If you live rural

[CookieDoughKid]

I live rural and have been provided a school bus pass for DD starting in year 7 this Sept. We live 2 miles from nearest school bus stop. There are no footpaths and it's national speed limit all the way, with few public lights. There are grass verges either side though. Would the local authority deem this route unsafe?

I have found this on Dorset's website, it seems to detail the national guidance.

www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/education-and-training/school-transport/safety-of-route-between-home-and-school.aspx#walkedrouteassessmentguidance

From that, it seems they might not. (I presume other councils will apply similar guidance)

Thanks Unicorn . I tried to find on our local council site but it only listed things they wouldn't consider. Lack of lighting is not a factor for example. Just wanted to see folks experience before I appeal.

I'm years away from this but we live rurally, on a farm down a national speed limit lane. Our neighbour's kids walk about 2 miles to get their bus... all the kids in the area have a similar trip. The bus only picks up at the edge of the village. The lanes aren't lit and it's high hedgerow with no verges.

Don't know if anyone has ever appealed it.

I don’t know anything about the guidelines but we are rural - local parents all drive their secondary aged kids to various centralised pick up points. There are no pavements or street lights here and large gaps (ie fields) between houses - I would not have wanted my year 7 DC to have walked this in winter - the bus leaves our village at 7.20 so still dark in winter.

When I appealed at primary (not possible to walk with a pram to catchment school as route was along an A road with no pavement)- they agreed a taxi to pick up DC at 7.30 for the 5 min car journey to school - I caved at that point and took DC to school myself.

The mini bus came to our village. Two miles from the nearest school but it was considered unsafe for DC to walk. No footpath and steep banks. No grass verges. No lighting. National speed limit. Does the council not do a route for buses? New stop near you?

This was me 10 years ago. School bus picked up very much like you described.

There was an accident in a neighbouring county. A secondary school child was walking home from the bus stop in the same conditions and was hit by a van. It was 4pm, dark evening with poor visibility.

I contacted transport team and asked for a safety assessment. They came out and deemed a child walking two miles on a busy road, national speed limit and without pavement wasn't safe.

We had a door to door taxi for 7 years.

The beginning of every year we a fight, it was constantly cancelled. I used to call the school to say transport hadn't turned up and let them contact the transport team. Schools seem to have more clout when a child is absent because they weren't picked up.

Thanks all, very helpful. I am going to appeal and I'll update when I learn more!!

Our local authority provide a taxi service. You need to appeal. Say that you can't drop off and pick up.

Rural Scotland here. My kids’ school was 17 miles away in the nearest town. The school gave passes for the local buses to villages, and a minibus went round outlying farms, dropping kids at the end of their private farm tracks. As far as I recall, no kids had to walk miles down busy roads with no pavements.
Definitely contact the school or your local authority for a proper risk assessment, and quote any accident cases as precedent, OP.

Just an update to say the Transport council will provide a taxi from home to school bus stop (2 miles). So I'm happy with the outcome!

That’s good. No child should be walking on that to school x

That’s interesting. I have yet to learn where the bus pick up point is for DD in September but it will definitely be somewhere along an unlit national limit single lane road. The bus goes past the end of our drive but apparently it won’t let her off there which seems daft.