News Bulletin................

The phone rings – it’s one of Ron Pearson’s students, letting him know that he has safely arrived at his destination after taking the train to Ilkley.

This kind of call isn’t unusual for Ron, who is Travel Training Co-ordinator and Placement Officer at Bradford College. He and his colleagues provide mobility training for people with learning difficulties or disabilities and they regularly receive calls from delighted students, who have successfully completed a journey.

The Travel Training Unit is based within the College's Learner Services and is open to anyone with a disability from across the Bradford area. All the training is on a one-to-one basis and is tailored to suit individual needs.

Chris Walters, Project Manager for the Travel Training Unit, says, “Just getting to the shops or finding their way across the city centre is an achievement for some people. Travel training in some cases is a matter of teaching people basic road safety, but for others it could involve bus and train journeys between towns. It’s about building up skills and self-confidence.”

Trainers regularly encounter ex-students who are out and about and travelling on public transport, all enjoying their new found independence.