First Steps to Independence: Evaluating a Behaviourally Informed Travel Training Programme

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Today's children are growing up in tough times. Funding for children's services is under serious pressure, mental health problems are increasingly common, and the COVID pandemic has disrupted childhoods across the UK. One group of children particularly affected by such adverse climates are those with special educational needs and disability (SEND). Norfolk County Council (NCC) are committed to ensure that all children and young people with SEND reach their potential and thrive and are working together with The University of East Anglia (UEA) to continue to improve and evaluate a programme for SEND children, which aims to equip them with a skill fundamental to a teenage and adult life: independent travel skills. Travelling independently unlocks the door to social activities, employment, education, or volunteering opportunities, helps to combat social isolation, and ultimately supports individuals to achieve and maintain an economically active and fulfilling life. Current home to school transport provision can be detrimental to the environment and contribute to budget pressures for local authorities. Where appropriate, if children and young people are able to switch to greener, healthier, and more sustainable modes of transport (e.g., public transport, cycling or walking), there could be benefits to all. This project, the first of its kind, will evaluate whether behavioural science informed independent travel training can support these goals. The successful student will be pivotal in achieving project objectives from leading the proposed final design of the randomised control trial (RCT), working closely with NCC to ensure it is implemented appropriately and that data collection are robust, to leading the trial data analysis.The overall aim of this project is to evaluate the impact of a behavioural science informed independent travel training programme (for SEND children, 11+ years old) in four dimensions: 1. Progress towards independent travel 2. School attendance, behaviour, and attainment 3. Non-cognitive skills, behavioural and psychological measures (e.g., confidence, self-esteem, quality of life, adult skill development, risk-aversion) 4. Broader impacts (e.g., parental burden, child-parent relationship quality, Local Authority expenditure)