PARENTS of special needs children say their education is being impacted due to “inadequate provision of school transport” reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Parents and carers of children at Treetops Learning Community Trust schools in Grays have made a formal complaint to Thurrock Council saying the unreliable school transport service is “significantly impacting their children’s ability to attend school”.
In the complaint to the council, parents with children at Treetops School and Treetops Free School in Buxton Road, which cater for Special Educational Needs (SEN) students, said: “We are parents and carers of children attending these schools who require transport due to their specific needs and who have encountered numerous difficulties.
“We believe Thurrock Council is currently failing to meet their legal obligations to provide transport arrangements which are suitable and facilitate the children’s attendance at school, to promote good school attendance and to ensure all pupils have access to full time education.”
Parents said problems include scheduling issues which are “unrealistic and understaffed”. They report delays in picking up and dropping children off with transportation late or not arriving at all.
They added: “The transport provided does not consistently meet the specific needs of the children, leading to considerable distress, discomfort and school refusal.”
Parents report a lack of specialised equipment for safe travel with many vehicles at full capacity and overcrowded.
Journey times are also often longer than they should be, exceeding the target of 45 minutes for primary school children and 75 minutes for secondary aged children.
Vikki Hartstean, councillor responsible for children’s services, acknowledged “teething issues” with the service.
She said: “There have been some initial teething issues with the home to school transport to Treetops schools, as there is for all local authorities at the beginning of a new academic year.
“Many of these initial issues have now been resolved and we are continuing to work with parents and the transport operator to resolve any that are ongoing. Our officers, the transport operator and the headteachers of both Treetops School and Treetops Free School met with parents at the school last week to hear any concerns they had.”
Ms Hartstean added: “Some routes and vehicles have been adjusted, we will work with parents to ensure that all appropriate care is provided during journeys to and from school.
“We have asked parents to continue to provide feedback on the service so we can work with them and the transport supplier to address any issues they might have.”
The Treetops Learning Community Trust was approached to comment.
