Views sought on new home-to-school transport policy

People are being asked for their views on a revised policy which outlines how unsafe walking routes are assessed in relation to home-to-school transport.

Shropshire Council is proposing a revision to its Extremely Hazardous Routes Policy and a six-week consultation was launched this week to seek feedback from from all interested parties including councillors, town councils, parish councils, schools and colleges, parents and students.

The consultation runs until Friday 10 February 2023 and can be seen on the council website at https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/extremely-hazardous-routes-policy-revision/

Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and education, said: “Shropshire Council has a statutory duty under the Education Act 1996 to provide home-to-school transport for eligible children, that is those who ‘cannot reasonably be expected to walk to their nearest suitable school because the nature of the route is deemed unsafe to walk’.

“We encourage parents, students, schools, colleges and anyone with an interest to read the revised policy document and tell us their thoughts.”

The revision to the policy won’t affect the number of pupils entitled to free home-to-school transport under this policy, nor does it have any financial impact for the council.

All responses to the consultation will be carefully considered before the consultation findings, and recommended next steps, are presented to Shropshire Council’s Cabinet on Wednesday 8 March 2023.