SS14 132 - Home To School SEN Transport Provision

Kent County Council (the Council) is the largest county council in England covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres. It has an annual expenditure of over £900m on goods and services and a population of 1.3m.

The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils and 289 parish/town councils. The Council procures and manages transport for children/students with special educational needs in line with the requirements placed on it by Government, through the home to school statutory guidance: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445407/Home_to _School_Travel_and_Transport_Guidance.pdf There are three schools in scope being tendered.

Each school is being offered as a Lot and the successful Contractor would be responsible for all of the identified SEN transport services to/from that school on behalf of the Council. Provision of transport for school related activities such as: external trips do not form part of this Contract.There will be a requirement on a number of journeys to provide vehicle/client escorts.

The Contractor will be required to deliver SEN children/students to school in a safe and efficient manner, ensuring they are ready for learning. They will be expected to deliver them home at the end of the day, in a safe and efficient manner.

The Contractor will also be expected to embed a pro-active communication process which takes into account the requirements of the Council, school and the parents/guardians of the individual client. The 3 schools and colleges identified provide education for pupils with a wide range of special educational needs from complex or severe learning difficulties, sensory impairments, physical difficulties and challenging behaviour.

The clients attending these establishments may have conditions covering; Learning difficulties;Mental health conditions; Behavioural, emotional and social difficulties;Speech, language and communication difficulties;Autistic spectrum disorder;Visual impairment;Hearing impairment;Multi-sensory impairment;Physical disability; and, Hidden disability. The Contractor will be required to provide a range of vehicles to deliver the services, ranging from cars to passenger carrying vehicles (vehicles with more than 8 seats).

There will be a requirement for a number of vehicles to be fitted with appropriate equipment to enable clients to access/egress the vehicle safely. The Council (initially for the first year and for tender evaluation purposes) will determine the number of routes/vehicles and type to be operated. The Contractor will be provided with the opportunity to suggest route efficiencies during the life of the contract and to meet the needs of clients, routes/vehicles/types may be varied by the Council accordingly to meet with an annual student churn in the region of 10% composed of starters/leavers and that move school and/or address.