EVERY week day thousands of children across the country hop on the bus and head off to yet another day at school. They don’t give it a second thought.

But for 12-year-old Woody Beavan, who lives in the north west corner of Worcestershire a few miles from Tenbury Wells, this is not as simple as it seems. Woody has cerebral palsy and has difficulty with his balance and walking.

But thanks to an initiative called Independent Travel Training, which is run by Worcestershire County Council, Woody has been able to increase his independence and carry out a daily task most youngsters of his age take for granted.

Cerebral palsy is the general term for a number of neurological conditions that affect movement and co-ordination. It is caused by a problem in the parts of the brain responsible for controlling muscles.

Woody’s mum Nicki noticed that Woody was not developing normally when he was about four months old. Her experiences with her other children told her he should have been rolling over at that stage of his development.

“He was not reaching his milestones so I got him checked over and he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy affects people in different ways – sometimes it makes their legs floppy,” said Nicki.

The main symptoms of muscle stiffness and muscle weakness, balance and co-ordination problems, as well as random and uncontrolled body movements vary in severity according to the individual.

Some people also have communication and learning disabilities but this is not the case for Woody – he’s bright and intelligent.

Nicki added: “He was very bright. When he was tiny I used to explain everything to him because he could not follow me and watch me. I used to tell him what I was going to do and where I was going, such as hanging the washing out. And I always explained that I was coming back. He was a curious child and wanted to know everything.”

When he first went to school at Bredonbury Primary School, his mum drove him and his twin sister Willow to school and back every day. Nicki, her husband John and their children live in Worcestershire but the school is in Herefordshire and they did not have local authority travel assistance.

Woody and Willow moved on to Tenbury High in September last year and before they started Nicki applied for travel assistance through Worcestershire County Council. She also spoke to the local bus company – Yarringtons – providing the transport to find out if it was prepared to take the responsibility of having Woody on the bus.

Nicki said her main concern was about the return journey each day when Woody would be dropped off on the opposite side of the road to the lane leading to his home. She was worried that due to his difficulties with balance, he might fall under the wheels as the bus pulled away.

“I said I wanted Woody to go on the bus but we came to the conclusion he would have to get a taxi to school. Woody and Willow were taken to school by taxi and I was very grateful for that.

“Then I got a call from the county council school transport office and they asked if we would be interested in Woody having Independent Travel Training. I really wanted Woody to go on the bus and he wanted to go to school on the bus because he did not want to be different from the other pupils.

“He is also learning life skills which will be important for him in the future. He has to learn to do things.”

The Beavans decided to accept the offer of the personalised training which offers one to one support for children and young people aged 12 to 25 years and the children eligible for the service are those who qualify for travel assistance from the council. This is often because they live in rural areas and it is too far to walk to school.

The training aims to support students to develop their skills and confidence to enable them to travel independently to school or college. Travel trainers work with the students to increase their independence, confidence and self-esteem on a specific frequently-travelled journey.

The course covers a number of issues including road safety, personal safety, stranger danger and coping with emergencies and it is approximately 10 sessions. The training takes place during the actual journeys to and from school.

Nicki explained that Woody was allocated a mentor who went with him on the bus to see what help he needed and gradually supported him to do everything he needed to use the bus safely. The mentor even suggested the bus dropped off Woody and Willow in a large pull-in off the road where they can be collected by Nicki.

“It is off the road and it is safe. It does not matter if I am a few minutes late,” said Nicki. “He is so chuffed with himself to be travelling on the bus. It has done a lot for his confidence. I drop him off and he says ‘I am fine now’ and he is off on his own.

“It is absolutely amazing that the county council offered it to me. We did not know it was available. I do not want to wrap him up in cotton wool because I want to know he will be OK in the future and has life skills.

“The independence is the most important thing for him. He is at high school and growing up and doing normal things. The scheme is supporting people to live an independent life.

“When he went to school by taxi he seemed very sombre. When he gets off the bus he has this huge grin on his face. It is an achievement for him and I am reassured he can do it.”

Woody is delighted at being given the opportunity to travel to school on the bus with his sister and friends. He added: “I like going on the school bus because it shows people I can do things on my own.”

The training is provided for Worcestershire County Council by the Cheltenham-based charity National Star. Known as Learning Independence For Travel or LiftTraining, it is multi award-winning programme that empowers disabled, disadvantaged and vulnerable people by supporting them to develop the skills and confidence they need to independently travel to schools, colleges, employment, training and other locations.