travel to school - rules

Spendless

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I'm a bit puzzled as to why you need to pay for 4 journeys a day - have I missed something?

2 buses there, 2 buses back home.

Our LA have the same policy if you CHOOSE to send your child to a school more than 3 miles away you foot the bill. If on the other hand the child is ALLOCATED a place 3+miles away the bus fare is free.

Oldernotwiser

Spendless wrote: »

2 buses there, 2 buses back home.

Oh, so 2 bus journeys, each with a change? I thought 4 journeys meant someone was coming home for lunch!

wobblebottom

LOL home for lunch - I dont think so- it take the whole lunch time get here heheheh

and my cupboards are bare all the time- and she always fogets her key anyway..

daska

Yes, she can appeal, but if her area is anything like ours she doesn't stand a chance. Last year our LA didn't allow a single appeal - even though they are permitted to fund travel on compassionate grounds. The advocate I spoke with said that they'd had a case where both parent's were disabled, had another disabled child, were surviving on benefits, the child had been identified as gifted and talented in a subject that their chosen school specialised in through to A level but the most local school didn't provide, both schools were a similar distance but over 6 miles away and they still wouldn't allow free travel to the chosen school.

We had the same problem - we were 6.2 miles from DSD's school, so even though it was the second closest and her mates that live just round the corner got free travel she didn't. This compounded with there being no direct bus, no child bus pass and a fixed rate per bus trip meant that travel to/from school cost £4/day.

Does her child qualify for free school meals and is your Aunt renting? Could she move closer to the school so she's under the 6 mile limit so her child would qualify for travel?

steve888

daska wrote: »

Yes, she can appeal,.


Does her child qualify for free school meals and is your Aunt renting? Could she move closer to the school so she's under the 6 mile limit so her child would qualify for travel?

Hi Daska

thanks to answer your question
:- she does qulify for free schol meals and she is in counc rented accomodation

shge has looked at moving closer to the school but the council say she is a low priority for this

The six mile limit is that new ?thanks for all your advice
steve

steve888

Thanks

30 pound a month sounds ok

at the moment depite the montly passes it costs my aunt 18 pounds a week - due to the two differnt bus companies- deregulation has its costs

steve

boltonangel

I really don't want to sound like I'm being nasty and am aware of how expensive bus fares are.

If you aunt decided to send her dd to a school so far away she will have been aware of this before the start date and decided that the quality of that school far outweighed the cost of buses to/from school.

If the LEA were to offer a free or discouted bus pass (paid for by the same taxpayers sending their children to the schools you cousin does not want to attend) then eventually you would end up with a school that had the same type of pupils that your aunt wanted to avoid, iyswim.

When I was at school we all paid for our bus fare and yes it was difficult on my family, dad was on long term disability and mum was his carer and I also had 2 other siblings at school, but it's one of those things.

to the poster who was asking about the 40p bus travel, we don't have this in our area, but the next county does (2 miles away) so I think it depends on each council.

boltonangel

just to also add something else.

maybe it would be an idea for pensioners (who currently get a free bus pass automatically) to be means tested so that the children who are genuinley struggling to afford to get to school can get a free pass instead of a pensioner who does not need/use their pass.

liney

boltonangel wrote: »

just to also add something else.

maybe it would be an idea for pensioners (who currently get a free bus pass automatically) to be means tested so that the children who are genuinley struggling to afford to get to school can get a free pass instead of a pensioner who does not need/use their pass.

If the pensioner does not use their pass, then surely it doesn't cost anything as it's not logged as using a journey, so billed to the council. Is that not how it works?

Regardless, i think don't think pensioners should have to justifiy themselves so that you (or I) can send our kids to a school we can't afford to transport them to.

Many pensioners are already in poverty because they are embarassed to apply for the benefits which may be available to them without discouraging them to have a bus pass and therefore taking away their ability to independently shop, and visit friends. I'm sure i read somewhere that the elderly who stay at home, and do not socialise do no live as long as those who do.