Good news on school transport

The pupils already travelling by bus from Westerleigh to Pucklechurch school will continue to travel for free from September 2013 until they leave the school or move house.

You may recall the decision earlier in the year to end discretionary rural school transport. At the time we expected that pupils already travelling from Westerleigh to Pucklechurch would have to pay £120 per term from September 2013.

Officers have looked in more detail at the children affected. The nearest school, Wellesley, has no current vacancies. The routes to any primary school from Westerleigh are classed as hazardous. The decision has therefore been taken on balance to continue to provide free transport to Pucklechurch for the existing children as "hazardous route" transport.

For entrants to school in September 2013 onwards, any transport will be on the same basis as applies generally across the Authority, taking into account expressed parental preferences, home to school distances, nearest school and the nature of the route. The basic assumption is that you will only get free school transport if you put your nearest school as your first choice and there is no safe route to school or it is further than 3 miles away. But officers have listened to the concerns that Claire Young raised at the committee meeting about how the admissions and transport policies work together in rural areas. They will be monitoring the position closely.