Home to school transport from September 2020
New measures will be in place from the start of the academic year in September 2020 to ensure children and young people are safe on home to school transport.
Enhanced vehicle cleaning
Our enhanced cleaning regime ensures that common touch points in vehicles are cleaned down regularly.
Drivers
All drivers will be provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including face coverings, hand sanitiser and gloves. They have also received training on how to keep themselves and others safe.
Route changes
Routes may change due to school “bubbles” but be assured that we are trying to keep disruption to a minimum. Guides will continue to support the same pupils where possible.
Pick up and drop off arrangements
The pickup and drop off arrangements will be as they were prior to COVID-19 and appropriate risk assessments have been carried out to identify other measures need to be in place.
Birmingham City Council ID Passes
All transport staff must always wear a City Council ID pass whilst undertaking duties and ensure that it is visible to parents, pupils and schools. This will reassure members of the public that appropriate staff are employed by the City Council.
Safeguarding procedures
All transport staff have a responsibility to safeguard those under their charge. We continue to work with relevant agencies, including the Police, Birmingham Children’s Trust and schools to ensure that any concerns reported are dealt with efficiently, sensitively and confidentially with the aim of ensuring all passengers are safe.
Communication
Communication with all agencies involved in home to school transport is essential to ensure all relevant information in relation to passengers travelling on routes is accurate and up to date. Any information that is provided about passengers will be kept as confidential and only shared if a safeguarding concern is noted.
Emergency Protocol Procedures
The Travel Assist Service will be made aware each time a responsible adult is not at home so that we can ensure the safety of the young person and take the necessary steps to address this with the parent/carer. If this is a regular occurrence, it will be reported as a safeguarding concern.
Whilst we will do everything we can to keep children and young people safe, we need families’ help too. If a member of your household displays symptoms of coronavirus, you must follow these steps:
- immediately seek help by calling NHS Direct on 111 or referring to the online NHS guidance about COVID-19.
- contact your child’s school to advise them of the situation.
- contact the Travel Assist team to temporarily put on hold your child’s transport until the results are received. They can be contacted via phone 0121 303 4955 or email TravelAssist@birmingham.gov.uk
If you have any concerns or suggestions on how we can support you further, contact Parentlinkservice@birmingham.gov.uk on 0121 303 8461.