Calls for review of Central Beds home to school transport policy rejected
Changes to home to school transport policies in Central Bedfordshire are already active, with an attempted call-in by a councillor to review the plans rejected, a meeting heard.
Opponents claim the shift to nearest school for free transport could “threaten the viability” of several local schools, but Central Bedfordshire Council executive’s decision was “carefully thought through” and fully consulted on”, a full council meeting was told.
Executive principal of the Greensand Federation Karen Hayward called for a review of the alterations, saying: “The policy has serious flaws, destabilising schools and disproportionately harming the most vulnerable families in Central Bedfordshire.
“More than £20 million has been invested by this authority into Sandy Secondary School since 2020 to expand it to an eight-form entry institution. These transport proposals actively undermine that investment.
“Fewer families will be able to access the school, enrolment will fall and funding allocated per pupil will decline. From 2027, Sandy faces an annual budget deficit of £300,000 to £350,000.
“This means redundancies among teachers and support staff, larger class sizes, reduced curriculum breadth and costs ultimately coming back to the council.
“The policy restricts parental choice forcing families to accept the nearest school, rather than the most suitable one.”
Chief executive officer of the Pyramid Schools Trust Steve Kelly asked: “Why did the executive believe this was a good decision?
“There’s no transparency about the methodology used to come to those conclusions. My trust has asked for this to be shared, but we’ve received no response. Other than the three executive members who voted for this policy, no other councillor spoke in support of it.
“The claim of £23m savings over ten years is nonsense. You’ll be running far more buses and taxis for at least the next five years, while new routes are introduced.
“Education in our county is in a shameful state, with some of the worst pupil outcomes in the country. This policy will make things even worse.”
Independent Leighton Linslade West councillor Steve Owen explained: “All schools were consulted and those that wanted to reply did.
“The large majority were significantly content not to write, while a minority of schools submitted one response. Ms Hayward’s school submitted 15 replies to the consultation.
“The report to the executive was one of the most detailed, careful and lengthy analysis I can recall seeing. This isn’t an easy issue for the council and it doesn’t have a good record of taking difficult decisions.
“It makes no sense to spend money on petrol fumes, when we can spend it on educating children. There will be parental choice still. Officers don’t recognise her claim around a £300,000 impact on her school’s budget. The guidance recognises there will be winners and losers.
“Parents are even now opting for schools knowing where they stand. That process is ongoing and not some future plan with which we can tinker. Bus routes are being replanned.
“The decision on September 2nd has been made, since when an attempted call-in has been rejected,” added the executive member for children’s services councillor Owen.
“The people in Whitehall are calculating that this council is spending £6m a year more than it should on school transport. This decision from the executive will halve that gap. The executive made a very careful, thoughtful, and well-resourced decision.”