1. Transport Co-ordination Jeff Briggs – Lead Officer Derek Donoghue – Independent Travel Training Co-ordinator

2. Services Delivered  Home to School Transport – SEN and mainstream, ITT  Adult Social Care – centres and community venues  Specialised Transport – door-to-door type services  Local Bus Services – co-ordination of network  Publicity / Ticketing – pass production, promotions  Information / Advice – journey planning, issues, publicity  Bids and Projects – wide range of schemes / initiatives  In-house Operated Vehicles and Contractors

3. Bullying On Transport – Scale of the Problem  Vodden Report, own surveys about bullying (2006-2012)  Half of respondents reported bullying on school bus  Gender of those bullied, slightly more were female  Age group of those bullied, high majority were Year 7  What did the person bullied feel like doing:  Hiding Away, Self Harming, Attempting Suicide, Humiliated, Angry, Sad, Fear, Embarrassment, Telling Someone  How long did the bullying go on for, ‘Over A Year’

4. Bullying On Transport – Scale of the Problem  Type of Bullying: Verbal (9%), Physical (36%), Both (55%)  Type of Bullying: Racist, Homophobic, General  Was the driver aware of bullying: 50% responded YES  Action taken by driver: did nothing, joined in, ‘no response’  Was advice received and was it helpful, ‘no responses’  Did you know if the LA has a Safer Travel Policy, 2% YES  Did your school have an anti-bullying policy, 27% YES  Conclusion, more needed to be done

5. Bullying On Transport – what has been done?  Training of staff (drivers and passenger assistants)  Code of Conduct documents  Conditions of Contract, suspensions/actions  DBS / Vetting / Issuing of ID Badges  CCTV Systems  Contract Checks, monitoring & compliance  Passenger Assistants

6. Bullying On Transport – what has been done?  Involvement with Schools  Addressing Issues  Vehicle Access Requirements, Integration  Contractor Forums / Meetings  Safeguarding Meetings  Quality elements in procurement procedures, PQQ  Re-training, updating, particularly safeguarding  Building on confidence and handling difficult situations

8. What is Independent Travel Training (ITT)? Has anybody in the room any positive experiences they would like to share from undertaking ITT?

9. BENEFITS OF TRAVEL TRAINING Increased Confidence and Independence Increased opportunities for Education, Employment and Social Activities Major difference to individuals for later life into adulthood

10. History of Halton’s ITT project - Started in 2005 (first in country) - Over 200 individuals have been successfully travel trained and are now travelling independently -Was originally for individuals aged 14-19, but has been extended to 11-19 - Success is now almost 100%

11. What types of training are provided? Walking routes Cycle routes Bus routes Train routes Combinations of above

12. Training Process

13. Safety Systems - Individual assessments - Risk assessments -Bespoke journey planning (safe route) -Bullying - What ifs (missed bus, etc) - Gradual reduction of ‘intensive’ training - Training is at the individuals pace - On-going progress forms - Shadowing

14. Bullying Training As part of the training that service users receive, dealing with bullying is included. Trainees take part in classroom based role play sessions in which different types of bullying are acted out to give trainees first hand experience of what bullying could feel like, but more importantly, how to deal with bullying behaviour. These role play sessions are carried out using materials purchased from the bullying prevention charity Kidscape. Everybody gets a lot from these sessions and feels more confident in how they can deal with a bullying situation, if it were to occur. To help prevent bullying on public transport, trainees are informed of which seats to sit in to be safer and also what to do if they feel vulnerable or if they experience any bullying behaviour directed towards them.

15. Thank you for your time Any questions? Please do not hesitate to approach Jeff or Derek if you have any questions that you would like to ask about Transport or ITT

16. Contact information For further information or to make a referral for ITT, please contact- Derek Donoghue Independent Travel Training Co-Ordinator 0151 511 7568 derek.donoghue@halton.gov.uk itt@halton.gov.uk