The Surrey Student Transport Partnership (SSTP) currently consists of various representatives including:

Surrey LEA (Planning for Learning)
Passenger Transport Group
Special Educational Needs Transport
Student Finance Service
Partnership with Parents
Physical and Sensory Support

Connexions
Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
FE Colleges and Sixth Form Colleges

The SSTP are working with the various services or organisations to improve transport for students.

The partnership has been set up to deal with post 16 Transport issues in response to the Education Act 2002.

The aim of the partnership is to develop a common vision for post 16 transport and to assist in improving student transport provision and support. We want to ensure that no student is prevented from entering further education either because they do not have transport services to get there or because they cannot afford to pay for them.

The LSC has allocated funding to the SSTP to allow us to progress improving transport provision and support for post 16 students. To date the SSTP have used their partnership funding for the following projects:

• The development of the SSTP website enabling students to obtain information on how to access Surrey schools and colleges via public transport and how to apply for assistance and support.
• The Wheels 2 Learn Scheme allowing students who can’t use public or private transport to access school or college by moped. The moped scheme offers free Certificate of Basic Training along with the appropriate safety equipment. Students can hire the moped over an academic year for the charge of £10 a week.
• Several colleges have been successful in obtaining funding through transport bids for accessible minibuses to provide transport to areas not currently served by passenger transport.
• The Farnham College and Demand Responsive Transport services.
• Two transport surveys targeting
  • Year 11 students to identify levels of staying on rates and whether transport acts as a barrier to continuing in education.
  • 16 – 25 students to identify areas where problems with public transport and information need to be addresses.
• An independent travel training programme.  The aim of the project is to train students with learning difficulties/disabilities to independently travel (on buses, trains and walking) so they can gain more confidence in themselves and gain important life skills that will aid in living independent lives.  The project consists of classroom based training – this includes money handling skills, telling the time, personal safety, reading timetables, planning journeys and coping strategies when things go wrong.  Students are then taken onto the practical travel training – how to use buses, trains and the roads.  One to one travel training for the home to school/college route is then undertaken.  At each stage students are given a certificate to show they have completed the various stages.
• Real Time Passenger Information displays at two Surrey colleges.

The partnership also produces Surrey’s post 16 policy statement on the provision of transport services and support to students attending further education. Why not take a look at the ‘user friendly’ summary of the support that Surrey can offer you.

If you’d like to give us your views on transport or have any queries then contact us through our email feedback facility.