School Contract Driver Guidelines
These guidelines apply to all drivers carrying out school transport work on behalf of A1 School Runs/A1 Taxis. School transport work is extremely important, particularly when transporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Drivers are expected to follow these rules at all times to protect the children, the driver, the company, and the local authority contract.
1. Driver Requirements
To work on any school contract, drivers must have all required documents in place and up to date.
Drivers must have:
- A valid private hire or Hackney carriage driver badge
- A valid licensed vehicle plate
- Valid hire and reward insurance
- A valid enhanced DBS, where required
- Any other documentation requested by the office, council, or licensing authority
Copies of all required documents must be provided to the office before any school contract work can be carried out.
Drivers must immediately inform the office if any licence, badge, insurance, DBS, vehicle plate, or other required document expires, is suspended, is revoked, or changes in any way.
2. Timekeeping and Attendance
Drivers must arrive on time for every morning and afternoon school run.
Timekeeping is vital on school contracts. Children, parents, schools, passenger assistants, and local authorities rely on the service running correctly every day.
Drivers must:
- Arrive at the pickup address on time
- Arrive at school on time
- Attend every run they have accepted
- Inform the office immediately if there is any delay
- Never cancel or fail to attend a run without informing the office
Drivers who repeatedly let the company down, arrive late, or fail to attend runs may be at risk of losing their permanent route.
3. Following the Correct Route Information
Drivers must only follow the route information provided by the office.
Drivers must:
- Pick up the correct children listed on the route
- Attend the correct pickup and drop-off addresses
- Follow the times and instructions provided
- Check any unclear information with the office before acting
- Never add, remove, or change a child, address, passenger assistant, or route without office approval
If a parent, school, passenger assistant, or any other person asks for a change, the driver must contact the office first. The office will then confirm with the local authority or relevant transport team before any change is made.
Drivers must not make route changes themselves.
4. Safeguarding and Child Safety
The safety of the children is the top priority at all times.
Drivers must:
- Treat every child with respect, patience, and care
- Speak appropriately at all times
- Never shout at, threaten, or physically handle a child unless there is an immediate safety risk
- Never leave a child unattended
- Never allow a child to be dropped off without confirming they are handed over to an appropriate adult
- Never drop a vulnerable child at the kerbside and drive away
- Never take photographs or videos of children
- Never share information about children, parents, addresses, schools, or routes with anyone outside the company
- Never give gifts, money, sweets, food, drinks, or personal items to children
- Never ask for or share personal phone numbers, social media details, or personal contact with children
Any safeguarding concern, no matter how small, must be reported to the office immediately.
5. Seatbelts and Passenger Safety
All children must wear a seatbelt at all times while the vehicle is moving.
Drivers must make sure:
- Every child is seated safely before moving off
- Every child is wearing a seatbelt
- Seatbelts remain fastened throughout the journey
- The vehicle does not move unless all passengers are safely seated and secured
If a child removes their seatbelt during the journey, the driver must stop the vehicle safely as soon as possible.
If a child refuses to wear a seatbelt, the driver must contact the office immediately. Where it is safe to do so, the child should be returned to the home address or school, depending on which is closest and safest at the time.
The journey must not continue with a child travelling unsecured.
6. Wheelchair Users and Specialist Equipment
Where a child travels in a wheelchair, the driver is responsible for making sure the wheelchair is secured correctly before the journey begins.
Drivers must:
- Use the correct wheelchair restraints
- Use the correct passenger seatbelt or harness
- Make sure the wheelchair is properly strapped down
- Make sure all ramps, lifts, clamps, straps, and safety systems are used correctly
- Check that the child is safe and secure before moving the vehicle
If the correct straps, restraints, ramps, or equipment are not available, the route must not continue.
The driver must contact the office immediately so the issue can be reported and resolved.
7. Passenger Assistants
Where a passenger assistant is allocated to a route, the driver must work professionally with them.
Drivers must:
- Collect the passenger assistant from the agreed location
- Report any passenger assistant lateness to the office
- Report any passenger assistant change to the office
- Never start a route without the required passenger assistant unless the office has confirmed it is safe and authorised to do so
- Report any concerns about a passenger assistant’s conduct, safeguarding, or behaviour immediately
If the passenger assistant is not present, the driver must contact the office before continuing.
8. Handover at Home and School
Children must be handed over safely at every pickup and drop-off.
At home addresses, drivers must:
- Make sure the child is collected from or handed over to an appropriate adult where required
- Never leave a child alone outside an address
- Never allow a child to cross the road alone where there is a safety risk
- Report immediately if no adult is present to receive the child
At school, drivers must:
- Follow the school’s arrival and collection procedures
- Hand the child over to school staff or the agreed adult
- Never leave a child unattended in the vehicle or outside the school
- Report any delay or issue to the office
9. Child Absences
If a child is absent, not ready, not coming out of school, or does not travel for any reason, the driver must inform the office immediately.
Drivers must report:
- Child not travelling
- Child not ready
- No answer at the address
- Parent/carer saying the child is off school
- School saying the child is absent
- Any change to the regular pattern of travel
This allows the office to keep accurate records and update the local authority where required.
10. Accidents, Incidents and Injuries
Any accident, injury, near miss, safeguarding concern, or unusual incident must be reported to the office immediately.
This includes:
- Road traffic accidents
- Vehicle damage
- Child injury
- Passenger assistant injury
- Driver injury
- A child becoming distressed or unwell
- A child refusing to travel
- A child behaving in a way that affects safety
- Any allegation, complaint, or concern raised by a parent, school, passenger assistant, or member of the public
Drivers must provide full details to the office as soon as possible.
Where emergency help is needed, drivers must call 999 first, then contact the office as soon as safe to do so.
11. Vehicle Standards
Drivers must make sure their vehicle is safe, clean, licensed, insured, and suitable for school transport work.
Drivers must check:
- The vehicle is roadworthy
- The vehicle is clean and presentable
- Seatbelts are working
- Child locks are used where appropriate
- Wheelchair equipment is working where applicable
- The vehicle has enough fuel or charge to complete the route
- The correct vehicle is being used for the route
Any vehicle issue must be reported to the office immediately.
If the vehicle is not safe or suitable, the route must not continue.
12. Behaviour and Professional Standards
Drivers are representing A1 School Runs/A1 Taxis at all times.
Drivers must:
- Be polite and professional with children, parents, schools, passenger assistants, council staff, and office staff
- Avoid arguments or confrontation
- Never use offensive language
- Never smoke or vape in the vehicle
- Never use a mobile phone while driving
- Never drive under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or anything that could affect their ability to drive safely
- Never allow unauthorised passengers in the vehicle during a school route
- Never discuss private route, child, family, or council information with anyone who is not authorised
Any concerns or disagreements should be reported to the office and handled through the correct process.
13. Communication With the Office
Drivers must keep the office updated throughout the route where needed.
Drivers must contact the office if:
- They are running late
- A child is absent
- A parent requests a change
- A school requests a change
- A passenger assistant is late or missing
- There is a safeguarding concern
- There is an accident or incident
- There is a problem with the vehicle
- The child refuses to travel
- The child removes their seatbelt
- There is any doubt about what to do
If in doubt, stop safely and contact the office.
14. No Unauthorised Changes
Drivers must not make decisions that change the agreed transport arrangement without office approval.
This includes:
- Changing pickup times
- Changing drop-off times
- Changing addresses
- Carrying additional passengers
- Removing passengers from the route
- Changing the order of pickups or drop-offs where this affects the agreed route
- Taking instructions directly from parents, schools, or passenger assistants without checking with the office
All changes must be approved by the office first so they can be confirmed with the local authority where required.
15. Failure to Follow These Guidelines
Failure to follow these guidelines may result in the driver being removed from the route.
Serious breaches may result in immediate removal from school contract work and may be reported to the relevant local authority, licensing authority, safeguarding team, or other appropriate body.
School transport is built on safety, trust, reliability, and consistency. Drivers must follow these rules at all times to protect the children and maintain the standards expected by A1 School Runs/A1 Taxis and the local authorities we work with.
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Our office
We are located at:
4 Dinas Lane
Liverpool
L36 2NP