COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

More school bus chaperones are to be cut in Warwickshire in a bid to save up to £700,000.



The county council will be removing chaperones for seven more schools after February half-term break, taking the total lost so far to eleven.

However, some people have expressed concerns at how the cuts may affect the children's safety.

A spokesman for the council has said that it will monitor the situation "very carefully and regularly".

The £700,000 is an estimated cost of how much the council could reduce spending on passenger assistants on buses, in taxis and bus service contracts.

The schools that are having passenger assistants removed are Ferncumbe, Bishops Tachbrook, Wootton Wawen, The Dassett, Budbrooke, Henley Primary, and Kineton Primary.

Schools in Wolvey, Cubbington, Newton Regis and Long Lawford had their bus chaperones removed in September 2011.

'Risk for drivers'

In November 2011, a five-year old boy left a bus at the wrong stop after being taken home from Wolvey Primary School.

He believed he was getting off at the correct stop as he noticed other children were leaving the bus.

His aunt, who does not want to be named, said: "We need to make the council understand that by removing the chaperones on school buses, it's putting a lot of risk for the drivers."

Mark Gore, head of service learning and achievement at the Warwickshire County Council, said drivers will be asked to make sure children are met by an adult when they leave the bus.

He added: "We are not prepared to put youngsters at risk, and no decision is irreversible.

"At the moment, our experience of other authorities and our experience of the routes where we've already taken them off, is that this is a sustainable policy."

'Delight' as Warwickshire school bus chaperones return



Parents have said they are are "delighted" Warwickshire school bus chaperones are to return.

Warwickshire County Council removed the passenger transport assistants, as part of plans to save £1.4m on the school transport budget.

The council now says it is on course to make savings "through other measures".

A petition was submitted on Friday with 7,000 signatures from parents and teachers asking for the chaperones to be reinstated.

Caroline Adams helped organise the petition and said: "I'm absolutely delighted at the decision. Myself and a number of other parents have really campaigned on this for at least the past 18 months.
'Price on safety'

"It felt as though the savings weren't being achieved and you can't put a price on your child's safety.

"It's been awful without the chaperones, having to put them on the bus worrying about them on that journey."

Hannah Gomm's four-year-old nephew was left at the wrong bus stop when his chaperone was taken away from his Wolvey Primary School service.

She said: "This is a huge success for us and will keep children safe once again on their journey.

"We look forward to that [reinstatement] being implemented quickly on the nine schools that have already lost them."

Heather Timms, portfolio holder for Children, Young people and Families, said: "The council has been able to meet the £1.4m it identified as a necessary saving from the school transport programme through other measures, so we are willing to acknowledge the concerns of parents and schools and reverse this decision."

She added: "It will take time, the bus companies will have to recruit and will have to have the proper checks but we've already put one passenger transport assistant back on in the south of the county."

Passenger assistants were removed in two phases in September 2011 and February 2012.