Young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have produced a series of YouTube videos to encourage independent travel on local buses
Wiltshire Council has posted a series of six short videos on YouTube to encourage more young people with SEND to take advantage of its Travel Training service, which helps build confidence to travel independently on public transport.
In the videos, young people who have undertaken this training sharing their experience to inspire others.
The council worked with local bus operator Salisbury Reds, which provided a bus and driver for the videos, ensuring real-life scenarios. The videos include topics such as road safety, reading bus timetables and using the bus app, as well as hailing and boarding buses and buying tickets in different ways.
The Travel Training service aims to help young people learn to travel independently, opening up opportunities such as to access school, college, work, volunteering, and social activities. It also helps them to build confidence, expand their social networks and connect with friends and family.
The training is aimed at those aged 14 and above, and is tailored to an individual’s own pace.
The videos aim to show parents, carers and young people themselves what the training service involves and how it could be of benefit, hearing from those who have already taken part.
Cllr Jon Hubbard, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills at Wiltshire Council, says: ‘We’re incredibly proud of the young people who took part in our Travel Training service and are now helping others by sharing their stories. These videos show just how life-changing the service can be, building confidence, independence, and opening up new opportunities.
‘We’re also very grateful to Salisbury Reds for their generous support by providing access to one of their buses and a driver, helping us create a realistic and engaging film that truly brings the experience to life. Their involvement has made a real difference in helping us showcase the impact of this service.’
Nikki Honer, Head of Communications at Salisbury Reds, adds: ‘Wiltshire Council has been supporting those within our area – giving them the confidence to deal with real life tasks and live their lives more confidently. Travelling on public transport helps people to live as independently as possible, so we were delighted to be part of this training. This also complements our own “customer promise” training programme which all our drivers undertake – so they are more aware of our customers’ needs. I hope all those who view these excellent films find them useful and enjoy travelling with us in the future.’
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