School transpor sutiability / appeal

Strapped

I live in a rural area. It's common for kids to come to school by taxi, sometimes alone. Re. pick up/drop off, the driver takes them in in the morning, and a TA walks them out to the car after school. It's the same drivers each day. Fortunately, it's not something I've had to worry about, being within walking distance of the village school, but I think that I would be OK with it now (DS is 6) although I'd probably have driven him myself initially if he had had to travel tbh at age 4/5.

moggylover

Well, am still waiting to see just why the child is to be sent to a school outside of the catchment area before I judge the council!

I had already been and enrolled my son in our local school well before school age in order to see what it was like. That it was not the school I had envisaged when I bought my house was down to the fact that the one here in the village was closed down when my son was 2.5years old - so I started looking for the next nearest - which was only just over 3 miles from home, and which I accepted responsibility for getting my son to.

I have to be honest and say that as far as I am concerned, once you have a child it is your responsibility to get them to school! If the nearest school is further than 3 miles away, then the Council usually does provide transport - although part of me says that one would have know this before giving birth and could have chosen to move nearer to a school:D . Now I know this is not always possible in rural areas (I live in one myself) but I personally do not think that even here it is the Councils RESPONSIBILITY to transport the children (even though it is in law I do not accept that it morally is) and I am very grateful that they do so for the secondary schools here.

Unless we know WHY the child has to attend a school outside the catchment area, (i.e. whether it was because of some requirement of the Op or just that the local schools were over-subscribed) and indeed, whether the op has transport - then any comments are only going to be made on assumptions and thus may have no relevance to the situation.

duchy

So why not drive your child to school yourself until you deam them old enough to go alone with a CRB taxi driver.
Is this your first child and could you be suffering a bit of seperation anxiety though ?

ekkygirl

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=13993315

OP does not answer any questions that will poke holes in her "poor me" story. I now think the whole think is a wind up

bestpud

silvercar wrote: »

If they provide a driver who is enhanced-CRB cleared and trained for the role, the council can't really do anymore, as far as the driver is concerned. I accept that people won't be on the offenders register until caught, but that applies to all walks of life - someone isn't a murderer until they kill someone.

So the question is whether it is "suitable" to allow one CRB checked individual to take children to school ie a journey of say 20-30 minutes where the child will be met at each end.

I don't know whether having another stranger in the car would make it more acceptable. Round here, the contract for the school runs would go out and it would be the taxi company's job to find an escort (obviously they would be CRB checked). Usually, though not always, the escort will be someone known to one of the taxi firm's drivers. Whether a parent would feel happier entrusting their child to two CRB checked strangers who know each other rather than one, I couldn't say. The council could say driver + escort = "suitable". Whether a parent would find it suitable or not is upto the individual.

(Another point, the escort could of course be male. We think of a male driver + female escort, this won't necessarily be the case, and a parent wouldn't be able to demand that.)

I agree.

I was making a general point about councils not always making correct, or indeed lawful decisions. In other words, I would always query their decisions if I felt them to be wrong, iyswim?

bestpud

moggylover wrote: »

Well, am still waiting to see just why the child is to be sent to a school outside of the catchment area before I judge the council!

Me too!

I've asked at least twice and cannot get an answer.

I know in my area, they will only transport children to their catchment school if it is over two miles away, or another school if there are reasons for the child needing to go there.

That is basically sen, looked after children or religion.

And, while they provide transport for the faith schools, the parents have to pay a contribution. I'm not sure about the sen transport. It's free for looked after children and the older ones travel in a taxi alone, but I've never seen younger children without an escort.

BernadetteN

Becles wrote: »

I could understand that if I'd chosen the Catholic secondary school on a whime after he'd been in a non-religious primary school. It just seemed harsh when he's been in feeder school since 3 and joined in all the Church activities and the transition period, so continuity in his education is important to us.

I did ask if I could pay for him to go on the school bus, but some dragon at the LEA bit my head off as apparantly that is discrimination against low income families

As a previous resident of a region where there is alot of families on a low income, I cannot understand the perceived discrimination in allowing a non Catholic child attending a Catholic child by choice to pay to go on the school bus. The local Catholic school in East Kent is St Edmund's Dover which has at least 25% of children who are not Catholics. Those children over 3 miles do not of course get free transport but have the option of paying for the school bus. It's just plain maths, filling the extra spaces on the bus with paying passengers (something like £500 a year) and I can't see where the discrimination comes in at all as those on a low income would probably struggle to pay for local buses and the school bus. If this policy were not in place in East Kent, then many of the non Catholic children would not even be able to get to this school unless they were driven there as the local bus services are not exactly plentiful in that part of the world and that's just not very good for the environment.

shays_mum

Is there no way you can organise a school run with other parents/grandparents etc?, goodluck as a mum of little ones i know how you feel!, i would'nt want my little one to go with a stranger, so i left f/t work & arrange a run with 2 other mums, we all work p/t to cover it all!

kissmeimposh

To answer some of your questions, the allocaion was due to no capacity at any of the nearest preferred schools requested by the parents. The Council chose the more distant school. With the allocation the Council assured that there would be transport provided. There was no indication of the remotest prospect that it would be in the form of a very young child travelling alone in a taxi, or that any such practice exists. It now transpires that not a single other child at the school arrives by taxi, and they do not have any experience with taxi services at all let alone with lone students. It would be dangerous for the taxi to enter the school at drop off and pick-up times as the access area would be crowded with children and there is no facility for that. We recieved details of the taxi company contact and when phoning to speak to him he declined to identify himself initially (not very comforting!) and I had to prove to his satisfaction why I was asking for him before he would speak with me at all. There is no prospect of sharing a schoolrun with other parents in this csae as no other pupils live near and it would be far out of their way to come to our house. We do not feel that in the circumstances we should sacrifice confidence in the safety of our child in order to
CRB check in this case is virtually worthless. It could be helpful if the person checked was working in a setting where there are other staff and students generally, such as in a school premises. But not where the entire activity entails being all alone with the child all of the time, with access to being able to take them elsewhere on a whim, and where the activity is just a minor-side job of the driver anyway. The Council misled the parents, misjudged the transport availability and now cannot rely on their desire to save money by giving a small child an inappropriate transport option or expecting the parents to settle for having to do the function of the Council's legal responsibility. Few parents would allow their child to spend time in an empty school all alone with a teacher, even if they could know when and where they were together. Fewer would allow their child to travel alone in a taxi which could divert course and would be subject to an undetermined replacement driver at any time.

silvercar

From what you say, your child is the only one in your area to be sent to this school; all the other children of the same age havebeen allocated places in the local area? This in itself seems unfair. Have you thought of appealing for a place at a local school?

If no child has ever arrived by taxi, I would ask for a health and safety assessment of how the child will be dropped off and collected safely. Most infant schools only release the children when their collector is in sight. Apart from your concerns about the driver, you would want the transport team to confirm that they have instructed the driver that he has to park and walk into school. I know this might sound a small issue, but I have been involved in a situation where a coach parked in the road and the driver and escort refused to leave the coach (not their job) at the same time the teachers were not allowed to cross the boundary of the school premises. Until the issue was resolved, some 6 months later, parents were driving upto school on a rota basis to supervise the children walking 100 yards down the road! I know this is not the main issue for you, but it is a point where there provision could fall down.

The Council misled the parentsonly you, if your child is the only one affected, misjudged the transport availability No, they are just trying to save money by not providing an escortand now cannot rely on their desire to save money by giving a small child an inappropriate transport option they have deemed it appropriate, you have not; does not mean it is or it isn't.or expecting the parents to settle for having to do the function of the Council's legal responsibility.No, it is your responsiblilty to take you child to school, they have an obligation to provide transport. If they allowed you to travel with the taxi for example, they would be fulfilling their responsibility.

Years ago, I was entitled to the transport costs of taking my children to school as there was no transport available and I was within the rules for the council to provide transport. The council paid a mileage allowance, something like 8p a mile, which then covered only a little bit more than petrol costs. The council paid for only the journey to school in the morning and the return from school each afternoon ie one round trip a day. They said their obligation was to transport the child and there was no obligation to pay for the parent/ driver to return home. This was also no recognition of the time this took.

I think you have exagerated the councils obligation. Due to distance they are obliged to provide transport, they do not have to pay you to look after your own child.

In the current situation, allowing you to travel with your child in the taxi would alleviate your concerns and fulfill their obligations. If you child is the only one in the taxi, there is room for this to happen.