Transport

Bus transport is provided for the majority of our students in either our Belvoir bus or a Dyson’s bus. Each bus is staffed by a bus driver and a bus chaperone.

The ultimate transport goal for a growing proportion of our students is that they can independently travel to school. This skill will ease the transition to work and adult education placements when they leave Belvoir. Some students walk or ride their bikes to school. Some travel by public transport.

An application must be made for your child to be eligible for bus transport and this form can be found in your enrolment pack. You will be notified if your child is eligible for transport and be given details of bus pick-up and drop-off times and what bus your child will be on. As we have many children using this service, it is not possible to vary times. However, we do aim to have our students at school by 9am and depart at 3pm.

Bus Safety: Our bus chaperone will work with parents, staff and the students to ensure that your child travels safely on the bus. All children must wear a seat-belt, remain seated and refrain from eating on the bus. The chaperone will ensure that your child receives their closer supervision if assistance, extra attention, social stories, a special object or book to hold is needed.

On rare occasions, when a student is unwell, particularly anxious or disruptive and their safety and that of others is compromised, the Principal may ask the parents to transport their child for a short period of time until a revised safety plan is put into place.

Use of buses during the School Day
Community Access is an important part of your child’s weekly program and all groups participate in at least one community outing per week. In most instances, the students are transported on the buses owned by the school. At the beginning of each term, your child’s teacher will send a term timetable Community Access notification and permission slip home which will clearly outline excursion destination and dates. We ask that you read this notification and if you are happy with your child to be involved in those excursions, sign and return to school. If you have any concerns, please contact your child’s teacher by phone, person or indicate in diary.

More Info…

 

The Department of Education and Training Victoria (DET) offers several different types of transport assistance under the Student with Disabilities Transport Program (SDTP).
• The Department offers a bus service to and from government specialist schools. Each bus service has a chaperone on board and is currently funded in-kind until further notice from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) (see Victorian Transport)
• The School Bus Program (SBP) provides transport to students attending government and non-government schools in rural and regional Victoria. This service does NOT provide a chaperone, currently assessed on the travel independence of the student.
• A Conveyance Allowance is available to those families who use their private vehicles to transport their child to and from school. This allowance is calculated on the distance travelled between home and the school OR the nearest designated bus stop (min of 4.8kms).
• Transport from a NSW address, requires certain criteria to be eligible and is controlled by the NSW Department of Education and Communities. The process is very lengthy and ruthless (see NSW Transport).

Families in rural and regional Victoria can get help with the cost of transporting their children to their nearest school or campus. This is known as the conveyance allowance.

The conveyance allowance is available to students travelling by:

  • public transport
  • private car
  • private bus
  • or to students whose nearest school is not serviced by a free school bus.

The conveyance allowance is a contribution towards transport costs and is not intended to cover the full cost of transporting children to and from school

Background

  • Attendance at a specialist school does not automatically entitle a student to assistance or preclude parents/guardians from being primarily responsible for their child’s transport arrangements.
  • The Students with Disabilities Transport Program provides transport assistance for eligible students attending their designated government specialist school.
  • The program aims to facilitate substantive equality for students with a disability and is a contribution towards and an acknowledgement of the additional costs families may incur as a result of attending a specialist school.

Who can apply

The conveyance allowance is available to families who meet certain criteria.

Students attending a specialist school or special setting must:

  • attend their nearest government or non-government specialist school or Department-recognised special setting
  • reside 4.8km or more by the shortest practicable route from that school/campus attended
  • be of school age (5 to 18 years old at time of application) and reside in Victoria.

Apply for the allowance

Families can complete an application form and submit it to their school, or the school can complete the form on their behalf.

Payment amounts

Depending on how a student travels to school, an eligible student may be granted a conveyance allowance based on:

  • the least expensive public transport fares and/or
  • a distance based allowance when travel is by private car and/or private bus.
 
Apply for Special Transport Consideration

From Term 1 2017, Victorian government and Catholic schools will use the new Victorian Curriculum F-10. Curriculum related information is currently being reviewed and may be subject to change.

For more information on the curriculum, see:
The Victorian Curriculum F–10 – VCAA

Families can apply for special transport consideration if bus options are not suitable or appeal a transport decision. This must be done via their child’s school.

Application process

The school should assist the family to complete an application and make sure supporting documentation is included. For example, a doctor or welfare agency report.

 Transport special case consideration application form (docx – 62.63kb)

 Transport special case consideration information sheet (doc – 218.5kb)

If the application falls within the Department’s transport policies, the application will be considered.

In most cases a decision is made within 15 working days. An application may be referred to the special case consideration panel.

MORE INFORMATION

Form 4 – Application for Students attending a Specialist School or recognised Special Setting

Special Schools Conveyance Form

Students must meet the following criteria set out by the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities:

  • be enrolled in the closest appropriate government or registered non-government school to their home.
  • be a permanent resident of New South Wales; and
  • be assessed as having identified disability according to the Department’s established Disability Criteria (May 2003); and
  • be enrolled in a government or registered non-government school in New South Wales at school entry level (Kindergarten or equivalent) as a minimum; or 
    be accessing a special education early intervention program specifically tailored to prepare students with disability for entry into formal education one year before formal school entry into a government or registered non-government school in New South Wales; and
  • be enrolled in a special school or support class specifically for students with disability; or
    require high level assistance for mobility purposes (for example, use of a wheelchair or other form of mobility aid) if enrolled in a mainstream class; and
  • have parents and/or carers who have demonstrated their inability to provide or arrange travel for the student to and from school either fully or in part; and
  • be assessed as being unable to travel independently live less than 40km from the school with a maximum transport time of 90 minutes one way.

MORE INFORMATION

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/astp

Students must meet the following criteria as set out by the Victorian DET:

  • be enrolled in a Special School setting
  • live in the designated transport area (DTA) of their specialist school
  • be enrolled for 3 or more days each week
  • be of school age and live in Victoria.

Student transport is in scope of the NDIS. During the rollout of the NDIS (July 2016 to July 2019), student transport will be provided by the Victorian Government as an in-kind service. For more information, see: NDIS and student transport fact sheet May2017. (pdf – 315.91kb)

MORE INFORMATION

Policy and Procedures (pdf – 773.31kb)

SDTP Application for Transport Assistance (docx – 71.91kb)

The School Bus Program (SBP) provides transport to students attending government and non-government schools in rural and regional Victoria. This service does NOT provide a chaperone, currently assessed on the travel independence of the student.

Dysons Bus Lines Timetable

For more information about the Town Bus and to obtain the latest copy of the ‘Dyson Bus Lines Timetable’ please contact Dysons

Web: http://dysongroup.com.au/

Phone: (02) 6056 3100

Address: 20 Moloney Dr, Wodonga VIC 3690

Belvoir currently operates 6 vehicles that can be used during the day to transport students to and from local excursions, sporting activities, work experience, camps etc.

All class groups will have access to an appropriate vehicle on a regular basis.  This is currently weekly but may change as the school continues to grow.

All staff who operate the vehicles must follow and comply with:

  • Department Policy on Motor Vehicle Insurance for School Owned Vehicles
  • Department Policy on School owned and Hired Vehicles
  • Travel Restraint Policy
  • School Policy on School owned Vehicles Code of Conduct
  • Motor Insurance Policy guidelines
  • Alcohol and Other Drug Policy
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POLICY