Parents at Corby schools hit with £760 bus fare after believing transport would be free
Parents of pupils at Corby secondary schools were shocked to discover that they would have to pay for a school bus after a policy change at North Northamptonshire Council.
Many of those affected have children who were due to start Corby Business Academy last week, although other parents across North Northamptonshire are also being asked to pay if their child doesn’t attend their nearest suitable school.
They say the new rules weren’t clearly publicised by the council and they only found out that they’d have to pay in mid-summer.
Corby Business Academy has always had free bus travel for all pupils because when it was built, there were only a handful of houses on the surrounding Priors Hall Estate. Children were bussed in from Corby because the walking route would have taken them along a busy A-road.
New parents were assured when they went to an open evening at the school last September that the free travel would continue. It’s thought the school was also under the impression that would be the case.
So it came as a shock to parents when they were sent the £760 council bill in summer for school buses.
However, the council has u-turned on its decision following protests by other pupils including those at Wollaston School south of Wellingborough, where pupils in Earls Barton have been given free transport after it was initially refused.
One parent, Stacey, told our reporter: “We weren’t told at the time of the application we’d have to pay. At the school open evening they were clear that it had always been free. Even though the estate is now more built up there are still not enough pupils to fill the school.
"I had to apply for the school bus in March and then I didn’t find out until July 16 that there would be a charge. It’s such a lot of money.
"There are parents who would have made a different decision on schools if they’d have had all the information when they were applying.
"I asked the school and they said it must be an error so I fully believe the school weren’t aware.”
When Stacey approached the council they told her that if she’d have chosen the closest school to her home, and hadn’t been offered that school, then her child would have been given free transport to CBA. But because her first preference – Brooke Weston – was not her closest school then they would be charging her for the bus.
"It’s incredibly complicated,” said Stacey.
"I’m not paying for the bus. I’ve had to arrange lifts for him at the moment. It’s going to be chaos with everyone coming out of work at RS and people going to pick up their kids at the same time.”
Now MP Lee Barron has taken up the mantle on behalf of parents after being approached by many from across Corby. In an open letter, he said: “Parents of year 7 students, facing an unexpected bill of £760 to pay for school transport, have been told by North Northants Council don’t blame us, blame the schools.
"The local authority revised their transport policy, which came into effect from the start of this academic year. A response received by my office, from the officer responsible for school transport, stated there were publicity campaigns and ‘all head teachers were notified of the consultation regarding the changes via the Leadership in Education emails last year as part of a wider publicity campaign to encourage residents to comment on and respond to the proposed changes.’ “However, many schools and parents were clearly unaware of the review, and it was only after selecting a school.. they discovered their child did not qualify for a school bus pass.
“The council say they are satisfied they have followed all the requirements set out by the Department for Education. In the letter they acknowledged the policy change ‘has caused considerable distress to parents who made their admissions choices based upon inaccurate information.’
"The council blamed the lack of information about the transport changes on school websites which they said, ‘contained out of date and inaccurate information’.”
Mr Barron has now asked a series of key questions of the council about how the information was imparted to parents and asking them what steps they will now take to ensure this does not happen again.
Cllr Matt Binley (Cons, Queensway), North Northamptonshire Council Executive Member for Travel said: “A young person’s allocation to a particular school does not automatically entitle them to transport or travel assistance and an application needs to be made to the council when a child first needs travel assistance and subsequently when they meet certain key trigger points, such as a change of school or house move.
“Each application is assessed on its own merits in accordance with the policy and legislation in place at the time.
“Last year people were asked for their views on new policy proposals for the future of home to school transport provided in North Northamptonshire. Although refreshed annually, wide-scale changes had not been introduced for about a decade. The new policy was approved and introduced in September 2023 for applications to be made for September 2024. The updated policy featured on various media outlets, as well as being featuring on our social media pages.
“Details of the new policy have been available on the council’s website since September last year and it is important that applicants read the criteria before making an application, as part of the application process the applicant is required to agree they have read the policy before submitting their application.
“Under our Transport Policy which was published in September 2023, for admissions in September 2024, free transport will only be where the child is attending their nearest suitable school.
“We have been working with schools to make this situation clearer to parents and carers applying for places for next year.”