AIBU to expect school transport?

[mumof3boys33]

This has made me annoyed. So AIBU?
We live in 3 miles from our local village school. It is the school of the village in our address. There is a slightly nearer school but it is not our catchment school and also across the border in a different county.
When the children at the school reach year 7 they automatically move up to the nearby secondary school. It is our catchment secondary school. There are various school buses picking up at various places. My oldest 2 get picked up at on our front drive and taken the 7.5 miles to school (obviously picking up lots more children on the way) We do have a nearer secondary school that is not our catchment school as it is across the border, it is only 4 miles away. No transport is provided as the buses don't cross the border. Which is fair enough. Hence attending the catchment school. In our county.
Anyway, my oldest has been offered his 6th form place at the school he's attended for 5 years along with his friends. I applied for a place on the school bus, I know I have to pay £230 a term for this bus, but assumed he would get the bus as usual. I received a letter saying he cannot get on the bus as the school over the border is nearer. I must admit I was not expecting this to happen. So I appealed. Appeal turned down.
AIBU to be angry? It means I have drive 150 miles a week on a journey the bus is doing anyway. It will still be reversing up my drive to pick up the other child. It seems bonkers to me. Why should he change schools? Why should another council school him when we pay tax to our council? It's madness. They say he can cycle the 4 miles to the other school (on a very busy main road) or obviously I take him. The primary school is the same direction as the current secondary (5 miles further on) so if I do have to drive then it doesn't make much difference fuel wise which school. But I still think it's madness.

Compulsory education is up to 18 now Melody

I can see your point but younger children should be prioritised. Why can't 16 year olds make their own way to school? They're not babies anymore. Then again, it's a frustrating situation.

I live in the back of beyond and our only option is to pay for 6th formers to use the designated school bus. I have a ridiculous situation with 3 children all compulsorily in education at the same school 8 miles away. No safe cycle route, all having no option but to use school bus (or me) to get there. Two travel free, one does not on exactly the same bus.

storm true, but I would imagine that the people making these decisions don't give a stuff about the individuals. Their thought it 'school is compulsory so we'll help them get to the closest school but not their preferred school'. It's rubbish because surely that same thinking would have applied from years 7-11 too.

OP, I doubt your son is the only one in this position, could you search out other parents and either share the cost of a taxi or do a carpool to share the driving?

WOAH - no longer compulsory school age?
Have you all had your head in the sand for the last few years?

It is compulsory for all kids to stay on at school or further education or training until 18.

YANBU OP, and as for the pp who are saying 'don't have kids if you aren't' prepared to drive them to school'
you obviously don't live in a rural setting!

It is perfectly sensible to assume that a school bus that has taken him from 11-16 will continue to take him from 16-18, at the same school, which is the catchment school.

The fact that sixth formers have to pay is to my mind an absolute scandal. Great idea, charge kids who have no alternative, as no bus service in rural areas, and who are required by law to go to full time education, yep, easy way of saving money, charge them for the school bus.
Yet another way rural families get the short straw.

It's even dafter for us as the technically nearest school is pretty much next to the one we use, both are 'catchment '. Children get on & off at the same stop for both schools, so it's not even as if our further by a few feet school entails a longer journey. You have to laugh

transport for 6th form isn't a given.

Which is annoying given that the expectation is not being a NEET until 18. Ideally, transport would cover suitable rather than just nearest placements.

See it's not just about staying on at any school post 16, it is not unreasonable to expect him to want to stay on at his current school. It's also unreasonable to expect him to change schools cross county for the sake of a bus. A bus which is picking up his younger siblings anyway. This screams 'computer says no' rather than applying any common sense. That said councils have so little money they are having to act like bastards to balance the books.

Why can't sixth formers make their own way to school?

How?

No buses, and not safe road to cycle, too young to drive.

The only option is mum or a moped, not great really. I would hate my 16 year old to be driving bad roads on a moped in dark to get to school.

And 17yo making their own way to school is a problem in areas where 17yo pay full adult £7 per day ticket fare. Families scaraping it all together don't automatically get richer the day their year 11 moves into year 12.

councils have so little money they are having to act like bastards to balance the books.

quite!

Facing 5-6 hours a day commuting until we can sell our house because of this. DS at nearest properly suitable secondary special school but definitions of "suitable" don't match what he actually needs.

We have one primary school and one secondary school in our catchment area.My dd will need to travel 21 miles to the nearest 6th form or college.Public transport has decreased to a few buses a day and the subsidised cost is phenomenal(over £2000last year).
I work full time so can't drive her there and worry about the cost and have been saving for a year now with one year to go but may not have enough for the first year.I am not the only one but that doesn't help.I can't afford to move.
Rural schools have already had historical underfunding(better funded schools are only just understanding the reality of what this means).You begin to feel that your child is worth less and their options stunteddue to locality.Yes I chose to have a child but have had no say in the extinction of rural services in the meantime.

maybe it's because it's non compulsory education now
Actually, it is COMPULSORY education now up to 18.

Depends where you are, here it's compulsory up to age 16.

On gov website, only in England
"You can leave school on the last Friday in June if you’ll be 16 by the end of the summer holidays.

You must then do one of the following until you’re 18:

stay in full-time education, for example at a college
start an apprenticeship or traineeship
spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training".
So I guess that means staying in school isn't compulsory and is presumably why the council have withdrawn the bus. Doesn't help though sorry

It's a massive black hole and one parents of children with special needs have been aware of since the meet to be in education or training until 18 have been acutely aware of for some time because the law does not require local authorities to provide transport from 16-18, once you hit 18 they pick up the tab again! I have twins who attend their nearest appropriate schools which are 31 miles in one direction and 8 miles in the other when they get to 16 I hope and pray their nearest appropriate schools are at least in the same direction or even please! The same school. Whatever I know I am actually going to have to give up work because not only am I rural but all the schools I have identified at this point that may take them are also rural! No transport even if I wanted to use it.
Only thing I can suggest is I do know in my county they have something called a spare seat scheme which means they can fill taxis and buses with paying pupils, the rules are you pay and all the time there is a spare seat they will transport, it's not ideal because if all the seats are allocated then your child can't use it but as it's a bus it is likely there will be a spare seat. As someone said above if the bus is going you can pay and they have a spare seat they are not making the best use of council resources.

Good luck.

He's no longer of compulsory school age

he is still of compulsary education age.

No one will be running buses for his mates who are working or doing apprenticeships.

in these circumstances, it is very likely that they will

He could get a moped or better still a push bike - 7 miles shouldn't take a young lad more than 25 minutes. He'll also be as fit as a flea

stupid and dangerous idea, likely a poster who has never experienced cycling on a busy rural road.

Also, at 16 shouldn't he be making decisions and attempting to sort out how he's going to get into school? Have you even asked 'have you made any plans for how you are going to get to school in September?'

if the public transport doesn't exist, then it doesn't exist.

OP, at least you can take him, so thats good.Many families wouldn't have that option.

Are there other locals going to the same sixth form? can you look into the price of sharing a taxi?

I second what another poster says, don't write off public transport just because it doesn't go to you village, it may go some where near by, and only leave a mile or two walk?

And keep complaining, you might still get somewhere.

Confused here... our County will bend over backwards to keep children in catchment including bussing them in 15 miles from a village that's only yards away from a town with a secondary and sixth form but happens to be the other side of the county boundary.

In my county people were getting round the ticky box thing by choice of ALevels.
If the School the LA says is nearer does not offer an Certain A level that your favoured school does, you pick that as one of the a level choices and DS gets to go there, for that reason.

Worth looking into, may not apply in your area.

Some stupid replies on here!
How is a 16 year old supposed to get themselves 7 miles to school and back in winter in the dark afternoons when there is no public transport? Certainly at my dcs school there is nowhere to lock up a bike. A neighbours teen was recently paralysed for life being knocked off her bike .16 years ago when the op's child was born, hone to school transport was provided for sixth formers

I guess the only way I can understand it is if there wouldn't be enough space on the bus for all the sixth formers who wanted to use it OR if it had to pick them all up the route would take too long. Otherwise it seems silly and YANBU.

Get him a moped that's how I got to college at that age. Plus it teaches great road skills for if he learns to drive.

And before anyone says it yes I lived in a rural area

The main road/ no cycling at this age requires clarification. It is an actual non motorway road right? So I call bollocks that it can't be cycled. It's probably safer than windy country roads with blind corners for a cyclist.

Its 4 miles, he's 16, let him cycle ffs! "Its a busy road" and?! Stop mollycoddling him!