Save Essex School Bus Escorts

[cdenyer]

Essex County Council want to cut the escort on the school bus route, leaving children as young as four to fasten their own seat belts for up to a 45 minute journey. It is unreasonable to expect the driver to maintain control and safeguard the wellbeing of 30 primary school age children at the same time as concentrating on driving a large bus through rural roads.

In my case the bus driver will have sole responsibility for up to 30 children to and from school, including my four year old.

We have therefore set up a campaign group to fight against the removal of the escorts. We are gradually gaining momentum and have set up an online petition at:

www.gopetition.com/petition/42967.html

and a facebook group here:

www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_193537257341781&ap=1

We would really appreciate it if you would sign our petition and help us raise the profile of our campaign.

Thanks a lot

Claire

Quite agree. It seems as though Essex County Council haven't really thought this through.

You can't expect the driver to control behaviour either. I find it hard enough with my 3 in the back let alone 30 children.

Normally, I like to assume that a change of policy is designed to improve matters (for instance, improving public transport to and from school, promoting child safety, promoting greener options). However, it would appear that the motive for this change is purely financial.

I couldn't agree more. It is beyond my comprehension how a driver can safely transport up to 30 children between 4-11 with no escort. There must have been a need for the escorts so what has changed apart from the cuts? To be emotive about it they are compromising our childrens' safety for cost savings

As well as removing the escorts they are also going to remove the subsidy for school buses. This means that from 2012 primary school children will be required to pay approx £1600 per year and secondary £1100 per year. The only exceptions to this will be those on low incomes and those meeting statutory requirements (nearest school being more than 2 miles away for primary and 5 miles for secondary). Unlike the escort issue a public consultation is required to remove the subsidy so I would urge you all and everyone you know to write to your local councillor (details of which can be found on the ECC website) and register your objection. The full council meeting to go forward with this is on 22/02/11 so please, please, please get writing. Also, the reason why this isn't being brought in till 2012 is because the Education Act 1996 (I think) says that it is "best practice" to phase any changes in - something the council seem to have completely forgotten on the escort issue.

Oh my - it gets worse. Thanks for pointing this out. We thought that there was more to it. It looks as though we are going to have to up the ante!

Signed

sorry - don't understand. In Essex do pupils get subsidised bus travel at the moment even lesse that the 2 / 5 miles from school?
Why would that be? I don't think anywhere else does it do they (certainly not where we are)?
Escorts a different matter, obviously

Oh - hang on - is it subsidised on "normal" bus services - not subsidised school specific services.

I was just thinking the same thing AL! I'm in semi-rural North Essex and as far as I am aware the children who live the required distance from the nearest school get free travel, and that's it. In fact our public bus service charges ADULT FARE for children if they travel during morning rush hour, so as mine are at independent school I find it cheaper to drive them the ten miles each way than to put them on the public bus. Meanwhile the free school bus goes sailing past us to the state school! If my children were at state school they'd go free beacuse it's over 5 miles away.

scurryfunge - thanks for signing!!!

As I understand it if you live more than the statutory 2 miles away from school (for primary aged children) then this won't affect us as we will still be entitled to free travel. It's only for those who have either decided to go to a school that is further away from the nearest one or those that live within the statutory distance.

However, ALL the escorts will be going so please join our campaign if you don't want to see your child on a school bus with only the driver as supervision. Thanks!!!

My children, from the age of 4, have taken the school bus with only the driver for supervision.

We have never had escorts, didn't even know such a thing existed.

It is sad that you may be about to lose something you value, but I am not aware of any problems on our school buses and I think your children would be fine.

Signed. I am in Essex - I don't need the school buses but it's shocking that the council would put the driver and the children at risk in this way.

Or is this more of Dave's Big Society? Are they hoping a parent will step in and help.

DillyDaydreaming - Thanks for signing!

Essex has upped the limit for junior age children to 3 miles

Perhaps the headteacher can volunteer to escort!

Escorts? Are you joking? Another shamefully wasteful job created by your council. Surely you have taught your child to be able to put on a seatbelt? At 4 they definately have the intelligence to know how to use it. My council doesn't provide silly people like this, and I'm glad, it's just another excuse for molly-coddling.

I live in rural Essex with a child at secondary school, who currently is provided with a free school bus.

There seems to be some misinformation on this thread.

ECC has a statutory obligation to provide free school transport for children in Years 0-3 (over 2 miles) and children in Years 4-11 (3 miles).

They do not have a statutory obligation to provide free transport to faith schools or grammar schools, unless the child qualifies by virtue of coming from a low income family. In future, parents who choose such schools (unless they are the nearest schools anyway) will have to pay the full price. This will affect some children attending my local VA primary. I can't say I regret this too much, as outsiders have been pushing out local village children for years.

Post 16 students do not receive free transport, although transport is sometimes available at a cost. Public transport charges sixth formers full adult prices.

Escorts will no longer be provided, apart from for some SEN pupils, whose needs will have to be assessed. I can see this being a battle ground, as the parents of SEN pupils will have to prove that escorts are needed. They will no longer be provided by default and it will be up to the parents to argue their case.

Daphnedill is right - ECC do not have a statutory obligation to provide free transport however they always have (to those meeting mileage requirements), and I am speaking entirely in relation to faith schools (they introduced a subsidised fee for those travelling to faith secondary schools some years ago but primary travel at the moment is still free).

The reason why transport has always been free to these schools is that the schools are built in the middle of a catchment area e.g. the school my children attend is in Loughton which has a catchment area covering Waltham Abbey, Epping, Theydon Bois, North Weald and Ongar. It has always been beneficial to the Council to build one faith school which can cover as many areas as possible rather than build schools in every town!

Now that money is tight they are reneging on their traditional agreements with dioceses to provide free transport and although this decision is subject to consultation it would appear that they consider it a fait accompli (referring to the copy of Essex Works which popped through my letter box yesterday) and the consultation is not worth a dime - so much for local democracy.

I shall now be petitioning for a catholic school to be built in Waltham Abbey so that I can walk my children to school, now wouldn't that be novel! How far do you think I'm going to get????

Latest news on Escorts: Cllr Castle (portfolio holder) has reviewed all routes and has "identifed additional funds" to cover escorts on routes that meet the following criteria:-

· Health & Safety issues arising from Risk Assessment

· Normal journey times of one hour or more

· Number of eligible pupils of 25 or more

· Double Decker Buses ? reduced from 2 escorts to 1

Where Escorts have been removed schools can appeal and be granted an extension to their escort provision until the May half term, conditional upon the school confirming that they are willing to provide an escort themselves. Schools have until 11th April to confirm in writing that they wish to do this.

So good news for some, not so good for others.

Well done to everyone who signed petitions, wrote to MPs, Councillors etc. etc. :)

Hello - I'm a reporter on BBC Essex and we're going to be talking about this issue on tomorrow morning's Breakfast programme.

We're currently looking to speak to a parent of a child who will be affected by the removal of the school escorts in Essex.

If you're interested in having a chat please feel free to call me in the studio on 01245 616 066 or drop me an email and I'll call you back immediately to [email protected]

Thanks in advance for your help

Thomas