School bus: am I in cloud cuckoo land?

[partystress]

We live in Bucks, where they still have 11+. We are in a village, 7 miles from the nearest school, which is mixed and the only in-catchment option if you fail the 11+.

If you pass, there are 2 grammars in catchment, both in Aylesbury, about 14 miles away. One is single sex, one mixed. From where we live, the single sex is closer by about a mile.

Council have decided to save money by withdrawing free transport to any but your "nearest appropriate school", which means the nearest grammar if you pass, or the comp if you don't.

DS chose the single sex, so no worries there. But if DD passes next year, she will want to go to the mixed and that wil cost us £720 pa for the bus. People living the other side of Aylesbury will be in opposite position - they'll go free to the mixed and have to pay for the single sex.

I find this completely outrageous. These are state schools, for which we are in the catchment area. Why should a parent with no money worries be able to give their child free choice between single sex and mixed, while a family like ours would have to think really hard about whether we could afford one of the options?

Quite apart from the question of denying the choice of single sex/mixed, the schools have different specialisms, so the more arts-based school now effectively comes with a price tag, while science-based is free.

I don't want to get into a discussion about merits of 11+ (we lived here long before DCs came) and I know it is grossly unfair that the children who don't pass don't get any choice of school at all, but before I start campaigning, just wanted a reality check on whether having to pay £1,000 (which is what it equates to in pre-tax income) to go to your state, catchment area school is as appalling as I think it is.

I hope no councils are seriously considering removing transport for children with disabilities. They are required by law to provide free transport if the child is unable to walk to school due to SEN, disability or mobility problems.

I don't doubt that some people come up with such ideas, especially when consultations are going on about saving money. However, the entitlement to free school transport is laid down in law. It would need a new Act of Parliament to change this. I may be wrong but I doubt that the government would even propose making such changes, let alone succeed in actually doing so.

I can, however, imagine them trying to open up new methods of delivering school transport. This could, of course, lead to scare campaigns by existing providers with allegations that some parents will lose out, which may or may not be true. However, that is pure speculation on my part. If the government does bring forward changes I will judge them on their merits. I will certainly be against any proposal that would reduce the entitlement of children with SEN, disability or mobility problems.

I can't quite work it out - are you saying that your DD could go to a nearer school, and they'd pay for her to go to that one, but that she wants to go to another school slightly further off, and the council won't pay for that?

I can see why you're rather annoyed by it in your case, but presumably there are situations where giving people free transport to any school they wanted would make it much more expensive for the council?

Here in Essex, there are very few grammars, but my DD got a place at one. We pay £800 / year for her to ride the bus there (about 16 miles). I don't mind that so much, but TBH, it irks me that almost all the children who travel on the bus with her go to the Catholic secondary next door to her grammar and they only pay £30/month term time. How is that fair?

DarthNiqabi - I'm afraid your understanding of the law is incorrect. It doesn't help that the version of the Education Act 1996 which appears on www.legislation.gov.uk is out of date and doesn't include a number of important amendments. The law as it currently stands very definitely DOES treat SEN children differently from other children with regards to free transport.

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 section 77 inserted section 508B into the 1996 Act. This states that LAs MUST make such travel arrangements as they consider necessary to ensure that suitable home to school travel is available free of charge to eligible children. Eligible children are defined in schedule 35B (also inserted by the 2006 Act, schedule 8) and include:

• children with SEN, disabled children and children with mobility problems who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school

• children who live more than the statutory walking distance from the school

• children who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because of the nature of the route

In all of the above cases the child is only eligible if there is no place available at a suitable school nearer the child's home.

Schedule 35B also stipulates that children receiving free school meals or where a parent is receiving the maximum working tax credit have additional entitlements to free transport.

Section 508B stipulates that travel arrangements can only include arrangements made by the parent if the parent makes those arrangements voluntarily. So stating that free transport will not be provided to families that own a car would be a clear breach of the law.

The current wording of section 444 as amended by section 82 of the 2006 Act makes it clear that parents cannot be convicted of failing to send their child to school if the LA has failed to meet its duty to provide free transport under section 508B.

I therefore stand by my statement that councils cannot withdraw free transport for children with SEN, disability or mobility problems unless the government changes the law.

For clarity, the list currently includes 1,294 statutory duties currently placed on local authorities. It is not an exhaustive list purely because the work of identifying all the duties is not yet complete. The goal, as I understand it, is to establish a full list of the duties placed on local authorities and to decide which of these are no longer needed and could be removed.

The presence of a duty on this list simply means that the duty exists. It does not mean that the government is proposing to remove the duty. For example, the list includes the LA's duty to appoint and pay coroners, the duty to issue disabled badges for cars and the duty to put up signs to indicate speed limits. I can't see any of those being abolished.

I would encourage you to respond to the consultation with any concerns. Send an email to [email protected] with the subject Statutory duties.

I am in Bucks too but we will have to pay for transport for any school we chose. We are hoping for AGS for DS

At least you have a choice!

By the Sea

You ask about the difference in cost for faith school children - I may be able to provide some insight.

In our county, much of the capital funding for the school buildings is was provided by the catholic feeder parishes. The parishes continue to provide a fairly substantial amount of money to assist with the running of the schools. I think that is historically why the county council has been providing free transport to the nearest faith school.

Most parishioners donate to their parish on a regular basis. My husband who is a catholic pays around £50pcm to his parish. He has done for years and will continue to after the children have left school. Admittedly, not all the money he pays goes to the school however, over the years it probably evens out.

Olipolly - how does that work then that you have to pay regardless of which school you choose? Are you less than 3 miles from an "appropriate" school? Am beginning to think I was in cloud cuckoo land after all given what some other people might lose, but still feel v angry that our generation of kids are paying the price in every way (transport, jobs, uni costs, no mortgages, child benefit cuts etc etc) when so many of the root causes of the problems we face remain unaddressed.

Not all county councils provide free travel to faith schools.
I have 2 sons. the oldest is in a sen school which is about 7 miles away. He gets free transport on an escorted bus.
My younger son is in a catholic secondary school which is about 9 miles away. There is no free transport and he gets the train which i pay for via a season ticket.

I'm afraid the LA is only required to provide free travel to faith schools for children receiving free school meals or where one of the parents is receiving the maximum working tax credit. Even then they only have to provide transport to the nearest school of the appropriate faith with a place available provided it is between two miles and 15 miles from the child's home.