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Questions about SEND school transport
Answers for parents and carers, council travel assistance teams and schools in Camden, Islington, Haringey and Hackney.
For parents and carers
How SEND home-to-school travel works, and what to expect from us.
Who decides whether my child gets SEND travel assistance?
Your local council decides. Councils must arrange free travel for eligible children, including many children with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, under the Education Act 1996 and the Department for Education's home-to-school travel guidance. You apply to the council where your child lives, not to us. Our guides explain how to apply in Camden, Islington, Haringey and Hackney.
Can I choose Sentinel Transport for my child?
If the council arranges your child's transport, it chooses the operator from its approved list. You can tell the council's travel assistance team you would like us to be considered. If your child has a personal travel budget, you can arrange transport yourself and contact us directly.
When will your routes start?
We are preparing to run our first SEND routes in 2027. We are joining council dynamic purchasing systems and frameworks, and we will only start a route once our operator's licence, vehicles, insurance and fully checked staff are in place. You are welcome to contact us now with questions.
Will my child have the same driver and passenger assistant every day?
Yes. Each route has a fixed driver and passenger assistant. If one of them is away, cover comes from a small team who have already met your child, and we tell you before the journey, not at the door.
What checks do your drivers and passenger assistants have?
Every driver and passenger assistant has an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with a check of the children's barred list, as the DfE guidance expects. We also check identity, right to work, full employment history and two references, and drivers' licences through the DVLA. Staff complete safeguarding training before their first route and every year after. Passenger assistants complete the Passenger Assistant Training Scheme (PATS), and drivers complete the Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme (MiDAS). Read our safety standards.
Will my child need a passenger assistant?
The council decides, based on your child's needs and their EHC plan. Many children with SEND travel with a passenger assistant, who greets them, helps them on and off the vehicle, makes sure seatbelts and restraints are secure, and hands them over safely at school and at home. What a passenger assistant does.
How will I know the transport is on its way?
The passenger assistant calls or texts you when the vehicle is about 10 minutes away, and again when it arrives. If the journey is running more than 10 minutes late, we tell you and the school straight away.
Who can my child be handed over to?
Only to you, another parent or carer, or a named adult agreed with the council. Please tell the council's travel assistance team, and us, about any change to the people who can receive your child.
What happens if no one is at home when my child is brought back?
Your child is never left at an empty home or with a neighbour. They stay safely on the vehicle with the passenger assistant while we call you and every named adult. If we cannot reach anyone, we contact the council and follow its instructions, which usually means taking your child back to school or to a place of safety.
Can staff give my child medication on the journey?
Staff do not give routine medication on journeys. Emergency medication, for example for epilepsy or a severe allergy, is given only where the council and family have agreed it and the member of staff has been trained by a health professional. Medication travels in your child's bag and is handed to the school or to you, not kept on the vehicle.
My child finds change difficult. How do you prepare them?
Where possible, the driver and passenger assistant meet your child and you before the first journey, and we use the information in your child's pupil passport or travel plan, such as a favourite seat, ear defenders or a visual timetable. We give you advance notice of any change. Preparing an autistic child for school transport.
Can you carry my child in their wheelchair?
Yes, in a wheelchair-accessible minibus with a rear lift. Wheelchairs are secured with four-point tie-downs and a separate occupant restraint by trained staff. The wheelchair must be crash-tested for use in a vehicle. If it is not, we agree a safe alternative with you and the council.
Do you provide transport for young people aged 16 to 25?
Yes. We run journeys to college and post-16 settings for young people with an EHC plan, arranged by the council or booked with a personal travel budget. Post-16 college transport.
How do I raise a concern or make a complaint?
Email [email protected] or call 07356 017205. We acknowledge every complaint within one working day and reply in full within 10 working days. If you are worried about a child's safety, tell us the same day. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. You can also contact the council's travel assistance team at any time. Our complaints procedure.
For councils and schools
For SEND travel assistance teams, commissioners and special schools.
Which areas do you cover?
Camden, Islington, Haringey and Hackney, including journeys to special schools and colleges just outside those boroughs where the route allows.
Are you a licensed PSV operator?
We are applying for a standard PSV operator's licence from the Traffic Commissioner, with a nominated transport manager. No route will start until the licence is granted, and we will publish the licence number here when it is.
Are you on your council's DPS or framework?
We are preparing applications to the passenger transport dynamic purchasing systems run by Haringey and Hackney, and we will bid when Camden and Islington retender their joint framework. If your council is commissioning SEND routes, tell us how to apply.
What documents can you provide for due diligence?
We send commissioning teams our safeguarding policy, incident reporting procedure, safer recruitment and vetting policy, training matrix, vehicle maintenance and inspection policy, data protection policy, business continuity plan, complaints procedure, equality policy, health and safety policy and insurance certificates on request. Request our documents.
How do you report incidents?
Every incident, including behaviour incidents and near misses, is reported to the commissioning team on the same day, and serious incidents by phone straight away. Safeguarding concerns go to our designated safeguarding lead the same day, and allegations against staff are referred to the LADO within one working day.
What reporting do you give commissioners?
A monthly report for each route covering punctuality, incidents, staff changes, complaints and feedback, with live tracking and recorded vehicle checks behind it. This gives you the evidence for every contract review.
How quickly can you respond to a new route request?
We answer every enquiry within one working day, and usually send a route plan, vehicle, staffing and price within two working days. If we cannot run a route safely and consistently, we say so at that stage.
Do you pay the London Living Wage?
Yes. Every member of staff, including drivers, passenger assistants, cover and part-time staff, is paid at least the London Living Wage set by the Living Wage Foundation.
How do you handle passenger information?
We act as the council's processor under UK GDPR, using passenger information only as the council's contract allows. Route sheets carry only what staff need for the journey, health information is limited to the staff on that route, and records are returned or securely deleted when the contract ends.
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