School Taxi left my children on doorstep

[Pegasus11]

I am a little shaken. I work but I have a normally reliable babysitter who meets my DS (5 and 7) from their school taxi. They are entitled to transport as they were sent to a non catchment school when we moved.

Today my babysitter called me at work at 1545 to say she wasn't at my house. Why she had not let me know if she was stuck in traffic sooner I don't know, but she didn't. I immediately called the taxi firm to ask them to hang onto my kids until I could get there/get someone to meet them.

The reply was that the children had been left on the doorstep and it was my responsibility to make sure there was someone there, not theirs to check the children got in. I know it is my responsibility to make sure there is someone there and I am very upset with the babysitter for not leetting me know sooner too. But the "safety valve" has to be that the taxi firm don't just release reception age children out of the taxi. It could happen if someone coming to collect children had a road accident or anything.

I am just relieved that nothing happened and that my kids are ok, and the taxi driver is a nice man. But it was heart in the mouth territory when the taxi lady calmly told me the kids were "out there" on their own and felt the need to share.

Pearlman Mon 04-Jul-16 19:09:15

"Cory: taxi drivers shouldn't need to be told not to leave lone children under 10 unsupervised. It's common sense and they can fairly be criticised for it."

Absolutely agree. But then they shouldn't have to be told that you can't expect a wheelchair user to lift their own wheelchair into the boot either. The way the LA explained the problem was that it was so hard to get hold of enough drivers with CRB certificates that they had to take what they could get.

DrMorbius Mon 04-Jul-16 21:28:24

"Secondly I am amazed at how many kids get taxi's to school. No wonder the UK social care bill (and my taxes) are rediculous."

Ooo yes. Rebuilding every single school in the UK so it has disabled access before they start again in September would be so much cheaper. Of course quite a few Victorian buildings would have to be completely gutted, if not razed to the ground, but heigh-ho, as long as we don't have to pay for taxis.

Dd had taxi transport because I have a visual impairment (unable to drive) and a joint disorder (unable to push teenager in wheelchair to the nearest accessible school). What would be your suggestion for saving money here?

This is what it says on our LA website.

Parent/carer not at home

In the event that no one is at home when you return in the afternoon, on no account must a passenger be left alone or with a neighbour.

Prior arrangements with the parents/carers are therefore essential.
•ring the school so that they can contact the parent/carer immediately
•if there are other passengers on the vehicle they should be returned home first and then the vehicle should return
•if there is still no-one at home, contact Customer First on 0808 800 4005 or the police in an emergency

So my DH and I have agreed we will write to the taxi company, copied to the LA, saying this has happened and to re-iterate that small children must not be left on their own. This was in effect a perfect storm situation, as neither the babysitter nor the taxi had contacted me ahead of time to let me know there was a problem. If I had enough, or indeed any notice, I would have been able to call the school, or a friend, or a neighbour, or had the kids brought to me at work. Still can't quite believe it really.

Thanks for all the helpful responses. Sometimes it is hard when something like this happens to work out if you are reasonably or unreasonably upset!

I think because of the seriousness of the issue I would be phoning this morning followed up by a formal complaint in writing. A review of policy and procedure needs to start today!

Sounds like a good plan, OP.

"So my DH and I have agreed we will write to the taxi company, copied to the LA, saying this has happened and to re-iterate that small children must not be left on their own"

In all honestly, depending on the wording of your letter of course, that may not be quite strong enough. I would be making a formal complaint and would be asking the LA what process you need to follow to do that. My experience of councils is that they do nothing unless you go through the proper complaints procedure. I would also copy the school on any correspondance.

Good luck, glad your DC were OK. My 6 year old would have been totally distraught.

Tend to agree with the posters about he taxi company. I would be incredibly concerned that they have left such young children on their own. I haven't read all the comments so I may be repeating others but check the safeguarding policy if it is a council service.

Koala I don't understand the system of taxiing kids to school in the UK (doesn't happen here).

If you are in Australia, it does happen here; at least it used to in NSW where I used to teach. Funding for it may now have been cut.

I don't know the specific circumstances, as I was never personally involved with a child getting taxis, but I know it happened several times in different schools at which I taught.

I don't think you should write to the taxi firm in the first instance. The LA contracts them and is responsible for enforcing the safeguarding policy you quote.

I agree that you need to make formal complaint to the LEA. YOU and your children were lucky it all worked out .......the next child this happens to may not be so fortunate.

I think you should contact your local authority directly. There should be a number you ring for transport issues.

Surely any reasonable adult makes sure the person their dropping off is safe before driving off. I do with my adult friends let alone a child. Common sense would tell you this.
I'm really surprised he left them alone.

Are you going to say/do anything with the babysitter too? If your babysitter could have made contact with you earlier to let you know they were delayed, you could have made contact with the taxi company earlier and it wouldn't have been an issue either.

I'd have to have words with the babysitter to say that if they are in anyway delayed (even by just a few minutes, not the 20 or so in this instance) they are to make contact with you so you have options. By not getting in touch, they removed those options from you in the above instance.

Another one gobsmacked at all the it's not the taxi drivers fault responses.

The taxi service is contracted by the local authority and there will be procedures in place. They are paid to offer this service. Schools contracts are lucrative. It is a major safeguarding fail. Something has gone badly wrong and they have not communicated the procedures to the driver or he has ignored it.

I'm sure you will op but please complain to the local authority. I'd also make the school aware. You were very lucky the next child may not be.

My mum used to teach at a school where all children had to be taxied in. The children had SEN and couldn't attend local schools so had free transport to the one specialist school in the borough. She tells a tale of the taxi pulling up at one house and they had moved without telling anyone. Should the taxi driver have left a child with complex SEN functioning at the level of a baby alone outside an empty property. No the procedures kicked in and the child was safely delivered to his parent. The thought that posters think it acceptable to dump 5 year olds or not verbal tube fed wheelchair dependent children on a doorstep is unbelievable.

With the best will in the world things happen. The parent/adult inside the house could have died or taken ill. They could have had a car accident on the way home to meet the taxi. They could be stuck on the tube due to a terrorist attack. That's why there are procedures.

I know the handbook we got when DD started school stated what happens if I child is not met. So call parents, call emergency contact last step was head contact social services. It is exactly the same here.

Good luck op it must have been terrifying.

You need to contact with via phone as well, and make a formal complaint via phone and in writing.

To the person bemoaning the use of taxis to and from school. Are you the arsey hoikey mum in my kids playground? My DC has SENs and it is wrongly assumed he gets his taxis paid for. He doesn't. I pay. Every time we need one and I often walk anyway.

Furthermore I wouldn't begrudge someone who did have theirs paid for anyway.

OP. I honestly don't know. Do they not have an escort with them when travelling? I do think there needs to be clearer communication between you and the taxi company. The babysitter also.

As far as I understand "Safeguarding" everyone is legally responsible to show a duty of care to any child - dumping reception age children on a doorstep wouldn't really be following this! As much as I feel for the taxi driver, duty of care dictates that you shouldn't do this!

I would defintely complain. That is disgusting! School transport should NEVER just leave small children on their own. The person meeting them could be delayed/incapacitated for any reason and here should be a handover. If you left young children on their own like that social services would be involved so it certainly isn't acceptable for a council run school transport service to do it. COMPLAIN! It could easily happen again it to another child and the results could be awful if something were to happen. Can't believe lots of people are saying this is ok!

For goodness sake! Your children are your responsibility - please stop blaming everyone else. How do you manage to get a free taxi to take your children to school just because you moved out of the catchment area? I take it you don't live in London where you have to go to the nearest school with a space if you don't meet the admissions criteria for any of your preference schools as they will probably be well over-subscribed. This could be miles away - primary children regularly have to travel 3 or more miles to school. I had to give up work to look after my children with no free nursery places at the time! Do you not have neighbours who you could have called to ask them to keep an eye until the babysitter arrived?

Read the thread. It's all there. I could and would have made arrangements had I known. I moved into a catchment area not out. And we are a forces family so it happens. My babysitter didn't let me know she wasn't there and the taxi dropped them anyway. I do know my children are my responsibility. How condescending.

Wtf sue woo - are you aware it is the LEA's legal responsibility to provide transport for children forced to go to a school more than 2 miles away?

OP would much prefer to send her kids to the catchment school but there is no space. RTFT.

LEA contracted transport also have legal duties regarding safeguarding. If your kids travelled on a school minibus presumably you'd like the statutory safeguards to be in place? This is the same.

It was like this. We moved in. We filled in the form stating our 3 preferences. No 1 was the school next door. The county policy is that if you are sent to a school which is a) not your preferred school and b) more than 3 miles away, you are entitled to transport. That is how we got the taxi. We followed the county council procedure properly and were awarded it according to the county council policy. Our second child we pay for, on the discretionary seats policy. We avail of what we are entitled to. Nothing more.

MammaTJ I think it is wrong that our tax money is wasted on taxis.

We should have decent town planning to ensure that there are enough schools in the right areas. Just sorting that out could also reduce the impact of school run traffic, reduce the amount of people needing to bus in and maybe help community spirit if all the kids in the same area got into the same school.

It isn't rocket science, planning departments are failing and wasting our money.

Why not buy some buses for the kids who need to travel to specialist schools and employ properly vetted compassionate people to drive them? It's got to be preferable and cheaper than out sourcing.

I suspect outsourcing is in fact far cheaper. LEAs control school transport costs. Where it is more efficient to use coaches then coaches are hired. But it's obviously hugely inefficient to transport one child on a coach if they're living in a location where no other kid entitled to transport lives, so taxis are used.

Or do you think councils should buy coaches, employ drivers, maintain them etc, while they stand unused 70% of the year?

You'd love me by the way - London commuter belt, house worth £1.5m massive mortgage, able-bodied NT teenagers, household income £100k. And receiving free home to school transport