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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To feel cross that it's going to cost £120 per month in bus fairs to get my dc's to school

132 replies

NotMostPeople · 16/10/2012 19:28

I have another year to go until DS starts secondary school, but when he does this is what it's going to cost. £2 per day, 3 children. We were just under the distance to qualify for a free bus pass however that's irrelevant now as the free bus pass has been cut for everyone. To be honest we can afford it but I'm sure that there are lots of families who wouldn't be able to and it makes me cross.

OP posts:
BoffinMum · 17/10/2012 16:30

My kids have their school named on the statement but the Local Authority refuse to pay anything towards transport whatsoever, even though there is no school locally. When I contested this, they got spiteful and tried to take the children's statements away (luckily to Local Authority Ed Psych put paid to that).

Crinkle77 · 17/10/2012 16:55

Can't you get a monthly ticket or something. They usually work out cheaper. And what about special passes for students?

flow4 · 19/10/2012 07:34

Boffin, unless you specifically requested that your DCs went to a particular school against the advice of the LA, I'm pretty sure they are legally required to not only pay but also provide transport to the school on your DCs' statement. You may well have enough battles on your hands without taking on school transport too, but if you want more info, have a look at this link . IPSEA (as you may already know) is a national charity providing free legally based advice to families who have children with special educational needs.

BoffinMum · 19/10/2012 10:22

flow4, thanks - it was actually IPSEA that provided us with the barrister to get their statements.

The problem is that the local school is unsuitable for them. I have sent them to another one that does have the right facilities, at the recommendation of their own educational psychologist. Whenever they issue a revised statement it says in bold that because we haven't sent them to the nearest school, we have to pay the transport otherwise it would be a drain on public funds.

Naturally if families choose a school on the basis of religion, transport is covered. Just not if you happen to be disabled and need to go somewhere with a fully staffed health centre, smaller site, etc.

Fine, you think, only there is no other school within safe walking/cycling distance and they have consequently started paying for bus passes from our village for all the local children to get to their nearest school (after one of the governors' children was knocked off her bike on the main road - an accident that was waiting to happen - kids have to cross at a place where cars are going at 60 mph between villages on a commuter route, with no lighting etc).

All I wanted from the LA was the same amount that they spend on the other children to put towards my train fares for my children, with me topping it up, so no extra drain on the public purse at all. In the event, we are worse off than the other families as we get absolutely nothing. I can't see how that is in any way fair. It's a bit like punishing us because we have non-standard children.

BoffinMum · 19/10/2012 10:29

I should add that when DS2 started primary school (1.1 mile away), he couldn't really walk safely at all, and they didn't pay for transport then, either, but when we moved him to our next nearest primary school (1.9 miles away), that had better facilities for SEN, we had that clause plastered all over his statement as well. So they seem to move the goal posts the whole time.

Meanwhile they taxi all sorts of children around the city because they messed up the place allocations this year, meaning lots of children were placed in schools a very long way from their homes, because the Local Authority had built a couple of new schools in places where demand was less than expected as a result of them getting their predictions wrong ....

flow4 · 19/10/2012 22:54

What a nightmare, Boffin. It sounds very stressful and unfair and stupid :(

mymatemax · 19/10/2012 23:30

The lea provide transport to the nearest school that meets their needs, but we got a place at a ss that BEST meets his needs, therefore to obtain transport we must prove that the local school CANT meet his needs.

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