PaCConnect on Brighton & Hove Home to School Transport Service

Join us for the PaCConnect on Brighton & Hove Home to School Transport Service on:

Wednesday 8 February 2023

This event is for parents and carers of children and young people aged 5-25 whose EHCP is held by Brighton & Hove SEND Department, whether you live in the city or not. The Parent Carer Council (PaCC) and the Home to School Transport Team (HTST) warmly invite you to a special PaCConnect about:

Upcoming Changes to Home to School Transport (HTST)  in Brighton & Hove

Who is this meeting for?
It’s for you if you already have a child/young person who uses the Home to School Transport (HTST) service to get to and from school or college. This could be by any means – a minibus or taxi, a Personal Travel Budget, or a Mileage Payment. Or if you are considering making an application for the service for your child/young person.

What is the meeting about? 
The Home to School Transport Team will be sharing important information about the change-over from the current contract to a new way of managing the service. Currently it is a ‘Fixed Framework System’ but it will be moving over to a four year contract using a ‘Dynamic Purchasing System’ (DPS). The new system is set to go ‘live’ in September 2023.

This means that, alongside our existing operators (firms providing home to school transport), we will be welcoming some new operators and their crews to provide the school/college runs. Additional operators may also join during the four year period from 2023 – 2027 which will help to ensure we can meet the demand from the growing numbers of children and young people who use the HTST service. All the current runs will be put out for all operators to apply for. This has to be done as part of the legal requirements of starting up a new four year DPS contract. We know that parents and carers will have questions and some concerns, and this is why we have organised the meeting.

During the session 
The HTST Team will talk about why the new DPS is being put in place and explain how the changeover will happen. They will also use this session to explain the procedures that ensure that children and young people’s needs are considered when planning the service.

You will also learn about the safeguarding and training that is undertaken as a vital part of running the Home to School Transport Service for a group of children and young people with very diverse needs.

We have designed the session with plenty of time for parents and carers to ask questions.

When are the sessions?

Both sessions will run on Wednesday 8 February 2023.

The event will run twice on the same day. You can choose between meeting in-person or online, whichever suits you best:

Option 1: Daytime Meeting In Person 11am -1pm  Register for the in-person daytime meeting. 
Auditorium Room, Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton BN1 1YD
Refreshments will be provided and we can reimburse your travel costs.

How to get to the Brighthelm Centre (wheelchair accessible).

Option 2: Evening Meeting On Line (Zoom) 7pm-9pm – Register for the online evening meeting.

(Joining details will be provided on registration.)

The same information will be shared at both sessions with plenty of time for you to reflect, discuss and ask questions.

A summary of the key points raised at the meetings will be circulated afterwards. There will be further communications to all families using Home to School Transport services between now and September, 2023.