LA being difficult over school transport

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We live 3.5 miles, in a rural location, from our nearest secondary school. DS is in Yr 7 (11) and up until now I have been transporting him. I have just changed jobs which means that I am no longer able to do this. The local authority have a legal obligation to provide transport given the distance and this was a consideration when I accepted a new job.

They have subsequently said that my ds needs to meet the bus a mile from our house. However, this is a rural, narrow road. There are no streetlights, no pavements and in some places there are no verges and even where there are, they are flooded and boggy. There are also a number of blind corners and the road surface is very poor. The road has a high volume of large machinery traffic (tankers, tractors etc). Quite simply it is not safe for my ds to walk it, particularly when it is still dark in the mornings at the time he will be walking.

I have communicated this and they have come back saying that I need to submit a form stating that the route is designated as an "unsafe to walk" route. This process can take a number of months. At the moment I am relying on the good will of family and neighbours but I need this to get sorted asap.

Does anyone have any guidance on how I can get this process speeded up?

Thank you

You or your partner will need to submit a flexible working request.

The LA have a process to follow, they can't just say yes ok to everyone who says it's difficult to get their child to school, we could all try that then. It's your child, you took this job and knew you were about to cause difficulties. I don't think the LA are being difficult they are just asking you to submit the request as per their processes.

Errr no. The LEA has a legal obligation to provide HOME to school transport. Not random location a mile away on an unsafe route to school transport.

Push back - they should provide a taxi instead.

But they should where there is a legal statutory right to it.

My DH is a farmer and I work in a school. There is no such thing as flexible working. I spoke to the LA prior to accepting the job who confirmed that they would be eligible to provide transport and that I needed to submit a certain form.

I have duly done this and now been told that this transport won't pick up from a suitable location. There is nowhere safe to even wait or for a minibus to pull up where they have proposed.

They haven't said they won't, they just want her to submit the forms so they can follow process and assess whether it is unsafe to walk. They need to follow their process.

Contact your local councillor for advice,

I know it’s frustrating but it sounds like you just need to follow the established procedure, and fill in the form. Then chase and be the squeaky wheel until it’s sorted.

Where are you proposing that they collect from v where they are suggesting?

The children in the village I live in have to walk a mile down very narrow, unlit, country lanes to get to the bus stop unless someone gives them a lift. I assumed that was all part of living remotely

They haven't said they won't, they just want her to submit the forms so they can follow process and assess whether it is unsafe to walk. They need to follow their process.

They've suggested picking up from a mile away. That's not really acceptable, even if the route was perfectly safe.

They should have been picking him up since September - so they've saved quite a bit - though OP may have claimed petrol of course.

I know in my LA they can make you travel (up to two miles) to a designated pick up point. We don’t have to as roads have been designated as unsafe walking route.

I think OP you’d have done better to have asked for transport at the beginning of the school year as all the route planning and tenders are done over the summer. It might just be a small change to the route but it impacts everyone before and after.

Im only 200m from the junction but the bus can’t turn around for another 2 miles so picking up my kids at the end of the driveway adds an extra 10 minutes or so to the journey.

If your husband is a farmer does it not mean he has some flexibility in regard to working hours? Having to be dropped to bus pickup is the norm here..

Your LA doesn't have much of a leg to stand on, although this won't stop them trying. The statutory guidance is here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/659d7ebb0dd0a200138b612a/Travel_to_school_for_children_of_compulsory_school_age.pdf

There's a whole section on what constitutes a safe walking route, including to any pick up point. It would have been better to have done this at the start of the year to account for bus tenders etc, but your son is entitled to free, safe school transport. What the LA is offering now does not sound like it would meet the "safe" criteria.

Life throws you curveballs. Whilst it’s not ideal, you’re going to have to sort something. In the same way that parents have to pick up the slack while LAs sort EHCPs, housing, and basically everything else. It always takes time.

Why didn’t you start the process in Y6 when you found out which school he was going to? Would it have been wise to look for a job after sorting the transport, not before?

Either way, the processes are never quick or easy and I feel for you, but you’re going to have to find an interim solution.