Children and Young People's Travel Service

An amount of money for you to take your children to school.

Responsible for the care and supervision of children & young people while travelling to and from school or college.  

To travel on shared transport to take children to and from school.

To travel to school on public transport

Independent Travel Training (ITT) is a training programme for young people with special education needs, to help them achieve independence as they become young adults. 

Independent Travel Training Leaflet

Contents

• What is ITT
• Eligibility
• The Trainer
• How to enquire
• ITT Referral Form

What is ITT?

The training teaches individuals how to travel on a specific route, normally to and from school, in a safe and responsible way. It does this through training that is: 

• Designed specifically for each individual
• Delivered on a one-to-one basis by a qualified trainer
• Supported by the same trainer until the individual has the confidence and ability to make the journey alone

Designed specifically for each individual Delivered on a one-to-one basis by a qualified trainer Supported by the same trainer until the individual has the confidence and ability to make the journey alone Independent Travel Training Opportunities

The ITT programme was introduced in 2022/2023. We are pleased to announce the ITT programme will now transition from a pilot programme into a permanent programme for the young people of Birmingham City Council. We are now taking referrals for the 2023/2024 academic year.

The ITT Programme is a free scheme developed by Birmingham City Council to help young people in Birmingham City to build confidence and develop skills required for safe and independent travel. Training involves road safety, how to use a bus pass and safe boarding of a bus, tram or train. The young person will be taught skills on appropriate social behaviour, and strategies to problem solve in real-time and unexpected situations which can occur when in transit.

Travel Independence helps build self-esteem and confidence and improves a child or young person’s ability to become an active and independent member of their community. 

Along with building confidence in their own abilities other benefits include:

Opportunities to develop important social skills and learning how to cope in situations Emergency strategies Time and Money Management Skills
Journey Planning skills Road and personal safety skills Less dependency on friends and family, offering the student greater freedom to move independently within their community Building the foundation to learn how to travel to new places, opening opportunities

Our fully trained travel trainers work one-on-one with young people from mainstream, special schools, colleges of further education and pupil referrals units. Training is offered as a bespoke service, with a programme designed to meet the specific needs of each individual, without any time limits, and at the pace which suits their needs. As well as training during term time, our trainers will work during school and college holidays.

The training is completed only when the young person can safely and confidently use public transport to and from their school. But the programme and support do not stop once the young person has successfully completed the training. The programme will continue to support the student, for as long as they need afterwards and as they move to different schools and into their choice of further education or employment as they become young adults.

Eligibility

To qualify for ITT Training, the young person must be eligible and suitable for the training. Eligibility requirements include:

Be between 11 and 25 years of age have an Education, Health and Care Plan/EHCP, an identified Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND) Entitled to BCC’s Travel Assistance for assistance to school and/or college

Potential routes for the home-to-school journey will be risk assessed to make sure the route does not take an unreasonable amount of time or require multiple changes.

Alongside the route assessment, there will be further individual assessments to ensure the safety of the student can be met at all times. The aim is to focus on young people who require support but are able to develop their skills to a level where they can travel independently on public transport.

The Trainer

Once a young person has been accepted into the travel training programme, they will be assigned a trained independent travel trainer.  This trainer will stay with the young person all through their training and will work with their school, teacher, and parents/carers to ensure the student is comfortable and learning at each step of the programme.

How to Enquire?

If you, your child, or a young person you know meets the eligibility criteria for travel assistance and would like to consider ITT training, please submit a referral form. 

If successfully submitted and with all required information, we aim to notify applicants within 10 working days of whether we will be able to offer the training and advise of available dates for a home visit.

ITT Referral Form

If the young person is not receiving travel assistance but may qualify, in the first instance please contact travelassist@birmingham.gov.uk.   

If you would like to ask any questions, please contact us at BCCITT@birmingham.gov.uk 

We look forward to hearing from you!