Home to School Passenger Assistants

Wigan Council; Wigan; On-site; GBP 8,000 - 10,000; Part time

Job summary

A local government authority located in the UK is seeking dedicated Passenger Assistants to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities during their daily transport to school. This position involves ensuring the safety and well-being of children during transit and requires a reliable and empathetic individual who can communicate effectively. Working hours include 15 hours per week during term time, split into two shifts. The role is rewarding, contributing to equity in education for all children.

Qualifications

• Must be flexible and able to adapt to various transport routes.
• Experience with SEND children is preferable.
• Ability to handle challenging behavior with composure.

Responsibilities

• Ensure the safety and well-being of children during transit.
• Communicate significant incidents accurately and timely.
• Support the operational team and participate in training.

Skills

Reliability

Motivation

Effective communication

Empathy

Calm demeanor

Job description

Overview

Do you have a passion for working with children who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including learning and physical disabilities, who require transport to schools both inside and outside the borough each day using a split shift? If so, this may be the job for you! A contracted taxi will collect you from home before picking up the children on your route. You could be working on a one-to-one basis with a child/young person or working with several children/young people who are transported to school on minibuses/coaches. As part of this statutory service, you will be responsible for the safety, well-being, and comfort of the children/young people during transit, ensuring all passengers arrive at their school/college ready to learn and enjoy their education. ITU liaise with adult social care and review new service user referrals. They plan and develop all transport routes and ensure critical information is communicated effectively. The Business Support team are the central hub and manage day-to-day staff allocation. The Operational team are here for your wellbeing! They organise training, aspects of H&S, deliver staff engagement sessions, support attendance, listen to your needs and provide advice and guidance where needed if we don’t know we’ll find out. LTRS is dedicated to innovation and continues to advance the service through trust and technology. No matter what the working day brings we’ve got you covered.

Are you reliable, motivated, and dedicated to providing the best possible home to school transport experience? A HtS PA must be flexible, dynamic and able to complete any route at short notice to support wider service delivery. Many SEND children/young people can display very challenging behaviour; an understanding nature and empathy are necessary skills when interacting with the passengers, alongside a calm and composed demeanour when dealing with difficult situations. As a lone worker you will be an effective communicator, ensuring all significant information and incidents during transit are accurately captured and reported through line management in a timely manner. Helping children to access special schools and mainstream education is extremely rewarding, if you want daily job satisfaction this is the role for you.

Wigan Council has been voted Overall Council of the Year at the APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) Awards. We are signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment ensuring that your service will be continuous or ‘unbroken’ between the supporting organisations. The Progress with Unity plan is a place movement for change for the next decade, bringing a new era for Wigan Borough. It draws on the strengths of our individual organisations, recognising that together we can achieve much more for our communities by delivering on our two place missions; create fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses and make our towns and neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them. Home to School transport is part of the Local Kitchen, Transport & Road Safety (LTRS) service. Passenger Assistants are supported by multiple teams, these include:

• Integrated Transport Unit (ITU).
• Business Support Team.
• Operations Team

Salary and Working Hours

Salary: Grade 4, £8,745-£9,169 per annum. £13.26 - £13.90 per hour

15 hours per week, term time working 38 weeks per year. (Daily split shift) Monday - Friday

We're on a journey to build a workforce reflective of our Borough. We are committed to fostering diverse teams where everybody can bring their authentic selves to work and feel that they belong. If you want to work for a Council where everybody is encouraged to meet their full potential and make a difference in our neighbourhoods, we would love to hear from you!