Meet Lorna Bowden, a school bus driver with the vital responsibility of transporting children with complex needs to school every day.
Lorna, from Redcar, has worked for the Council for seven years and believes she has one of the best jobs going.
“These are the loveliest bunch of kids you could ever meet,” she beamed. “I have such a fantastic relationship with these kids and their families. The other day one child came running out from school with a picture they had drawn of their hero, and the picture was of me. I couldn’t believe it.”
Lorna transports children from various addresses across the borough some of who are wheelchair users, children with special educational needs and kids with complex medical needs.
A lifeline for many families in the borough, the home to school transport service works with families, schools and other professionals to ensure that students’ special educational needs are met in the nearest, suitable school or college.
The service has 27 drivers and 36 passenger assistants who are supported by five backoffice staff. As a whole, they are responsible for approximately 1,650 students a day ensuring they get to and from school. The service also transports approximately 120 adults to day services.
Drivers receive specialist training, not only in driving, but for first aid with certifications in areas such as the use of EpiPens and how to administer emergency medications.
Lorna explained: “The drivers each have a passenger assistant who travels with them, and we have a huge responsibility for the health and wellbeing of these children while they’re in our care. We have to know how to work certain medical machines.”
A serious job doesn’t mean Lorna can’t bring some fun into the school run, however. “I dress up every Halloween and Christmas,” she laughed, “and sometimes I see the kids trying to work out if it’s actually Santa Claus driving them to school. They say, ‘Lorna, is that you?’
“One winter morning when we arrived at a house, I jumped into a big pile of snow and waved my arms up and down like a snow angel, and they all absolutely loved it.”
Due to only working term-time, Lorna gets to enjoy her spare time with her two sons. As a family, they ride their motorbikes and tow their caravan all over the country. She said: “I’m a people person and I love being out and about, so this is a perfect role for me. If I can help even one child, then I think that’s a job done. And I think I've helped a few children over the years.
“The biggest challenge in my role, however, is that 6am alarm!”