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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

AIBU to think that if kids have to stay in further education post 16 then transport should be provided?

40 replies

cookie09 · 10/12/2019 22:00

Just wondering what your thoughts are on this? My twin boys are doing their gcses in the summer (one of them is on SEN) and then will be going onto post 16 because all kids have to now. As it stands the school have their own buses that collect all the kids to get them to school. However at post 16 they are asking me to pay approx £750 per year per CHILD Shock towards the school bus. That for me is £1500 that I don't have spare and for the measly £4.72 I get maintenance off their dad isn't going to touch it. If it is compulsory the government want them to stay on then surely it should be paid for. Any thoughts on the matter?

OP posts:
Genevieva · 10/12/2019 22:20

It is compulsory for 16-18 year olds to be in education or training. It is not compulsory to be in school. With all the other government spending priorities I simply don't see this ever getting anywhere near the top of the list. Money can only be spent once. Luckily you have a year's warning. Perhaps you twins can look into getting Saturday jobs or a newspaper round.

CalleighDoodle · 10/12/2019 22:26

So just under £4 a day each? That does seem high for a bus fare. But amazing it has been free for the last 5 years!

Mthey dont need to stay at school. What about an apprenticeship? Or a different college they can cycle to?

lanthanum · 10/12/2019 22:45

Ask the school whether there are any grants/bursaries to help. I don't know if either link below helps, but I would guess that 16-19 providers may know what is available locally. It might also tell you on the county council site.

www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund
www.gov.uk/subsidised-college-transport-16-19

Ariela · 10/12/2019 23:08

Also look for grants from your local area - a local parish council give a bursary for enabling a local person to continue in education.

bruffin · 10/12/2019 23:14

My DC turned 16 in September of year 11 so still in full time education. They had to pay adult train fares from then on. Once they got to 6th form they were allowed a 3rd off through a council run scheme.That really didn't seem fair at all.

ILikeTrains · 10/12/2019 23:27

I don't understand why students in the capital can get free transport but this gesture isn't extended for the rest of the country. 16 - 18yr olds in London are entitled to a student oyster card which gives them free travel on all London buses and trams and discounted train prices. Why?

Ginfordinner · 10/12/2019 23:39

When DD turned 16 she had a student discount card from our local council so she could get cheap bus fares. Also, do check to see if there is a bursary.

BackforGood · 10/12/2019 23:41

I'm more surprised that it has been free for the last 5 years.
Unless the dc have transport because they have to travel to specialist provision - in which case it should continue until they leave the school - then I'm not sure why parents aren't asked for at least a contribution (if not the full cost) if their dc are transported to school.

SuperficialSuzie · 10/12/2019 23:44

Our village is more than 3 miles from the nearest school so the LA have buses that take the children to the catchment school.

Like you I don't understand why this should stop when they reach 16 if they are forced to stay in education, surely the same duty of care to provide access to education exists?

EBearhug · 10/12/2019 23:46

I agree with this, and so did my parents in the '80s, but they still had to pay for my sister and me to use the school bus in the 6th form, despite there being no public transport or safe walking route. There were many letters to the LEA and council.

prh47bridge · 11/12/2019 00:10

Like you I don't understand why this should stop when they reach 16 if they are forced to stay in education, surely the same duty of care to provide access to education exists?

As others have said, they are not forced to stay in education. Other options are available - apprenticeships, vocational qualifications, traineeships or a job with training. They can also undertake part time training while running their own business, working or volunteering.

Free transport for education is required by law for children of compulsory school age who qualify. Compulsory school age still ends at the end of the year in which the pupil turns 16 (end of Y11 for most pupils) so there is no requirement to provide free transport after that.

Ginfordinner · 11/12/2019 06:58

I have just looked up the travel pass that DD had. We live in South Yorkshire, more than three miles from the nearest shool, so DD has free travel until the end of year 11, and then had a South Yorkshire 16 - 18 travel pass. Using this meant that all fares on buses and trams were 80p and train fares were half price.

Are you sure that your county doesn't have something similar? I would google for 16 - 18 travel pass and see what comes up.

BertieBotts · 11/12/2019 07:03

Kids get it in London because tfl is partly nationalised whereas transport in the rest of the country is private.

SupportHuman · 11/12/2019 07:13

I've long thought this is outrageous tbh.

Fair enough if you're choosing a more distant option when there's something suitable in walking distance.

But that's not the case for many families who live more than 3 miles from the nearest school (I know, unthinkable to those who live in London and think an Uber is the answer to any transport problem).

Our nearest secondary school is 4.5 miles away, in a town that has no safe walking or cycling route (main road with no lighting and no pavements - it is possible to walk along a very muddy footpath through the woods and fields but not to then be in a fit state to go to school!). A return on the bus for an over 16 year old is £6.50 Shock Or there's the school bus, but this doesn't guarantee your child a seat on any given day and leaves before the last 6th form lesson finishes anyway so isn't any use for coming home on!

BlouseAndSkirt · 11/12/2019 07:25

I think it is outrageous that bus fares dictate a choice between A levels or an apprenticeship for struggling families.

School day transport should be free for U 18s.

(Live in London and my kids have always been within walking distance of school).

DonkeyHotty · 11/12/2019 07:34

I agree op. The nearest sixth form is four miles away along a treacherous road. I too will be paying the best part of a thousand pounds for dd to get to school next year.

meditrina · 11/12/2019 07:41

"I don't understand why students in the capital can get free transport but this gesture isn't extended for the rest of the country. 16 - 18yr olds in London are entitled to a student oyster card which gives them free travel on all London buses and trams and discounted train prices. Why?"

Because agreement was reached between the London local authorities (who pay for it all) acting together, through the Mayor these days, and the transport providers.

You need to persuade your local authority to spend as much as London does on this. Different LAs have different spending priorities, and you need to make it clear to councillors (especially when there is a local election) how much this issue matters.

Adding to one area of spending tends to mean cuts elsewhere, as LAs are not awash with spare cash. So in startling your campaign, it might be worth finding out what level of discretionary spending still exists (as it could be switched) or other ways to release more cash so extending child transport discounts can be paid for

TulipCat · 11/12/2019 07:51

It's also much easier in London for school children to just use what transport is already running anyway, ie there is no special bus for school, it's just the regular one that everyone uses. The big cost is laying on transport for the exclusive use of pupils.

Genevieva · 11/12/2019 07:52

Blouse, apprenticeships shouldn't be looked down on. One of my old students from a school I worked in a while ago left at 16 and apprenticed with a local carpenter. He moved on to building roof work and now has a successful local business. he has a mortgage, a wife and two kids and he isn't yet 30. Some of his friends are still living in shared student homes in expensive cities, having done graduate training schemes that have failed to live up to the promise of well paid employment with good career prospects. It is very important to want to do any course you study after GCSEs.

itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted · 11/12/2019 07:52

Transport especially in rural areas to service a number of schools is expensive and shouldn't be free - unless you want to cut a more vital service that is.....

Councils are under enough financial pressure

That's why children shouldn't the allowed to go to schools out of their catchment areas

ColdAsIceCubes · 11/12/2019 07:55

How many 16-18 year olds who have been in specialist provision for their primary and secondary education are going to be able to access apprenticeships? Not very many.

If it is compulsory to attend education or training and the young adult can only access their specialist provision (which are often miles away from the family home) then transport should be provided. The funny thing is here where I live, young adults with SEN and disabilities get transport back at 19 when they enter the adult care sector to attend specialist day centres.

In most cases SEN and disabilities do not change in that 16-18 age bracket, they are not suddenly able to make the journey safely by themselves.

Surfskatefamily · 11/12/2019 07:59

If you are on low income they may qualify for EMA which you could put towards transport costs

I'd suggest buying the ticket monthly as daily is a rip off

ratsnest · 11/12/2019 08:00

Voting Labour might help make this happen!

Thehagonthehillwithtinsel · 11/12/2019 08:06

Our nearest 6 form college is 23 miles away.The bus serves several schools and is full,DD has to leave at 7am and gets back at 6 pm.
It cost £890 for the year and she goes for 4 days.
Apprenticeships around her are very limited unless she wants to be a hairdresser.
Public transport is limited so if she wanted to do an apprenticeship there is no way of getting there.
I am lucky in that there was is a lot of overtime available at work as I couldn't afford it otherwise.

SupportHuman · 11/12/2019 08:29

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted our catchment school is the one my DC go to. It's still nearly five miles away. That is the closest sixth form to our home. The next closest is 24 miles away...

This is what I mean about people living in a city-centric bubble. The families hit hardest by this are the ones who live a considerable distance from any school not the families who have several in walking distance but choose one further away.