route.  

The Independent Travel training process 

Once we have received a referral, we will discuss as a team if we think the young person is the right fit and meets our criteria. We will then contact the referrer for the young person, to set up an initial meeting either at the young person’s home or school. 

When we first meet, we will explain what to expect, what route we will be taking and to find out more about the young person. We will discuss any adjustments that we need to consider as part of the journey or programme, to make sure the training is completely tailored to the individual.  

Our training may include topics such as: 

• Stranger awareness 
• Journey Planning 
• Using a bus pass or money, and how to follow routes and timetables. 
• Green Cross code 
• ‘Safe Place’s schemes 
• Personal Safety, including Mobile (and online) safety. 
• ‘What if’ scenarios 
• And much more! 

Training will be on a one-on-one basis, with the trainer supporting the student for their entire journey. Including walking to the bus stop, travelling with them on the bus and then going to their destination.  

Who is this for? 

• You have an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) 
• You are/will be in full-time education. 
• You are/will be attending the nearest school or college that can meet your educational needs. 
• You are currently using supported transport from Oxfordshire County Council 
• You live over 3 miles away from your nearest school or college. 
• You are interested in learning how to travel independently!  

If you feel you do not meet these criteria, please still get in touch so that we can see if we can still support you.  

How to apply 

 Who can apply on behalf of a young person: 

• Schools 
• Colleges 
• Parents/carers 
• Professionals supporting the young person (such as local council, medical professionals, care workers, support workers etc) 

 Please fill in the referral form (docx format, 67 KB) and email it to: independenttraveltraining@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Contact 

If you have any questions please contact us and one of the team will get back to you (Monday - Friday 8.30am - 5pm)