Memorandum submitted by the National Governors'
Council (ST 25)
1. REASONS FOR
CHANGE
It is recognised that travel by car to and from
school has increased during the last 15 years. The increased use
has brought with it detrimental effects, such as congestion at
school gates and pollution affecting the public at large as well
as the pupils. This is of concern to parents, schools and their
governing bodies. The existing legislation needs to be updated
but must also meet the current needs of both pupils and their
parents, schools and governing bodies.
2. REASONS FOR
CAR USE
There are a number of factors which lead many
parents to take their children to school by car:
— concerns for their child's safety:
Safety is one of the major issues for parents taking their children
to school by car. The perception that their child is not safe
on the bus, that inappropriate behaviour of other children might
endanger their own child, that there is a lack of appropriately
trained drivers operating the vehicle, and that some vehicles
appear unsuitable. School governors are also concerned that inappropriate
behaviour can put the public at risk, giving the school and its
pupils a bad name; and
— concerns at the lack of good public
transport: Many parents take their child/children to school by
car because it is the only way they can meet the needs of their
child/children and get to their place of work on time. This is
especially relevant in rural areas where transport is infrequent
and this can impact on out of school activities. Rural areas are
particularly vulnerable, with infrequent bus services and narrow,
badly lit winding country lanes, especially unsafe for independent
travel eg cycling, walking because of fast traffic using these
lanes.
The Transport Bill must recognise these concerns
and address them.
3. COST OF
TRANSPORT
The cost of transport is an enormous issue for
many parents especially now we have the 16-19 curriculum. There
needs to be good integration between school travel plans and post-16
transport policy. Pupils may have to travel to a major town to
access sixth form education. There are some examples of this.
In Oxfordshire, pupils have to travel from their village to the
nearest town to access a rail link to their nearest college. In
Dorset, funding for transport for sixth form students is an issue.
The school sixth form can claim money for the course from the
LSC but there is no resource for transport. This especially affects
joint sixth forms where students have to travel between two sites.
In Rutland transport costs takes up 7% of the total schools' budget
as a result of many small rural schools. Some schools in Rutland
have 80% of their pupils arriving by bus. After school activities
are severely curtailed. In Dorset 5% of the education budget is
spent on school transport. In many rural schools, particularly
secondary, the majority of pupils travel on school buses, however,
"out of catchment" pupils are either not allowed on
these buses or have to pay. Affordable fares are a must and free
school meals are not necessarily a good indicator.
4. PARENTAL CHOICE
Parents who choose to send their children outside
their LEA catchment area are currently penalised through exercising
their parental choice, however, in some areas children are "bussed"
in because their local schools are full or have closed. Another
example given is that of a child in Lancashire (as an atheist)
who did not wish to attend her nearest secondary school as it
is a Church of England School, but another school three miles
further from home—parents incurred transport costs. Walking
to school is also a parental choice. The two mile limit for under
8's and three miles limit for others may seem acceptable to one
parent but unsuitable and unsafe for another.
April 2004
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