Parents have raised safeguarding concerns as the Isle of Wight Council has allowed members of the public to travel on 6 school bus services following ‘encouragement’ from the Department for Education to secure ‘value for money’ across transport services.
Children’s Services at the Isle of Wight Council issued a letter this week informing those whose children use the Route 202, 203, 204, 206, 211 and 215 that the services would no longer serve only school children, but members of the general public too.
The service manager, who issued the statement, said that the move has been made in accordance with guidance issued by the Department for Education, which encourages local authorities to make effective use of available transport capacity and therefore secure value for money while ensuring suitable transport services are maintained.
The affected bus services mainly serve schools across Carisbrooke, such as Carisbrooke College and Christ The King College, with the Route 202 starting its journey at Brading Church, through to Shanklin Bus Station, Ventnor High Street, the Island Free School, Wroxall, Godshill, Rookley and then finally the 2 Carisbrooke schools.
Alongside this, Routes 203, 204 and 206 also provide services for children travelling to Carisbrooke College and Christ The King College from Freshwater and Totland.
Other services affected by the money-making plans include the Route 211 service, which transports pupils from St Helens to Ryde Academy, and the Route 215 service, which takes pupils from Godshill to the Island Free School.
Parents of children attending Christ The King have labelled these plans as ‘outrageous’ and a ‘breach of safeguarding ‘. They have also stressed that the affected schools were in no way made aware of these changes, given no form of advance warning, and were not invited to be consulted during the early days of decision-making.
Within its statement, the Council outlined a number of measures that are in place across the Southern Vectis Services and within the Council to help ensure safe journeys are had by all children.
These measures include a duty placed on Southern Vectis to ensure that sufficient seating spaces are available for children who are allocated to the bus route by the local authority, as well as the inclusion of established procedures for the reporting and managing of safeguarding incidents or concerns.
It has been said by those within County Hall that pupils have travelled on public bus services to get to and from school for many years, and therefore there is no real change.
They said:
“We understand that some parents and carers may have concerns about children travelling on services that may also carry members of the public.
“Please be assured that the safety and wellbeing of children and young people remains our highest priority.”
Previously, it has been said that the Council reduced the number of after-school bus services, leaving children across the Island who attend after-school clubs, ECAs or intervention sessions without a safe or scheduled school bus home.
The Service manager went on to say:
“We recognise that any change to school transport arrangements may raise questions or concerns.
“We will continue to monitor these services closely and work alongside schools and transport operators to ensure that they remain safe, reliable and effective for the children and young people who use them.”
Any questions parents may have regarding their child’s transport arrangements can be directed to the School Transport Team on 01983 823780 or [email protected].
