EA 'can't guarantee' same driver for Portrush child with complex needs who requires solo school travel, mother told
The Education Authority has told a Portrush mother it cannot guarantee that her son, who has complex needs and requires solo school transport with familiar people, will always have the same driver.
Caoimhe McCoy said she ‘feels like I have failed my child’ after spending the summer months trying to organise transport for her seven-year-old son Lachlann who changed from his special school to SPIMs (Specialist Provision in Mainstream) this September.
Caoimhe explained that due to Lachlann’s complex needs he can no longer use any form of shared Education Authority (EA) bus or taxi.
"Travelling with other children in a taxi bus was just too overstimulating for Lachlann, it was too many people, too much waiting.
"And though the bus staff were great and did their best with him, his behaviour meant that he has to travel solo.
"All of this information has been noted and known by the EA.”
Lachlann was then paired up with taxi firm who, Caoimhe said, spent a lot of time getting to know the little boy’s needs to work out exactly how to work with him.
Then in March of this year, Caoimhe was contacted by the EA and informed that the taxi service would have to go out for tender.
"I didn’t find out until the week before Lachlann started his new school that a different taxi was coming,” said Caoimhe.
"Lachlann is not a child who can just hop into any taxi and head off to school. He needs regulation and routine and for things to be familiar and the people dealing with him have to know what his triggers are.
"The front-line staff at the EA have been amazing, but their hands have been tied by procurement, bureaucracy and the people above them making decisions.
"Lachlann’s taxi from last year is sitting ready and willing to take him, and the EA staff don’t have the power to give him the go-ahead.”
The Education Authority issued a statement which said: “EA appreciates how important school transport is for families and that any change in transport arrangements can be unsettling, particularly for pupils with SEN.
"We always aim to minimise any disruption or changes to transport provision where possible, however, all routes are reviewed annually ahead of the new academic year and all private hire contracts must be assessed for extension or retender each year as per the terms of contract.
"Private hire services can change for a variety of operational reasons, including routes being retendered due to a change in service requirements e.g. pupils being added to or removed from the route, where a pupil moves school or home address or where a contract is not considered economically sustainable moving forward either by the EA or the Private Operator.
"Even where a contract with an Operator is extended, the driver is not contracted directly to the EA and we cannot guarantee the same vehicle or staff will be used on the same route each year.
"All private hire drivers, escorts and vehicles are subject to compliance checks prior to working on EA home to school contracts and we hope that Lachlann can build relationships with the new contracted staff to avail of a safe and comfortable journey to and from school throughout the 2026/27 academic year."