Parents fight to stop cuts to school transport

North Yorkshire Council have limited free transport for pupils to the nearest school from their home address

A campaign to overturn a council’s decision to change school bus services in rural areas has been stepped up.

More than a thousand people have signed a petition calling on North Yorkshire Council to rethink its plan to restrict free transport for pupils in the Dales to only the nearest school to their home address.

Parents whose children attend schools further afield would have to fund travel themselves, and families in Swaledale said roads to their closest schools could be "dangerous" in the winter months.

North Yorkshire Council said that the routes used by school bus contractors were risk assessed.

Claire Calvert from Upper Swaledale is one of a number of parents in the area who will be affected by the change next year

Mother of two Claire Calvert lives in Upper Swaledale and would be affected by the policy change when it comes into force in September 2025.

The closest secondary school for her children is eight miles away in Kirkby Stephen, over the Cumbrian border, but they would have to use the "untreated and badly maintained" B6270 to get there.

She would prefer them to attend Richmond School, which is further away and would make them ineligible for free bus travel.

She said: “Its eight miles over to Kirkby Stephen on a very scary road in winter, so I would rather my children sit on a bus for 45 minutes as opposed to 25 minutes, purely for their own safety.”

Lasting impact

Mrs Calvert said the decision was already causing a lot of stress for many families with children in Year 6 who must decide in the next few weeks which secondary school to choose.

“They are thinking that if they apply to one school, will they actually have to fight to get transport, or can they actually do it and make the journey,” she added.

Mrs Calvert said she feared the policy could have a lasting impact on the rural community.

“If I was looking at coming to the area as a family, I would not be moving to Swaledale.

"If I had to pay for transport to a school in which you thought you were going to be getting a bus, but actually you have to go across a high road to Kirkby Stephen, I would be staying well away from Swaledale.”

She has urged the local authority to think again about the policy, or make an exemption for Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.

The petition has also called on the government to investigate the council’s consultation process.

North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for inclusion, Amanda Newbold, said:

“Our home to school transport policy was considered and adopted by councillors in July.

“The revised policy ensures equality and makes sure that free transport is provided for eligible children in line with our statutory duties. Extended support is also available for low-income families.

“In most cases where a child attends a school that is not the nearest suitable school to their home address or the school is outside the qualifying distance, parents and carers continue to be responsible for travel arrangements and costs.

“All the contracted bus routes we use to take pupils to school are risk assessed.”