To ask if anyone else has won a school transport appeal?

[ChrisTrepidation]

My twins will be starting primary in September, just after their 5th birthday.

I have just received a letter to say they have been refused a place on the school bus. The grounds being that we live just under the 2 miles from school cut off point. If we lived at the other end of the street they'd have been fine.

The only available route from my village to the schools is along a country road. The road is national speed limit, unlit and in places had a path so narrow and worn that you have to walk in single file. It also has overgrown bushes that require you to step into the road in places.

I will be appealing on the basis that the route is unsafe. However I'm seriously worried about what we are going to do if it fails. I don't drive (failed my test three times this year. I'm just useless) and the public transport in our village is hideously unreliable.

Has anybody here successfully won and appeal and if so how did you word it? I need to get this right!

bike?

That’s not a helpful suggestion for a mum of 5 year old twins who lives along a national speed limit road with obstructed footpaths is it.

@Carryonkeepinggoing i dunno , I guess homeschool then

OP I think you should put in the info about the public transport being unreliable (do you have any proof ? Are there public records kept of buses being on time/late? Or at a timetable showing the public bus is too infrequent to be practical. Take photographs of the obstructed footpaths. Tell them you are working on improving your situation by learning to drive but have not yet succeeded in passing the test.
If they can’t/won’t give you places on the school bus the council might at least trim the bushes to make the route safer.

Get council to trim back bushes, then scooter to school? If the Council won't, take photos and get your local County Councillor on board.

I do feel it’s weird in the uk that parents can choose houses without a safe walking path to their nearest school and then tax payers pick up transport costs for their kids.
You might find it helpful to ring the school for advice.

Push for proper safe sidewalks.

What exactly do you think taxpayer money is supposed to be spent on then?
Not everyone has much choice about where exactly they live. Even fewer people get any choice in which primary school their children get sent to. Keeping footpaths clear and safe is absolutely part of what taxes are for.
It is likely parents are asked to pay someone towards the school bus - it may be the full price, it may be a contribution. It may vary depending on the distance you live from the school.

Ask them if they have a “spare seat” policy where you can get a bus pass but pay for it. Our Local scheme was dismantled sadly after
covid for ridiculous reasons but it might be a thing in your area.

I'm no help at all because I'm in Australia but I would gladly pay more tax so all children could have a school bus pass. Traffic congestion from school traffic is such an issue here in Sydney. If more children caught the bus it would relieve so much congestion and would drastically cut travel time for people driving to work at peak times.

Here there is no minimum distance for K-2 students. From grade 3 (7-9 year olds) the minimum walking distance to qualify for free travel is is 2.3km (1.4miles) or 1.6km (1mile) straight line.

Again not helpful I know, I feel for you OP. My 4.5 year old wouldn't walk that distance twice a day without a fuss. Is the distance you've calculated walking distance or straight line? I'd take photos and highlighting your safety concerns. Does it get flooded, washed out in the rain? Good luck with your appeal.

Of course safe paths are needed and it’s exactly what our taxes should be paid for. What I am talking about is years of free school transport - which I know about because we had a house without a safe walking path and I was surprised to find out in theory we were eligible. I would pay more taxes for more vulnerable children to be educated and fed - but that’s not the criteria. Where we live I have been shocked that a family can choose to live in a £2m pound house without a safe walking path and that makes them eligible for their children to have tax payer funding for private cabs to and from school.

Perhaps public transport was better when OP moved there initially? Perhaps there was a different school closer, but it closed? Bus services have been cut to the bone in a lot of areas, particularly rural ones in the last few years.

We have a guided busway, not too far from us. It no longer runs the full route that it used to. Passengers hate it, as some now have to get two buses, lengthening their journey. Shops in the changeover area have complained as a double decker is parked outside and they can’t be seen.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/controversial-bus-service-cut-rocks-25630420

https://www.wigantoday.net/news/politics/the-wigan-borough-town-where-people-feel-trapped-by-public-transport-4069945

My sister was in a very similar situation she appealed didn’t get anywhere

The rules are you get transport if you live 2.6 miles away from a school in our county . Surely you looked into this when you moved / selected a school?

It's pretty normal here that you have to transport your own children if you don't fit the criteria .

OP I think you should put in the info about the public transport being unreliable (do you have any proof ? Are there public records kept of buses being on time/late? Or at a timetable showing the public bus is too infrequent to be practical. Take photographs of the obstructed footpaths. Tell them you are working on improving your situation by learning to drive but have not yet succeeded in passing the test.
If they can’t/won’t give you places on the school bus the council might at least trim the bushes to make the route safer.

This seems your best bet. If you're emailing it (rather than automated form) then I'd ramp it up. Add in short videos of where the footpath is obstructed/problematic and show how two 5 year olds will be walking on the road, narrate to make it clear. Point out they'll be doing this in the dark come winter.

If you can then provide evidence too of the three failed tests.

And I'd cc your MP. You don't have time to wait on this. People are off on holiday so things go a bit more slowly now. MP may be off too, but at least s/he's made aware of this situation upon return.

As for the "why move to a house you can't get to school from", well, OP obviously planned on driving!

You should be able to ask for a route safety assessment from your Council. It's an established procedure. The officer will come out and walk the route to school with you, and you can point out the unsafe areas. Then they will make a decision about its safety.

Here's an example from Dorset: www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/school-bus-information-and-safety/safety-of-route-between-home-and-school&ved=2ahUKEwj16v_Ji5-AAxUKiVwKHS1UB2AQFnoECBMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0BQmqDWROpCavnr2VlleJJ

Have you been on the council website and read through all the policy's relating to this topic?
All the points in there are what any decision will be based on, chinchilla are really black and white like that, which is useful as you know where you stand... so you need to comb through with a fine toothed comb and pin your argument onto anything relevant in those policies.
In our rural area an unsafe access road would make a difference... I'd also call and speak to the school admissions/transport team, I've often found them to be very supportive and helpful in person, if you call and enquire, speak to them nicely you might be surprised what advice they give on your chances of what doors remain open for you, I've always found the human implementing the policy to be more flexible in attitude than the policy itself, so while they can't break the rules for you they can sympathise and give you helpful insights, often.
Good luck

Chinchilla 🤣🤣🐭
Council that was.

Have they measured correctly?

They are more likely to cut back bushes to enable walking on the pavement, than provide transport.

So focus on any/all safety concerns you have with the walking route to ensure they are covered - is it lit, pavement width, bushes, any grass verge/barriers between children & cars

Under two miles, you won't win an appeal, especially if there is a footpath.

If you are rural, call your local parish clerk now, explain the issue and ask for the bushes to be cut back. It can take a few weeks. Or gain permission to do it yourself.

Then buy your dcs scooters and hi-vis coats. Not lime-green as they are hard to see in sunshine against certain foliage - go for bright pink or pale blue with reflective strips.

Do some practice runs in August to get them used to it.

Then, once started, post in the class Whatsapp group anyone who will give you a lift in return for petrol money.

Reading this list, it does make me wonder what is considered in a safe walking route appeal:

Please note that the following are not taken into account during a route safety walk:

• the parent’s individual circumstances, for instance personal availability to walk with the child or that it may be necessary to walk with younger children or pram
• parental finances
• local weather conditions
• unusual events – such as, road closures, construction work, flooding
• lack of street lighting – the majority of roads in Devon do not have streetlights and lighting is not an issue all year round
• lack of pavements – the lack of a paved footpath is not necessarily a reason to assess a route as unsuitable
• the presence of uncut hedges
• difficult terrain and arduousness of the route
• practicality or the time taken to walk the route

Route safety assessment. The entire road was deemed unsafe so children get picked up at the foot of the drive. 60mph, blind corners, no lighting, no pavements.

DS didn't get a bud pass either but we could buy a ticket every day for a nominal cost. That might be an option if your appeal fails, certainly cheaper than taxi or learning to drive.

As you're right at the beginning of 13 years of school, medium term plan might be to move closer.

Good luck with your appeal.

https://democracy.hants.gov.uk/documents/s16460/Appendix%205%20-%20Road%20Safety%20GB%20Safe%20Walking%20Route%20Criteria.pdf

This is the Guidelines document for Road Safety Assessments for Local Authorities.

It's well worth reading. From your description the route wouldn't be deemed automatically unsafe. It would depend whether you have reasonable line of sight, whether there are 'step offs' (places that you can step off the road if it's busy), whether you could cross the road to get to a more suitable walking area, how busy the road is (one car every 15 seconds is listed as 'reasonable').

Assessments are carried out during term time to mimic a normal school journey.

I think you need to prepare yourself that you may be considered to be their safety factor and that your presence is enough to make the route safe.