At last night’s full council meeting, Leader of the council, David Pugh, gave members an update on the intended plans in relation to discretionary concessionary school transport to faith schools and post-16 travel.
As tweeted live from the meeting, in brief, post-16 travel is expected to increase from £27.50 per month to £50 per month (more detail in embedded document below).
Home-to-school transport to faith schools
The issue of home-to-school transport to faith schools was a little more detailed.
As many will know, the extended school transport consultation ended on Monday. Cllr Pugh took the opportunity to thank all those who took part in the consultation process adding that many issues for consideration had been raised through the responses.
He explained that the council believed that, “it is wholly inequitable that when parents choose a secondary school based on their holding of a particular religion or belief they are given a unique entitlement to free transport which is not made available to parents when choosing a school based on other factors.”
An end to positive discrimination
He pointed out that if free school travel was awarded just because parents had made their school choice on religious grounds, that it would be providing positive discrimination.
He went on to say that it is the council’s intention is to “cease providing such a universal entitlement.”
Taking a wider view of all school transport
Based on the results of the consultation, Cllr Pugh explained that the council would now take a wider view of home-to-school transport and that the entire school transport system would be updated.
For example, he explained that, “if a pupil would be entitled to receive free home-to-school transport to a school in Newport (as their catchment area school) by virtue of where they live, we believe that such an entitlement should be transferable to another school in Newport – whether that be Medina, Carisbrooke or Christ the King College.
More flexibility on free school transport
So long as the cost of transferring from say, Medina to Christ The King or Carisbrooke doesn’t add more than a marginal increase in the cost of travel, it is the intention of the council to allow free home-to-school transport.
A revised proposal for home-to-education transport would be taken to Cabinet on 16th August, where Cllr Pugh will ask for a further period of representation to take place, in advance of a final decision as to whether that revised policy should be implemented.
Delayed decision on implementation
This extension of representation would result in a delay on the decision, with Cllr Pugh making it clear that there would be “no decision for implementation on 16th August in relation to faith transport – but instead an incorporation of our proposed preferred option on such matters (including all of what I have said this evening about choosing an alternative school) – into a proposed wider policy approach.”
Cllr Pugh’s speech is embedded below for your convenience
Click on the fullscreen icon to see larger version
