Dangerous 4-mile walk to catch the school bus
MUM ‘FEARS THE WORST’ FOR SIXTH FORMER WHO IS NO LONGER ELIGIBLE FOR HIS SCHOOL SERVICE THAT STOPS OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE
A WORKING mum “fears the worst” as her son has to walk four miles down a “dangerous” road with no pavement to catch his school bus every day.
Jacob Bailey started at the Thomas Alleyne’s High School sixth form in Uttoxeter this week, so is no longer automatically eligible to use the school bus that stops outside his house.
The Hollington teen would previously have been able to use any free seats on the Uttoxeter-bound vehicle though Staffordshire County Council’s “temporary vacant seat scheme”.
But the council is no longer offering the service, leaving Jacob, 16, facing half-an-hour’s walk down Fole Lane to catch the ordinary Cheadle-to-uttoxeter bus from Fauld, then half-an-hour’s walk to get home after school.
The poorly lit rural road is used daily by dozens of lorries and heavy farming vehicles.
Mum Amanda Kirkland, 45, said: “Jacob always used the school bus from near our house. His brother Theo, who’s 13 and just started Year 9, will also use it. I understand it may now be a minibus going forward, but there are still spare seats available and Jacob won’t be allowed to use them.
“Aside from the danger of Fole Lane, he’ll also be getting to school late. I’m not having him walking that road at 6.45am to catch the 7.30am bus. He’ll have to get the 8.30am bus, which doesn’t arrive in time for the school day.
“Last year, he was catching the bus at 7.25am and it was pitch black in the winter. It was also getting dark around 3.30pm and he’ll be walking home until about 4.15pm.”
Mrs Kirkland, a charity fund-raising manager for United Christian Broadcasters, cannot take Jacob to school due to work commitments in Stoke.
Husband Michael, Jacob’s 53-yearold stepdad, also works long hours as a managing surveyor in the building trade.
Mrs Kirkland said: “The situation’s been causing me anxiety ever since I contacted the council about it back in April, when I found our Jacob was no longer entitled to free school transport.
“I work in Stoke and can’t do my job if I have to take him. Most working parents won’t be available to leave work at 3pm to pick their kids up.
“We considered giving him a bike or a moped, but it would be far too dangerous. We’re looking into getting him some high-vis clothing.
“If I’m sat in the office 20 miles away and it’s raining heavily, knowing he’ll be walking on that road in the dark in those conditions, I’ll be fearing the worst.
“I just want common sense to prevail. Every child should have the right to get to school, whether aged six or 16. We’d be happy to pay for it.”
Staffordshire County Council will not reinstate the suspended seats scheme, halted during the pandemic, “unless persuaded otherwise” during a six-week consultation. It comes after recent government guidance on the impact of Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) on home-to-school transport. PSVAR only allows seats to be sold on vehicles with more than 22 seats if they are wheelchair accessible, but the majority of the council’s vehicles do not comply with this.
The council is not obliged to provide the scheme and says it has been “burdened” by new Government guidance and a lack of suitable vehicles.
Jonathan Price, cabinet member for education, said: “This scheme was launched many years ago by the council over and above legal requirements to help people where we could and to offset some of the costs of moving thousands of pupils by school bus.
“Recent changes to Government guidance mean that this scheme costs us money to administer and will mean that one child has a free seat, while another will pay hundreds of pounds for theirs and a third child will have no opportunity at all.
“It’s unfair, it’s costing Staffordshire taxpayers money and it’s a mess not of our making, so we propose to stop the scheme for good, as have some other counties, unless someone presents a solution.”
The council says 112,000 Staffordshire children not entitled to free transport make their own way to and from school each day, while, before the pandemic, around 0.25 per cent of the school population – 300 children – were able to use the vacant seat scheme. Currently there are around 100 expressions of interest from parents who want their children to use the scheme.
A survey has been launched to help the council come to a final decision about whether to scrap the scheme permanently. It is accessible on the council’s website.
The department for education has been contacted for comment, with Stone’s Tory MP, Sir Bill Cash, having written to education secretary Gavin Williams to voice his displeasure at the situation.
Every child should have the right to get to school, whether 6 or 16. We’d be happy to pay for it.
Amanda Kirkland