Campaigners say a new home-to-school transport policy in North Yorkshire has created a 'summer of stress' for parents who have been left in limbo by an appeals process that is set to run into the new school term.
The School Transport Action Group (STAG) said a survey of parents affected by the rule change found that some had bought two sets of school uniform because they were still unsure which school their child would attend in September.
The group, which was formed by parents and opposition political groups to fight the policy change, said one mother told the survey she felt like the council “viewed parents as the enemy” after having her appeal rejected.
STAG also claimed the study revealed a failure in communication by the authority, with over half of respondents saying they were unaware of the policy changes at the time of completing the school admission application and 70 per cent of parents saying they learned about the policy change from unofficial sources such as community Facebook groups, rather than direct communication from the council.
One parent told the group:
“They can write to us when they are putting the price of our bin collection up, but they can’t be bothered on something as important as how my child will get to school. It’s a joke.”
The policy change means that from September, the council will only offer free transport to a child’s nearest school rather than their catchment school.
The change is being introduced over a seven-year period, meaning it will initially only affect children starting primary or secondary school, or those moving house.
A STAG spokesperson said: “Our survey clearly shows that the combination of poor communication and a lack of consideration of how the policy would work in the real world, has created significant distress for families and risks undermining rural communities.
“North Yorkshire Council has created a summer of stress for hundreds of children and parents across the county.”
The campaign group claimed the situation had become “urgent”, with parents being given stage two appeal hearing dates after the start of the new term.
It added:
“With the appeals process backlogged, some children don’t know which school they will be attending in September.
“Some have even got two uniforms on standby – one for their catchment school they have a place at but can’t get transport to and the other to the nearest school in case their transport appeal is unsuccessful.”
Separate research by the campaign group found that North Yorkshire Council rejects far more home-to-school transport appeals than neighbouring authorities, with just 12 per cent being granted in favour of the parents in 2024, compared to 54 per cent for York, 37 per cent in Calderdale and 29 per cent in East Riding.
The survey revealed that parents were exploring alternatives if their appeals failed.
While some were prepared to pay £800 a year for a paid place on a school bus, if available, others said they would have to drive their child to school, while five per cent of parents said they were considering home-schooling.
In response to the criticism of the council’s handling of the policy change, North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director of inclusion, Amanda Fielding, said:
“Our home-to-school transport policy is designed to be fair to all families, responsible and affordable.
“The policy is compliant with the law and with guidance from the Department for Education.
“Prior to the policy being adopted in July last year, the council carried out a full consultation process. A review of the policy will take place in July next year.”
The policy change has been introduced by the council in a bid to reduce the £50m annual home-to-school transport bill.
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