Cost of taxis for SEND pupils hits council budget

Sheffield Council is looking at how it can save money with the SEND transport budget

Home to school transport for pupils with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) continues to face "unprecedented pressure", Sheffield Council has warned.

The budget for SEND transport for 2025-26 is £20.5m, but the council has projected it will overspend by £7m and said it was assessing its use of taxis used to take SEND children to school.

According to a report to councillors, taxi use accounted for 60% of the current SEND transport budget, with almost 80% of taxi journeys involving just one child - far higher than other authorities.

Schools had been asked to ensure decisions about pupil transport were proportionate and to identify where journeys could be shared, the council said.

About 2,500 SEND children currently accessed transport and a further 150 were added to the list from September 2025, according to the report.

"Of these, 1,165 rely on taxis to reach one of 209 venues across 928 routes," it said.

"Many of these journeys extend outside city boundaries, which significantly increases both cost and complexity.

"Taxi journeys are heavily weighted towards single occupancy, with 78% that are solo."

Most journeys also needed a passenger assistant, which again increased costs, the report said.

Daily meetings were being held to tackle the SEND transport budget, Sheffield Council said

The document also stated that one of the most "significant" findings was that about 400 children were on part-time timetables, involving later starts or early finishes.

"This group represents nearly half of all taxi journeys," it explained.

"National guidance is clear that local authorities are not expected to provide separate travel for such arrangements, except in exceptional cases. In Sheffield, however, this practice has become widespread.

"Correcting this anomaly offers a significant opportunity to reduce costs. A letter has been issued to schools setting out the council's position, requesting information on pupils with part-time timetables."

Meanwhile, senior officers were holding daily meetings to tackle the SEND transport budget, the council said.

The authority added that it was expanding the use of personal travel budgets and travel training where pupils, especially those post-16, were taught to travel independently.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North