| Last updated 21st November 2008 |
| Dft Publishes Discussion Document |
Paul Lawry from the DfT is keen for as many people as possible to
see their new publication: "Travel Training Discussion Document and Strategy Outline",
which was published at the CTA conference in Manchester.
We are keen for the leaflet to have as wide an audience as
possible, so if you know of someone or a group that would be
interested, please
forward it on to them. We have some hard copies available here if
anyone would
like a small stock; please contact me on the e-mail address below.
The document asks for comments about how to take our
strategy forward, and I would welcome any input. We have a dedicated e-
mail for
the scheme at: traveltraining@dft.gsi.gov.uk,
please feel free to let me have your thoughts. Please use the document
for your
own schemes, there is a space inside for promoting your own scheme
should you wish.
To see the leaflet online click the bus and then click the link on the Dft page.
You can contact Paul at Paul.Lawry@dft.gsi.gov.uk
or by snail at
Paul Lawry
Accessibility and Equalities Unit
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR
0207 9440586
Hello there fellow Travel Trainers!! Greetings from the Manchester Travel Training Partnership! Formed earlier this year we are a team of 5 specialist Travel Trainers. Our aim is to equip Manchester’s students with the skills they need to travel to and from school or college using Public Transport. Our students’ age range is 11-16, although we are also looking into transition work between primary and secondary school.
After a successful first year our funding has been approved for next year, and we may well expand in the near future. We hope to visit other Travel Training projects over the next year to get lots more ideas.
Look forward to meeting many of you, no doubt, at the Travel Training Forum in Manchester on October 30th. We also have a DVD about us, do get in contact if you wish to see a copy.
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Empowering Independence with Travel Training
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A one-day conference presented by the Department for Transport and the CTA
Thursday 30 October 2008, Manchester Central, Manchester
This is the most significant event of the
year for stakeholders in travel training.
With the backing of central government,
this event is a must for anyone who
wants to see training grow and increase
people’s access to public transport.
Key speakers will be:
Nigel Dotchin giving the DfT 's perspective on travel training and its TT strategy.
Christine Eade from Coventry City Council and Harvey Panrucker from Essex County Council on making a business case for travel schemes.
Vicki Ball of Go Skills on a National Accreditation Framework for TT.
You'll find all the detail including the day's programme and application form in and around the Access08 website. Click here:
New face at Derby - can one of you contact Amie, please? Her message is on the Messageboard at the bottom of this page.
One of our latest contacts is with Catherine Mannion who runs SPARC in Warrington, Cheshire. SPARC stands for Supporting People Achieving Real Choice. They have been working since 1995 with people with learning problems to give them travel skills and the skills necessary to hold down employment.
More about them soon but click on the image to get to their website:
Essex County Councils award winning Travel Training Team are pleased to be able to launch their new DVD
Shot in the last few weeks this DVD covers most issues in the travel training process and would be useful to those new to travel training as well as a good piece of kit for established trainers.For more details contact:
For more about travel training in Essex click on the "What's Happening" page.
| Travel Training Comes to Telford |
A quick introduction and welcome to Andrew Skelton who has started a travel training project at Telford. Andrew has a couple of months behind him and is already making an impact. He tells us: 
| “Just for the record I am working with adults with learning disabilities only at present although some school links have been mentioned and as we develop I think this will feed into the school transition scheme,
I'm working initially as a co-ordinator. I am providing 1:1 support at present but generally it is hoped that I shall take on less of this role (except perhaps initial assessments and gaining an insight into resources) and work with members of the various teams we have in the ALD service (i.e. Employment, Education, Training and areas of Complex Needs, not forgetting residential teams and people not within a traditional service but needing this type of training to enhance opportunity.
The role is already moving into other areas such as proffering advice, safety and personal safety issues and links are continuing to become numerous but necessary to create a positive experience for the people involved.” |
Andrew is also developing a DVD and training book with a multi-agency approach to travel training
Lynda Buckley from Salford writes in:
I am seeking any suggestions re a student I am supporting who has difficulty seeing the bus numbers until the bus is virtually at the stop.
I found that he needed to wear glasses, this is now sorted.
He is doing very well and is ok if someone is getting off the bus or another person is getting on. My concern is if he is at the bus stop alone and does not put his hand out early enough for the driver to stop safely.
I would be grateful for any ideas.
Has anybody come across this problem before? If you think you can help contact us in the usual way or go direct to Lynda at Lynda.Buckley@salford.gov.uk
We got this back from the RNIB, in case anyone else is in the same position. The hyperlink didn't work for me but their website is quite useful:
Another suggestion for colleagues student is visiting a low vision
clinic. This is where people are assessed and often provided with
magnifying glasses free of charge. As well as magnifying glasses they
can also sometimes give people other low vision aids for looking at
objects further away - these include monoculars (small telescopes) and
binoculars. The link below takes you to our website and gives you more
information about each of these: the section you need to read starts
from 'Devices for looking at things in the distance'
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_rnib003578.hcsp
To add to your idea about the fold up florescent sign with the bus
number printed on it, there is an organisation called Birmingham Focus
on Blindness who did produce an A5, flip-chart-like product so that
people could flip the appropriate number over and hold it up for the
driver to see. If you'd like to find out more about this you can call
them on
0121 478 5200 or info@birmingfocus.org.uk or www.birminghamfocus.org.uk
I hope this information helps.
| Bradford College Gets Accreditation |
Chris Walters, manager of Bradford Travel Training Unit, is currently celebrating the granting of accredited status to the course he runs at Bradford College for people aspiring to become travel trainers.
This is a major step forward for Chris and the travel training community as a whole. Bradford College is not the only organisation to hit the accreditation trail, but they appear to have got there first (although New Horizons Partnership, based in Strabane, Northern Ireland have been running an accredited course for a few years now).
You can contact Chris on 01274 436199 or
| Halton's Travel Training DVD |
You can't train for independent travel just by watching a video, but this one gives a really good, snappy, short introduction to what it's all about. Jacqui Dunbavin made it with kids and staff from Ashley School, Widnes and she's giving it away FREE!
Has to be a real bargain.
For a review of the DVD click here: 
Contact Jacqui at:
| Ravenscliffe Do It At Speed |
Ravenscliffe High School in Halifax continue to point the way forward in travel training for young people with special needs. This report in from Jason Oldroyd:-
The "Independence in a Month" travel training scheme is continuing to be a
great success. 15 students have taken part in the intense travel training
programme to date. 12 students are travelling independently from home to
school. 2 students have transferred their skills to different
schools/colleges. 1 student lost their confidence and is currently
re-training. All the students have to catch at least 4 buses a day and
travel distances from 2 miles - 30 miles a day to get to school.
1 student catches 4 buses and 2 trains each day.
As well as this students who were already independent receive extra
support when transferring to new schools, colleges or workplaces ready for
their transition into adult life. 4 students have managed to get paid work
because they proved themselves capable in the workplace, but also because
they can get their themselves!!
We receive extra funding from the Local Transport Strategic Partnership
Group to run the Independence in a Month scheme.
We still run the travel scheme in school for students who need more time.
Students practice travel to the local town, swimming pool, inclusion at a
mainstream school and work placements. If a student is doing particulary
well, then they come onto my more intense scheme. This has worked really
well so far.
We also now have two yellow bus runs from home to school and return. This
has also helped with 2 students transferring their skills from this
service to public transport.
I am now a school representative on the L.T.S.P.G and always take the
student I am working with to this meeting so that the student can tell the
group how they are progressing with thier travel. It is nice for the group
to see how the funding has helped the students.
Travel Trainers everywhere - keep up the good work !!
Jason Oldroyd (Lead Support Independent Travel)
Ravenscliffe High School
Ravenscliffe do have some limited time to support or advise other travel training projects. They have a small charge which is ploughed back into their own scheme.
Contact jason.oldroyd@ravenscliffe.calderdale.sch.uk
The travel enthusiasts pictured are enjoying the launch of a new travel training initiative in Wiltshire. The new scheme is being run by Louise Rendle, who emails us as follows:
We launched in May and have a team of 3 travel supporters and myself (the Project Coordinator). We cover all of Wiltshire (except Swindon due to the funding being for rural areas).
We support adults 18+ with disabilities (learning, physical, visual or hearing impairments, mental health users and older people with mobility problems).
Our funding is through the Big Lottery Fund, Learning Disabilities Development Fund and Wiltshire County Council initially for two years and we are hosted by the Wiltshire and Swindon User' network.
We do both classroom sessions and practical sessions with larger groups (for example at local colleges) and also individual travel support.
As Wiltshire is such a rural area some of our users have to catch a couple of buses or walk some way to get to their destination and sometimes we have to try several different routes and think creatively to find the easiest and safest, but our users are coping well!
If anyone would like to contact me my details are below.
Louise Rendle
Project Coordinator
Wiltshire Independent Travel Supporters (WITS)
Wiltshire and Swindon User's Network
ILC, St George's Road
Semington
BA14 6JQ
01380 872928 (Direct Line)
07982 791548 (Mobile)
01380 871507 (Fax) |
| Messageboard at the bottom of the page |
|
You Have Arrived at Coolmove! |
Welcome to Coolmove. If this is your first visit to the site, a big hello. Please have a good look round to see if there's anything you might find useful.
This is officially the nation's coolest travel training website. We are here to help travel trainers working with adults with disadvantages and to let them know that there are lots of us doing the same thing up and down the UK.
We also want to encourage your travel trainees. Get them to do our quiz. At the moment it's about travelling safely.
We want to know who they are. We have pictured many proud independent travellers on our Look at Me page and we'd like some more. Go on - it's not that hard to attach a photo to your email!
We are still a small fish in a big pond but you can help us grow by telling us who you are, so we know you're out there. Get your trainees/students/pupils to email us as well and pass on our details to other people who do travel training.
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What this website is here for:
We want to provide a meeting point for the many travel trainers out there in education, social services, health, careers services and whatever else, who don't know what else is going on and who else is doing the same tasks as themselves. Believe us: there are thousands of you.
We have suddenly become fashionable!
The best resource you could possibly get is advice from each other.
We are here for the benefit of 16 to 19 year olds with special needs but we don't want to be exclusive, so, if in doubt, contact us.
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Hi
I have recently just started a role which includes travel training and am really interested to link up with others, for advice on best practice, good websites and material, training etc…
Look forward to hearing from you
Amie
Amie Brown Telephone : 01332 641377/ 641378
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Hi,
Just found your website! Highbury College (Portsmouth) learning disabilities department have just started our travel training programme! We are commited to getting our students out into the world of work and to a more independent life which of course involves something we all take for granted..being able to travel around the area at will!
Term has just started so early days!
Any hints and tips much appreciated..and the website is fab!
Mel Thompson
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Hi
In Barnsley we are working with SYPTE to develop a travel training pack and scheme for adults with a Learning Disability. We will be looking to recruit Travel Trainers and Travel buddies in the future and I am trying to get hold of copies of any job descriptions that may already exist for Travel Trainers or Travel buddies.
Initially we would be looking to recruit volunteers to be buddies but would in the future like to look at paying our experienced buddies for the work they do.
Can anyone help?
Carol Hughes
Operations Manager
Day and Occupational Services
Compass House
Castlereagh St
Barnsley
S70 1BA
Tel: 01226 787921
| CarolHughes@barnsley.gov.uk |
