Hartlepool Borough Council (19 012 283)

Category : Education > School transport

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 20 Mar 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council ended the school bus provision to her children’s school without consultation. The Council failed to inform parents of the changes, but this did not affect its decision to end the transport. It has agreed to apologise to Mrs X for the frustration this caused and to amend its procedures to ensure in future parents are consulted in a timely manner.

The complaint

  1. Mrs X complained the Council stopped the school bus, from the village where they live to the faith school her children attend, without adequate consultation. This caused frustration, uncertainty and the additional unexpected expense of arranging home to school travel.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
  3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I have considered the information provided by Mrs X, the Council’s response to Mrs X’s complaint and its Home to School Transport policy. I have considered the relevant law and guidance.
  2. I gave Mrs X and the Council the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered any comments I received before I reached a final decision.

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What I found

The law and guidance

  1. Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 sets out the duty of parents to ensure their children receive full time education.
  2. Councils have to provide free home to school transport for ‘eligible children’ of compulsory school age to attend their ‘qualifying school’. ‘Eligible children’ are defined in Schedule 35B of the Act as:
    • children living outside ‘statutory walking distance’ from the school (two miles for children under eight, three miles for children between eight and 16).
    • children living within walking distance of the school but who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem.
    • children living within walking distance of the school but who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because the route is deemed unsafe to walk.
    • children entitled to free school meals, or whose parents are in receipt of their maximum level of working tax credit if:
          1. the nearest suitable school is beyond two miles (for children over eight and under 11);
          2. the school is between two and six miles (aged 11-16 and for transport to one of their three nearest qualifying schools); or
          3. the school is between two and 15 miles and is the nearest school preferred on grounds of religion or belief.
  3. The relevant ‘qualifying’ school is the nearest school with places available that provides education the council considers appropriate to the child.
  4. Councils have discretionary powers to go beyond their statutory duties and provide transport for children who are not entitled to free transport. They can charge for this. Government guidance (Home to School Travel and Transport Guidance 2014) says the decision on discretionary arrangements rests with the individual local authority who should engage with parents and clearly communicate what support they can expect from the local authority.
  5. The Council’s transport policy sets out that if a pupil is attending a school due to parental preference which is not the nearest suitable school there is no duty to provide free transport.
  6. It sets out that ‘in some cases, spare places may be available on coaches, buses or taxis contracted to convey pupils to school. These places may be made available to pupils who do not qualify for free travel following the purchase of a concessionary fare permit’.
  7. It says ‘From the beginning of the academic year 2015/2016 the eligibility to transport on the grounds of religion and belief ceased for all new students. Those already travelling under this eligibility will continue to receive free travel assistance until they leave secondary education or they move schools’.

What happened

  1. Mrs X’s children attend a faith school. Mrs X paid for bus passes for her children to use a school bus service to the school. The children do not qualify for free school transport under the Council’s transport policy because the school is not their nearest qualifying school.
  2. In late August 2019 Mrs X contacted the Council to enquire about purchasing concessionary travel passes for seats on the school bus for 2019/20. The Council advised it had withdrawn the bus service from their village. Mrs X says she met with a Council officer who explained the only eligible child who used the bus had left the school, and so it no longer had a legal obligation to provide transport to the school from the village. At the meeting the Council officer accepted the Council should have informed the parents of the changes. Mrs X says there is no public bus service and no safe walking route from the village.
  3. Following the meeting the Council proposed the parents purchased passes to use another school bus which goes to the high school from the village, which would then carry on to the faith school. The Council said due to timing issues it could not offer this option for the return journey.
  4. Mrs X complained to the Council in early September 2019. It responded in early October. It explained that it had no duty to provide transport for Mrs X’s children. It explained it had removed services where ‘the Council could not make them financially viable after taking into account the income from the concessionary passes and where there was no obligation for the Council to provide under the current policy’.
  5. It upheld her complaint that there was no communication about the change. The Council said it would change its policy and procedures to ensure that in future cases communication was undertaken with the school and affected individuals in a timely manner.
  6. Mrs X remained unhappy and complained to the Ombudsman.

Findings

  1. The Council’s transport policy says free home to school transport will only be provided to children of compulsory school age who meet the qualifying distance if they attend their nearest qualifying school.
  2. Councils are entitled to choose not to provide paid transport to faith schools where attendance is a result of parental preference, as they are in the case of other schools. The Council has no statutory duty to provide or arrange transport for children who are not eligible for free school transport and so is not at fault for not providing transport for Mrs X’s children. The responsibility to ensure children attend school rests with their parents.
  3. If Mrs X had given first preference to the nearest qualifying school at the time of original admission, her children would have been granted a place at that school and would have received free home to school transport. In this case Mrs X’s children do not attend their nearest school and so do not qualify for free home to school transport.
  4. It is for the Council to decide what routes its transport should take and whether or not to change school transport provision. The Council decided the route was not financially viable and it no longer had a statutory duty to provide transport from the village. However, Government guidance suggests councils should engage with parents of non-eligible children about what support they can expect to receive. The Council failed to consult or advise the parents of the non-eligible children using the transport of the changes and this is fault.
  5. I cannot say this would have made a difference to the Council’s decision to stop the school transport. The Council no longer had any eligible children using this transport so had no statutory requirement to provide it. Had it advised parents earlier they would have had more time to make alternative arrangements, but I cannot say the outcome would have been any different.
  6. In its complaint response to Mrs X the Council accepted it should have advised parents directly of the changes. It recommended changes to its policy and procedures for the future. This is appropriate.

Agreed action

  1. The Council has agreed, within one month of the date of this final decision, to apologise to Mrs X for the frustration caused by failing to inform them in a timely manner about changes to the school bus service.
  2. It has also agreed, within three months of the date of the final decision, to review its policy and procedures to ensure parents are advised of any changes to school transport provision in a timely manner. It should provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has done this.

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Final decision

  1. I have completed my investigation. I have found evidence of fault leading to injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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