"I come from a family in Bedworth that's not got much money. My sister has disabilities and SEND needs - I get it and the hardships families are facing. "What I feel is really unfair is that our most vulnerable children are not getting the best service being taken to school and back as there are so many other children getting it.""
"Warwickshire County Council currently transports more than 10,000 pupils to their school settings and it pays 200 individual private transport companies for the service, Finch said. Some 2,500 of those children have disabilities and special needs, but the 7,500 children who do not and live more than three miles away from their schools need a "better option", he said. "Why can't we invest more in buses? Maybe"
A letter requested permission for councils to set their own rules over children's walking distances to reduce costs. Analysis by council officers suggested increasing the statutory distance could reduce the eligible cohort, potentially meaning pupils as young as eight might walk up to five miles to school. The council leader denied any intention to impose a five-mile requirement and framed the request as seeking devolved powers for local decision-making. Concerns were raised about the impact on vulnerable pupils. Warwickshire currently provides transport for more than 10,000 pupils, contracting 200 private companies, with around 2,500 pupils having disabilities or special needs.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]