Council planning review of school catchment areas

BRIDGEND County Borough Council is planning to undertake a school catchment review in an attempt to save more than £400,000 from the home-to-school transport budget.

The end of year budgets show an over spend of £427,000 on home-to-school transport.

Education officers say there have been significant increases in the number of eligible primary school pupils for free transport as well as college students and children with autism spectrum disorders.

In a report which went before councillors at a recent committee meeting, officers point out that planned savings to meet budgets cuts have not been as high as expected due to the need to undertake safe route assessments and “deal with legal challenges”.

In 2016 one pupil’s parents won a legal challenge to continue a free school bus service after they realised their son would have to walk what they believed was an unsafe route from their home in Coychurch to Pencoed Comprehensive School. The route was along the A473 – the main route between Coychurch and Pencoed.

Speaking at the meeting on Wednesday, July 25, the council’s interim education director Lindsay Harvey said: “The safe route to school assessments are something we are pursuing as quickly as possible.

“We have one in place now for Brynteg and we are working with partner primaries around that to make sure it is established.

“We are also looking at a number of other methods where we can reduce the home to school transport costs for the local authority because the overspend last year is running at about £400,000.

“One is to look at catchment areas to make sure they are appropriate.”

He added: “Initially we will be looking at what is possible, being cognisant of some of the feedback we have had from parents and learners across the local authority.

“We would have to follow Welsh Government guidance and ultimately it would be for consideration of elected members.”

Brackla ward councillor John Spanswick said catchment areas were “a definite issue” in his ward where the same streets were sometimes split into two different catchments with children going to Pencoed and others to Brynteg.

He said: “It’s been like that for 20 to 30 years and does need resolving although it’s not easy to do.”

Education cabinet member Charles Smith said: “Some of the anomalies have been there for many years but there are new anomalies arising from housebuilding – due to that alone I think it’s time for another look at catchment area.”

There is a statutory duty on the local authority to provide learners with free transport to the nearest suitable school if they reside beyond “walking distance” to that school.

In Bridgend the term nearest suitable school applies to the local catchment area school.

The Welsh Government has defined the statutory ‘walking distance’ as two miles for primary-aged learners and three miles for secondary school pupils. In September 2016 Bridgend Council changed its policy to bring it in line with the Welsh Government’s statutory distances.

Before then the council’s qualifying distance for primary school pupils was one-and-a-half miles and two for secondary school pupils.

Distances are measured by the “nearest safe, available, walking route from home to school”.

The corporate overview and scrutiny committee meeting took place on Wednesday, July 25.