Government Policy It is our plan that all pupils, in all year groups, will return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. |
I wholeheartedly support the principle and the schools working incredibly hard to deliver it, but one of the many intractable Covid-19 related challenges facing some secondary schools and families when re-opening in September is that of pupil transport. Some Kent schools are vulnerable, for the county is rural in places with pupils having to travel long distances to their nearest school, whilst many faith and grammar schools also have pupils who travel considerable distance by public transport. Most readers will have seen or encountered the publicly accessible double-decker buses packed with pupils on their way to and from school in the past, but this won’t be the situation in September. For social distancing rules reduce the number of passengers on each bus by at least a half and there is not the spare capacity at this time to increase bus numbers to compensate.
Most secondary schools will have worked out plans to manage a full pupil attendance if there are no further spikes in Covid-19, taking into account staggered starts and finishes to the school day, setting up year group bubbles, year group zones, staggered lunches and break times, year group entrances and exits, crowded corridor behaviour, cancelling assemblies and other large gatherings, strategies to deal with children or staff exhibiting coronavirus symptoms, PPE policy, cleaning, more cleaning, deep cleaning, etc, etc. All this on the twin assumptions that all pupils will turn up and there will be no spike in Kent cases.
However, we are just four weeks away from the start of term and there is no sign of a solution to the transport difficulties, although I am not sure what it would be. KCC considers that: ‘the financial impact on bus services and operators has been significant so it could be that more services than usual are subject to change or cancellation. In addition, at the moment, operators are only able to let about half of the usual numbers of passengers on their buses and if this remains the case, then providing enough space for all passengers could be a problem, and so students that can travel in a different way should do so at the moment’. This will inevitably have major knock-on effects with a sharp increase in private traffic on the roads at key times.
Kent County Council is more generous than many Councils through its Travel Saver (previously known as the Freedom Pass), although this has attracted considerable criticism as the cost has been forced up to £360 for the coming year, and its use has been restricted because of difficulties in Local Authority finance. However, it still remains a good deal compared to the majority of other authorities, with Medway having nothing similar (see below). Some pupils in Kent are also entitled to free school transport, as explained below, but this only helps if the buses are there. The closing date for applying for the Travel Saver is on Sunday 9th August, although parents may be able to order one later on. However, no final decision has been made about this. I am afraid I have no advice on whether a Travel Saver is right for you or not in the current circumstances, for its value will depend on the nature of the bus service provided in September.
Medway Council runs some dedicated school bus services, where pupils need to be separated into year group bubbles, but are not otherwise required to social distance, nor are they required to wear masks, see below. All Kent pupils who travel by bus do so on public services with social distancing and masks required, except for some who travel on private hire buses or are transported to Special Schools and SEN Units.
Case Studies (1)St John’s Road, Tunbridge Wells. This one road provides the main access for three grammar schools, two of which have a high proportion of pupils from outside the town, together with two large church comprehensive schools, both of which also attract large numbers from outside TW. The road is already notorious as a traffic black spot at the key periods of school opening and closing. Theoretically, there will need to be additional buses if they were available at this peak time, but demand will fall as many families switch to cars, adding greatly to the road pressure. (2)Huntsman Lane/Vinters Road Maidstone. These are two narrow roads connecting at right angles, with three secondary schools at the corner creating a different situation. Between them, Valley Park Schol and Invicta Grammar hold over 3,000 pupils, with the new Maidstone School of Science and Technology opening in September with an initial intake of 180. Planning permission for this school was highly controversial for several years because of traffic pressures on the two roads, but was eventually granted. Clearly there is going to be even greater pressure on this corner in September, with the new school and a likely increase in parents bring children to school by car instead of bus. |
As a minor example, I live in a narrow road near my local grammar school and regularly see it come to a complete standstill at school opening and closing times. Doubling numbers is unimaginable in terms of how traffic will flow. This will be repeated multiple times across the county, although presumably thought is being given to minimise the chaos! Some children will have no reliable way to access their school.
Otherwise, the only general concession in Medway is the Youth Pass, which entitles young people to travel at half fare up to 9 a.m. on school days, a period when otherwise they would be charged for adult tickets. There is nothing like the more general Kent Travel Saver.