George

Transport must be non-stressful.

The transport arrangements made by the LEA to get George to school involved him spending upwards of three hours a day in a bus. His parents appealed to the High Court. The Court ruled: “... the LEA is under a duty to make such arrangements as it considers necessary for a child to reach school without undue stress, strain or difficulty such as would prevent him from benefiting from the education the school has to offer...It follows that where a child with special educational needs requires transport to get him to school the transport which the LEA proposes to make available must therefore be non-stressful transport...”

This judgement, known as R v Hereford and Worcester County Council ex parte P 1992, is now quoted by parents when LEAs’ transport arrangements result in children with special educational needs spending unreasonable periods of time being bussed or taxied to and from school.

Parents’ comments

“If it were not for IPSEA’s help we would still be struggling. The fact that we could rely on the expertise of such knowledgeable and sympathetic people removed a lot of the pressure from an upsetting experience. We will always be indebted to IPSEA....”

Back to top