What's Happening in Travel Training

Buddies Lead the Way in Hounslow

Hounslow's Travel Buddy Service, winner of a Community Care award, is a travel service provided by people with disabilities for people with disabilities.

The key objective of the Travel Buddy Service is to train service users to travel independently on public transport.

 

 

The Service was launched in January 2003 and continues to train people with disabilities to assist their peers. The buddies provide direct support to people travelling around the London borough of Hounslow and beyond using buses, trains, tubes and on walking routes.

All Travel buddies must complete 6 weeks of accredited training on Health and Safety, using the buses and safe road crossing skills. During this time, they also work with the more established buddies as a way of getting to know the service users, gain confidences on new routes and also to meet parents, carers and other professionals involved with the service. In completing the train, all trainee travel buddies must pass a final assessment before they can work one to one as full time travel buddies.

Previously, the service only supported people with learning disabilities but has now expanded its criteria to include people with any disability, those who have experienced mental health difficulties, or have health problems. 

 

The service is also flexible in recognising that people have very individual needs. This may mean providing some one-off help to begin with, followed up by more continuous support at a later date. The travel buddies support people mostly on return journeys. They work one to one, and sometimes as a group to support two or more people travelling to the same destination. This is a paid job with the buddies working full time-usually Mondays to Fridays and sometimes also on the weekends or in the evenings when a service is required.

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Georgia is quite happy to talk about her Buddies. Contact:

Georgia Metzger, The Travel Buddy Service Co-ordinator on 0208 583 6160 georgia.metzger@hounslow.gov.uk

 

 

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

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.”

Footprints in Huddersfield

Amanda Inglesfield has been in touch from Kirklees. She does travel training from a shop. Now there's a new angle! Amanda tells us:

I work for Social Services with adults
with learning diffiulties in Huddersfield.  We are a Day centre but with
a difference.  I don't actually work in the centre. We have a shop in
town, we print garments, bags, key rings, mugs etc and sell them to the
public. The public can also have a design of their choice put on. We
print for quite a few firms around.  We have a web page attached to the
Kirklees one.  We are called "Footprint in Town",  There are 12 service
users that come down to the shop, we have two that attend 5 days a few 4
days the rest a couple of days.  The intention is for people to gain
experience in a working environment so that REAL employment can find
people  jobs when they are ready.  There is John and myself work at
Footprint, John started this project about 6 years ago in a unit.I have
been here about 18 months. The shop has been open 3 years in November.

I have been asked by my  Manager to take this project on so we can
train eventually the people coming to the shop to walk down on their
own. At the moment staff members from the centre walk down small groups.
If this works well (which I am determind it will) we will hopefully
expand. 

I am in touch with Rosie Revell from Wakefield, Tracy Bird from
Calderdale, Chris Walters from Bradford. It seems to be the in thing at
the moment I hope the government starts to fund this very worthwhile
project full time eventually.

Amanda Inglesfield                 Amanda.Inglesfield@kirklees.gov.uk
Community Support Officer
Swallow Court

Swallow Street
Huddersfield
HD1 2PB                 

 http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/community/health-care/learningdisability/footprints.shtml

Bussing in Wakefield

Rosie Revell has been in touch to tell us what's going on in her patch: I have been employed by Wakefield Council (funded by LSC) for two years initially to provide independent travel training for years 10-11 in mainstream and special schools. I am working along the same lines as Tracy Bird with classroom sessions and then practical training. I have been totally overwhelmed by the success and we are employing two additional trainers to assist me. We are also developing an Independent Travel box which is a pictoral resource.

Rosie will be making her Travel Box available to the rest of us for however much it takes to cover costs. We'll have details on Coolmove soon. In the meantime, if you want to contact her you'll find her at:

Rosie Revell