00:00The start of term can be stressful for many, but some children with special educational needs haven't even been able
00:08to get there.
00:09We're now a couple of weeks into the start of the new school year, and I've come to Hawkehurst to
00:14speak to Sarah Martin,
00:16whose daughter Abby hasn't been able to go back to school yet, and it's unlikely that she'll return until October.
00:23Unfortunately, I can't leave her on her own, so my mum, who's nearly 80, is around here, keeping an eye
00:30on her each day.
00:31It's hard. It is very hard.
00:34Abby is 16, but has the cognitive functioning of someone much younger.
00:38And a change in the law earlier this year means councils no longer have to provide free school transport for
00:45over-16s.
00:47But Sarah says she can't pay the £221 termly contribution that Kent County Council have asked her for.
00:55Abby's school has now paid the first term of transport fees on Sarah's behalf, but she says she might have
01:03to borrow money going forwards.
01:05I had to ask them because I couldn't afford it to my own child's school.
01:10You can't do that for every family. I mean, I'm very lucky they've done it,
01:14but if you've got 10 families asking, that's quite a bit of money.
01:19Sarah's been appealing this lack of transport since July and was initially told that Abby could get a bus to
01:26school.
01:26But this is an hour-long journey which would involve multiple buses and a long walk by herself.
01:32It's not liable. You can't do that. It's not fair.
01:35The SEN, their special needs, they need that support behind them.
01:39And all the families, they just don't know where to turn, don't know what to do.
01:45Even though the school has paid the first term's cost, Sarah's been told she'll still have to wait another three
01:51to four weeks before transport can be arranged.
01:54They need to look into this quicker. They've had long enough to do this and sort it all out.
01:59But why are they still dragging it out? Why can't we just have our taxes back?
02:04Kent County Council declined to comment, but have previously told Kent Online that, in line with national guidance,
02:11there is no automatic right to free transport after the age of 16, and so local authorities must decide what
02:18support is needed.
02:20For Sarah, she's hoping that the delay in Abby's return to school won't push her further behind.
02:27Sophie Denny for KMTV in Hawkehurst.
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