To think the 3 mile rule for school transport is unfair and not fit for the current time?

[WellThatsMeScrewed]

My eldest does not get transport to her secondary school because we live 2.89 miles away from her secondary school. Supposedly she can walk this.

It would involve crossing 3 lots of dual carriageways, walking along a unlit busy road.

It’s just not fair.

The 3 mile rule is from some archaic time where there was hardly any traffic.

Quality!! Thats exactly where they will go lol

Are they crossing the dual carriageway at traffic lights? Does the unlit road have a pavement?
If yes, then it's probably feasible, especially with torch/headtorch/reflectives in the winter months. Not nice, but doable.
If not then I'd agree it's unsafe. In our area if the route is deemed unsafe (by the council, not the parents mind!) transport is provided.

You can still apply for it or appeal, we lived 1.5 miles away but got awarded transport due to needing to walk on a 60 mph road with no pavements which we also had to cross twice. The council agreed it was too dangerous for the children.

Its a senior school - big girl now.
Bicycle or walk.
Local Authorities have enough to pay for.

@SpeakingMyThoughts so you’d let an 11 year old walk down busy roads with no pavement? Idiocy are the thoughts you are speaking.

Ah, and there’s one that would send kiddies down the mines 🤣🤣

@Skinnermarink absolutely. Let them play chicken on dual carriageways if it saves the LA 50 quid 😂🤔

It’s your child and yes I would train the child.
it’s a parents ongoing duty and responsibility to train the child and not leave everything to the LA.
Surely you knew this when you moved to the area. Perhaps you just need to walk with the child. The sooner and earlier you start training the better.
Been there done that, yes I lived miles from schools. Not easy being a Mum.

your latest post sounds pretty garbled but…. ‘Train the child’ to do what exactly? Yes there’s an element of teaching road safety as all children should be but to ‘train’ them to walk on a dangerous/unlit/unpaved stretch of road at 11, at the mercy of the elements and speeding/careless drivers… seriously, think on.

it’s not easy being a PARENT. It’s not the mum’s sole responsibility to shoulder this if it’s a two parent family.

Do you walk two miles a day in the dark down unlit roads and across unsafe dual carriageways?

As you say you "opted" for the school 2.2 miles away I presume you were refused transport because it isn't your catchment school?

you are entitled to free transport to your nearest school, catchment or not. Our council tried to remove bus passes to the catchment school one year that that the other one 0.1 of a mile closer was undersubscribed by 2 or something.

We can now get free transport to either.

i don’t know how they were going to fit the 20 kids they tried to refuse transport into the 2 places 😂😂🤷🏻‍♀️

3 miles is too far to walk at the start and end of the school day especially carrying heavy bags, sports equipment, food tech items etc then add it gets dark in winter at 4pm , rain or a very hot day, walking in school shoes and roads that may not be suitable for pedestrians. YANBU.
I'm currently on a 3 mile dog walk wearing trainers, no issues but 3 miles is too far to walk to school imo. If there's good bus service then clearly thats an.option but its expensive in our LA school bus passes are £450 pa so not an insignificant amount especially if you have.more than one child and walking isn't an option.

@Skinnermarink there are roads local to I would not walk along at rush hour as they are too dangerous. So what am I training my child in exactly?

What on earth do teachers have to do with school transport? Do you really think they have any say in it whatsoever?

It really depends where it is as well, and what other alternatives exist closer. I do agree with posters saying you should appeal, however, on the basis of safety

That wasn’t me, I was disagreeing with another poster.

@Teateaandmoretea the poster you need to direct your comment to is speakingmythoughts

Ok change of mind!
I agree the amount of sport kit some schools want children to bring would be prohibitive on a 3 mile walk to and from school.
id forgotten about the kit. My children had lockers at school and didn’t bring home too much. When it did come it was stinking.

There will be & it is called a school bus.
That is exactly what the child is not being allowed to access because of an out of date rule.
Transport should be given based on the safety of the route they would need to walk to get to their school as well as distance.

Safety of route is part of the criteria.

It is 2 or 3 miles (by age) by safe walking route

Posters have been saying that from the very start of the thread, and urging OP to challenge the council about provision for her route - especially the unlit sections and any main roads which do not have safe crossing points

This happened in our village too.

Dotjones are you on glue or something?! I would NOT want my 11 yo crossing dual carriageways. Cars drive fucking insane on the ones round here (or anywhere) and are generally not expecting pedestrians to cross. In a group, 11/12/13 yos are liable to be chatting and distracted - singly, they might be more careful but similarly might be on their phones. Or do you think that if the weak and foolish are wiped out on their walks to and from school, it'll learn the remaining ones?

No. Way.

I live on one side of a fence that's on the 'right' side of the 3 mile rule - my neighbour is on the other side! She had to fight the LA for months to get a bus pass for her DD. We live in a small village, there are no 'safe' roads or pathways all the way to the nearest secondary school, which is indeed exactly 3 miles from me and about 3 miles minus 15 yards for my neighbour. She had to film walking it - along very narrow verges that were usually overgrown with 60mph traffic alongside, on unlit cross-field footpaths (in fact the majority of roads were unlit) and along one stretch of road with no pavement at all. She did get it eventually but we were furious that the LA couldn't see that this route was not practicable. Agree with everything the OP says about it being an outmoded rule.

Perhaps when OP moved to the area she reasonably thought her LA would comply with the law and provide home to school transport.