Withdrawal Of Free Transport To School

[sherrardk]

Boy #1 goes to his designated catchment school and gets free transport (as do 147 other children in the village). However, the council is now proposing that they can only get free transport to the nearest school (which is full) and then the next nearest, etc. The cost for transport to his current school will be £660 and it is proposed to bring this charge in for new students and those entering Key Stage 4 from September 2014 (I am particularly annoyed about the Key Stage 4 bit, who is going to move their child from school as they start their GCSEs). I think this is a completely crap idea on so many levels (not least that in a few years time I will have to find £2640 per annum to send my children to the school that the council says they are guaranteed a place in) and I would be interested to know if any other areas are facing this and what parents are doing about it.

[Mamyalynne]

Not sure of your area, but is happening in Oxfordshire too - petition to sign.

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/withdraw-the-occ-proposed-home-to-school-transport-policy-2014

[sherrardk]

Thank you. It is absolutely disgusting. If you want to guarantee your children all go to the same school then you have to pay. If you can't pay, your children will be sent to the next nearest school with spare places (and it will have spare places for a very good reason). It is a cynical money making exercise and I am in the mood for a fight!

[Mamyalynne]

Does your area have a petition going ? I will happily add to it, in the vain hope it may help.

[sherrardk]

I will have to search around, we only found out about it today.

[rockyracoon]

Our council reigned in a lot of school transport fees, fortunately my son stays as is at £330 a year but my daughter is open season to whatever the bus company want to charge (currently £800), Still marginally cheaper than me driving them. Whilst I'd rather not pay it, it was my choice to send my kids to a faith school so I fully acccept the cost. Your circumstances are a lot different though, whereby your son went to the nearest school with a space, is that right? here they'll pay for transport to nearest available school if further than a certain distance, don't know how sibling rights are worked out though. Good luck, crap isn't it.

[sherrardk]

He went to his designated catchment school, the one he was meant to go to (if he had gone to the nearest school we would have had to pay for transport). I am really cross that they are holding parents to ransom in this way. We live in rural Herefordshire, the nearest school (on the edge of the city) is 6 miles away and the designated catchment school is 10 miles away. The nearest school is full, there is no direct bus link to any other school (if they had any places) so no one could use public transport to get their children to school so parents will have no choice but to pay up. Bastards!!!

[rockyracoon]

God that's even worse then, I agree, bastards.

[Buenchico]

Hassle your MP. You're in Bill Wiggin's constituency. Get every parent writing to him and turning up at his constituency surgeries:
http://www.billwiggin.com/

But you're also right on the Parliamentary boundary, so there will also be plenty of parents, with similar problems, in Jesse Norman's constituency. Get him put under pressure as well:
http://www.jesse4hereford.com/

Get the local newspaper on your side:
http://www.herefordtimes.com/

BBC Hereford & Worcester would probably leap at the chance to cover the story. Email them at [email protected].

Try local TV as well. Email Midlands Today at [email protected]

[sherrardk]

Cheers Buenchico, I haven't filled in the consultation questionnaire yet as I am too bloody cross to be coherent. Doesn't help that my cadbury Creme egg twists (from the box of Heroes) didn't have any bloody Creme egg in them!

[Old_Geezer]

I sympathise with you regarding the changing of rules for pupils that are established and do not need disruption in their life. But I also think that children should go to their nearest school, and whilst it may not be practical in villages, wherever possible it should be within walking distance of their home. So I also have some sympathy with the idea that an individual ought not be able to claim any amount of fare from the public purse to some distant school.

It seems to me the problem is with the implementation, and with lack of organisation from past councils to ensure places are available close by at the nearest school.

[pixie373]

In Bucks, if the nearest school is full, they provide transport to the next nearest. They don't provide it if you deliberately choose a further school.

[sherrardk]

The nearest school is on the edge of the city so has lots of kids living nearby. We live in the country and the kids are bused to the catchment school from a 10 - 15 mile radius. I have no problem with my children going to the nearest school, but there is no guarantee of places for them there because it is not 'our school'. I think it is a money spinning idea as the council know this. Anyway, the council wants to save £250k and judging by what I have found they have spend stupid amounts of money on, there are plenty of other areas to find it from - I shall be letting them know in a strongly worded letter.