All those with long school runs - you do know you might be entitled to council transport don't you?

[Bramshott]

I appreciate that those of us who live in the country need to use our cars more often than those who live in towns and cities, but does everyone who posts about a long school run know that if your kids attend your catchment school (or another school they were allocated by the council, if you put your catchment school first) and it's more than 3 miles away from your home (2 miles if they're under 8), the council are obliged to provide transport for them? My DD goes to school by taxi, and not only is it very, very convenient - she's picked up from the door, and dropped back to the door - it saves me driving 60 miles a week!

Is this not dependent on the LEA in which you live?

It's anywhere in the UK I think. This is from the direct.gov.uk website:

Free school transport
Local authorities must provide transport where they consider it necessary to ensure that a child goes to school. If transport is necessary, then it must be provided free of charge.

In most cases, it?s up to the local authority to decide what transport is necessary. But your child will be automatically entitled to free transport if they:

are between five and 16 years old
and:

attend the nearest suitable school, and the school is further away than the ?statutory walking distance?
The statutory walking distance is:

two miles for pupils aged under eight
three miles for those aged eight and over

The measurement of the 'statutory walking distance' is not necessarily the shortest distance by road. It is measured by the shortest route along which a child, accompanied as necessary, can walk with reasonable safety. As such, the route measured may include footpaths, bridleways and other pathways, as well as recognised roads. If there is no such route, the local authority must provide free transport no matter what distance you live from the school.

OK

I am very ignorant about what comes under the responsibility of an LEA and what is national policy - I just know that the two strands exist

I remember reading somewhere about a couple of LEAs in England where there are no school meals. I was very surprised.

But they are still traveling by car.

Am I missing something? How is this better for environment than you driving them?

I was going to ask the same thing! Though maybe the taxi takes two or three children?

It is possibly slightly better for the environment, because tis quite possible the taxi is passing fairly close, and once they have dropped off the child at school, they can go on to another job without having to go back to the house.

But whether it's better for the environment or not, tis deffo cheaper as you don't have to pay for petrol to take your kids to school, the council sort all that out.

Don't think OP said anything about it being better for the environment - just that it saved her driving?

(it is posted in Ethical Living though, so it maybe goes without saying)

Our LEA is starting charging for this from next term (buses not taxis). I wonder on what basis. Parents are up in arms about it.

It also costs the Council an enormous amount of money - in some LEAs where there are grammar schools it can be a significant proportion of the whole education budget - so although the petrol is free for the parents, it is reflected in higher council tax than otherwise might be the case

Ours provides a mini bus that picks all the children up.
And brings them home.

My only concern is tha the bus drops them off at the front of school and they have to make their own way into school. I would be worried that dds wouldn't get in, probablly irrationally mind!!

Oh yes, sorry, the taxi picks up three other children so four parents are saved the drive, which is why it's greener. Not sure about the council tax thing tbh - I think they should have to provide transport because of all the schools they have closed - if our village school was still open, DD would have to go 2 doors down, as it is, the nearest is 3 miles away.

Our next door neighbour has gone to school by LEA funded taxi for years. Instead of just picking her up and taking her to the school bus stop in the village, it takes her all the way. It doesn't pick up any other children - just her.

I think it's a ridiculous waste of money and resources.

It is worth knowing that the distance only counts from metalled road to the school gate. So if, like many people round here, you live down a track that is a mile long, they expect your DCs to walk up to 4 miles to school. Which seems to me a lot for an 8 year old.
We fall into the same boat as we are just over 2 miles from school (dd is 6), but it is just under 2 miles to the end of our track. Not such a problem for us as 2 miles is fine to cycle.
I also think it is unreasonable that it is considered suitable for a primary school child - even accompanied - to walk along a very busy A road which has no pavement, and in many places not even any walkable verge. (Luckily again we don't fall into that boat - but lots of people who drive to our school do)

Takver - have a read of the link from direct.gov I posted earlier. It sound to me as though your LEA are not applying the guidelines correctly. I agree with you about busy roads, although there are a lot of kids at DD's school who are driven "because the road's aren't safe", when talking about country lanes. I think to a certain extent as a country we have forgotten how to walk safely along roads without a pavement - so many people walk on the left rather than the right for example - and then because few people do, car drivers don't get used to looking out for pedestrians, and it becomes a self-fulfulling prophecy.

Takver - have a read of the link from direct.gov I posted earlier. It sound to me as though your LEA are not applying the guidelines correctly. I agree with you about busy roads, although there are a lot of kids at DD's school who are driven "because the roads aren't safe", when talking about country lanes. I think to a certain extent as a country we have forgotten how to walk safely along roads without a pavement - so many people walk on the left rather than the right for example - and then because few people do, car drivers don't get used to looking out for pedestrians, and it becomes a self-fulfulling prophecy.

Oops, thought I had managed to correct that sneaky apostrophe on roads before it posted!

Its good that the council provide the service, however itsnot something i'd use with a small child. I like to see DS safely inside myself. I imagine other parents still use their own cars for this reason.