1. Purpose
No learner should miss a day at Care Cove for want of a way here. This policy explains when we arrange and pay for transport, how we keep every journey safe, and how we help learners learn to travel independently.
2. Scope
This policy covers every AP learner, whoever commissions the place, and every journey we arrange: home to Care Cove and back, work placements and off-site sessions. It applies to Care Cove staff, escorts, and transport operators and their drivers.
3. Law and guidance
Learners are encouraged to travel with parents and carers, independently or by public transport; where that is not practical or desirable, we arrange and pay for suitable transport.
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 and Sheffield Children's Safeguarding Partnership procedures.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Seat belt and child restraint law, and private hire and taxi licensing law, administered by the licensing local authority.
4. Roles and responsibilities
The Director approves transport operators and agrees rates and written terms.
The Head of AP owns this policy, makes funded transport decisions, approves lone transport risk assessments and manages daily arrangements.
The DSL advises on contextual risk, known conflicts and any concern arising on a journey.
The Administrator keeps the approved operator list and driver and escort check records, and reconciles journey logs.
Drivers and escorts follow this policy and the learner's travel plan, and report any concern the same day.
5. Travel assessment at admission
Every learner has a travel assessment at admission, recorded on Care Cove Connect. Our city-centre site is within walking distance of the Interchange and the tram network, so many learners can travel independently. The assessment looks at:
how far the learner lives from Care Cove and the route;
their independence, age and any SEND or medical needs;
family circumstances that make travel difficult;
the likelihood that the learner will not attend without transport;
contextual risk on the route, using the exploitation screening and contextual risk map, including areas or people to avoid.
Where independent travel or travel with a parent is not practical, the Head of AP decides on funded transport and records the reason. We arrange and pay for it; families and schools are never charged. Transport is never reduced to save money. Travel plans are reviewed at least half-termly with the child plan, and straight away after any incident or change.
6. Collecting a learner rather than losing the day
Every absence is followed up the same morning. If a learner cannot get here because transport has failed or they are struggling to leave home, staff collect them rather than lose the day. Staff collect the learner by licensed taxi from an approved operator, following sections 7, 9 and 10: normally two staff, or one member of staff only with a written risk assessment and the Head of AP's approval. The parent or carer is told before the collection, and the journey is logged on Care Cove Connect. Staff never force a learner to come; if a learner will not travel, staff follow the attendance procedure.
7. Transport operators
Before we use any taxi, private hire or minibus operator, the Director checks and records that:
the operator, vehicles and drivers are licensed by the relevant licensing authority;
the vehicles are insured for hire and reward;
every driver and escort who will carry our learners holds an Enhanced DBS certificate with a children's barred list check, confirmed in writing by the operator, with names supplied in advance;
drivers have had safeguarding training, or will complete our briefing before their first journey.
The written agreement with each operator requires named, consistent drivers where possible, notice before any change of driver or vehicle, drivers to carry photo ID, and immediate reporting of any incident or concern to Care Cove. Operators are reviewed every year and after any concern, and are removed from the approved list if they fall short. Where an arrangement could count as subcontracting part of the service, the Director first gets the commissioning local authority's written consent.
8. No staff or Care Cove vehicles
Care Cove does not transport learners in its own vehicles or in staff cars. Staff never drive a learner in their own car or give a learner a lift, even for a short journey. In a medical emergency, staff call 999. Where transport is needed, we use licensed taxi and private hire operators approved under section 7, and a member of staff travels with the learner where section 9 or 10 requires it. Care Cove does not operate a minibus. Before Care Cove ever transports learners in its own or staff vehicles, this policy will be updated to cover licence checks, business insurance, vehicle checks and training, and the commissioning local authority will be told.
9. Lone transport
No learner travels alone with a single driver or member of staff, without an escort or second adult, unless there is a written risk assessment. The assessment considers the learner's risk assessment and plan, any allegations history, the journey length and the driver's checks. The Head of AP approves it and it is reviewed at least half-termly.
10. Escorts
An escort travels with a learner when the travel assessment or risk assessment says one is needed, for example because of behaviour, medical need, vulnerability or contextual risk. Escorts hold an Enhanced DBS certificate with a children's barred list check, are on the Single Central Record if employed by Care Cove, and are briefed on the learner's plan, medical needs and what to do in an emergency. Care Cove escorts are trained in Team Teach de-escalation. The escort sits where they can supervise the learner. They hand the learner over only to a member of Care Cove staff or an adult named on the learner's Connect record.
11. Seating, seatbelts and child safety
Everyone wears a seatbelt. Drivers check seatbelts before moving off; the law makes the driver responsible for passengers under 14.
A learner under 12 who is shorter than 135cm uses the correct booster seat, and we ask operators to provide one.
Seating follows the learner's risk assessment. Learners do not sit in the front unless the assessment allows it, and child locks are used where it says so.
A learner is never left alone in a vehicle.
12. Journey logs
Every journey we arrange is logged on Care Cove Connect with the date, operator, driver, vehicle registration, escort, learners, pick-up and drop-off places and times, and any incident. The Administrator reconciles the logs with the register and operator invoices every week. Logs contain personal data, including addresses, and are visible only to staff with the right access.
13. Contextual safeguarding and shared journeys
Before learners share a journey, the Head of AP checks with the DSL for known conflicts, exploitation concerns or any other reason they should not travel together. If there is a concern, they do not share. Drop-off order and points are planned so learners do not learn each other's addresses where that could create risk, and so no learner is dropped in an area their contextual risk map says to avoid. Drivers and escorts tell Care Cove straight away if an unexpected adult is waiting, a learner is approached, or they are worried about anything they see or hear. A learner who discloses something to a driver or escort is listened to, and the adult tells the DSL immediately and records it on Care Cove Connect, or gives the details to Care Cove staff to record.
14. Behaviour on transport
The Respect Code applies on every journey. If behaviour makes a journey unsafe, the driver stops when it is safe to do so and phones Care Cove. Staff go to help, or a second adult is sent. A learner is never put out of a vehicle anywhere other than an agreed drop-off with a responsible adult. Physical intervention is a last resort, used only by Team Teach trained staff in line with the Positive Handling and Physical Intervention policy, and never while the vehicle is moving. We do not withdraw transport as a sanction. Repeated difficulties lead to a review of the travel plan and the child plan, for example adding an escort or changing seating.
15. Breakdowns, accidents and delays
If a vehicle breaks down, the driver moves everyone to a safe place away from traffic, if it is safe to do so, and phones Care Cove.
Care Cove sends staff or arranges replacement transport, and tells parents and carers.
In an accident, the driver or escort gives first aid and calls 999 if anyone is hurt, then phones Care Cove.
Any injury to a learner is recorded and investigated, and reported to the commissioning local authority's contract manager under the Health and Safety, including Fire and First Aid policy.
If a driver cannot find a learner at pick-up, they wait for the agreed time and tell Care Cove immediately. They never leave without telling us. Care Cove follows the same-morning absence procedure.
16. Learners not collected at the end of the day
If a learner who is due to be collected is not collected, two staff stay with them in the AP area and phone every contact, as the Attendance and Children Missing Education policy sets out. If nobody can be reached within 30 minutes, staff tell the DSL, who decides on next steps, which may include contacting the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub. A learner is never sent home alone in place of an agreed collection. Short Breaks activity does not mix with a waiting AP learner; the zoning plan still applies.
17. Independent travel training
Independent travel is a goal for most learners. Travel training uses the same routes as our outdoor learning and is planned with the learner and family, who consent in writing. Training moves in stages:
The learner travels the route with a member of staff, who explains each step.
The learner leads, with staff alongside.
Staff follow at a distance.
The learner travels alone.
Each stage is agreed by the Head of AP after checking the contextual risk map. Solo stages happen only on the learner's journey to or from Care Cove at the start or end of the day, when they have their own phone. The learner always knows what to do if something goes wrong, including who to phone. Progress is recorded on Care Cove Connect.
18. Public transport for trips
The session lead plans the route, times and tickets, and checks learner-specific risk before leaving, under the Off-site Learning and Educational Visits policy.
Ratios are never lower than on site, and staff count learners at every boarding and alighting.
Learners are told where to meet if the group is separated, and each carries a card with Care Cove's phone number.
Staff choose where to sit and stand so they can see every learner, and avoid busy times where possible.
If a learner goes missing during any journey, staff follow the missing learner procedure in the Off-site Learning and Educational Visits policy at once: an immediate call to the parent and school, an area search, and the police called if the learner is not found within 30 minutes, or straight away where there is known risk.
19. Monitoring and review
The Head of AP reviews journey logs, transport incidents and transport-related absences each half term. Two transport-related absences for the same learner in a half term trigger a review of their travel plan. Transport incidents are included in the termly report to the Social Work Management Committee. This policy is reviewed every year, or sooner after a serious incident, a change in law or guidance, or a contract change, and is available to the commissioning local authority on request.
20. Related policies
- 01 Safeguarding and Child Protection
- 02 Safer Recruitment
- 08 Positive Handling and Physical Intervention
- 11 Attendance and Children Missing Education
- 15 Health and Safety, including Fire and First Aid
- 17 Data Protection, Retention and Information Sharing
- 21 Staff Code of Conduct
- 24 Supporting Medical Needs and Administering Medicines
- 26 Off-site Learning and Educational Visits
- 27 Work Experience and Vocational Placements
- 28 Site Security, Visitors and CCTV
Document control and ratification
This policy is signed off by the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Head of Alternative Provision, and ratified by the Social Work Management Committee. It is reviewed every year, or sooner after an incident or a change in law, statutory guidance or contract requirements, and it is available to any commissioning local authority on request.
| Version | Date | Summary of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 1 October 2026 | First issue | DSL; Head of AP |
| Role | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Designated Safeguarding Lead | Pamela Shaw | 1 October 2026 |
| Head of Alternative Provision | Naphtali Nembhard | 1 October 2026 |