Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Eleven Plus (11+) in Kent

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U400JB9
Posts: 778
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:29 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by U400JB9 »

I`ve just watched this on this evenings news too. We will lose our bus pass as the nearest available secondary school is 9.6 miles away and the school she attends is 9.89 miles.
I think it will be a blow for alot of people who live in the really rural areas around where we are as some will be travelling long distances to Grammar ( even though the nearest appropriate school is almost as far ) so they are going to be paying alot.

I suspect the freedom pass is going to work out the cheapest option for us in the long run.
I had no idea we were the only county providing transport to Grammar and denominational schools :shock:
Kent99

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by Kent99 »

As far as I am aware the rules concerning free home to school transport are exactly the same for grammar schools as for any other schools. In other words, you get free transport provided that you live a certain distance away and it is either one of the "catchment" schools for your parish or, if you couldn't get into any of them, the nearest "appropriate" school at which you were able to get a place. If you choose a more distant grammar school, you arrange and pay for your own transport. And that certainly does stop some families from even considering all possible grammars.

The freedom pass is a separate scheme (as others have explained). It allows children to travel freely on any bus journey starting or terminating anywhere in Kent. Unlike home-school transport, it can be used at any time 7 days a week, as often as you like. The intention when the scheme was set up was not only to give parents a wider choice of school but to reduce the number of cars ferrying kids to and fro generally, including to out of school activities, social meet-ups etc. Unfortunately, KCC don't appear to have been able to persuade the rail operators to join the scheme (as was originally mooted) so in areas not well served by bus routes many of us are already paying significant amounts to get our children to grammar school.
SSM
Posts: 646
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:09 pm

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by SSM »

Kent99, at the moment if your DC passs the 11+ the closest GS counts as the 'nearest appropriate school' even if there is a comprehensive school closer. However the new proposals will mean that this will no longer be the case.
Kent99

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by Kent99 »

Well where I live there is a comprehensive school closer than any of the 11+ grammars but, because we are in the 11+ scheme of education, free transport is only available to grammars or secondary moderns. Children going to the comprehensive from our parish have to arrange their own transport. Conversely, I suspect that children in the comprehensive area are currently ineligible for transport to grammar schools even if those are closer than the comp...

So some children could gain whilst others lose. In practice, given the very limited number of comps in Kent anyway, I should think relatively few children will be affected. Can't see it saving KCC much money, particularly once the cost of dealing with the probable administrative mayhem and appeals is factored in!
Kent99

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by Kent99 »

Although the current, parish based, system allows a choice of "catchment" grammar schools to which transport is provided. For example, children in my parish get free transport to any of the 4 Maidstone grammars. If they go to a simple "nearest appropriate school" system that could seriously affect choices (even though the kids all take the same bus!)
frustrated
Posts: 299
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 11:28 am
Location: kent

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by frustrated »

Kent offer free transport to your nearest appropriate school as long as you have put the closest appropriate school as first choice and the school is further than three miles away. This might be by bus, train or combination of both.
I am confused as to what the proposals are. Although my DS attends his 'nearest appropriate school', it isn't actually the 'nearest school' which is not a GS or church school (it is not a comprehensive either). Incidentally there are no church, comprehensives or GSs in my locality at all, although we are in the 'catchment' for them, so would they be asking for a contribution from me and others in a similar situation do you think? Or would it be more aimed at those who have grammar/church schools in their local area but choose to go further afield?

Does anyone know when the consultation is likely to come out so that we can all get a clearer picture?
SSM
Posts: 646
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:09 pm

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by SSM »

From what I understand they will only be offering transport to the 'nearest' school if that is more than three miles away.

So at the moment children get transport paid for to the 'nearest appropriate school' so if the pass the 11+ it will be the nearest GS, or if they go to a church school the nearest faith school.

However, from what I understand, if a child passes the 11+ or gets into a faith school and there is a comprehensive (most of Kent does not have comprehensive as such, so they call them 'all ability schools')closer, then they will not get any assistance with travel to the GS or Faith school.
WesterhamMum
Posts: 134
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:08 pm
Location: Westerham, Kent

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by WesterhamMum »

I think the biggest losers will be those who currently travel by train. A friend of my daughter’s catches the train and her transport is paid for by KCC. There is no equivalent to the Freedom Pass on the trains so she will go from paying nothing, to appx. £1000 per year. At least those who travel by bus, even if they have to start paying, will have a maximum of £100 per year to pay for the Freedom Pass.

I live less than a mile from the Kent ‘boundary’ and so have always had to pay for my 2 daughters’ to get to school by private bus and at £400 per child, per term, it is not cheap! Yes, before someone says it, it was my choice to send them to that particular school! Despite the expense, their journey is short and reliable so I cannot grumble.

Bromley do not pay for travel to anything other than the local comps, so I would have had to pay regardless to send them to a grammar school. However like the freedom pass, LBB residents do have Oyster Cards so most in the borough travel for free again, as long as they do not use the train. Someone asked me the other day if I would still have ‘crossed the county boundary’ had I been offered free transport from LLB to my local grammar school within Bromley. I probably still would have but I can appreciate that for many, transport costs are definitely a factor when choosing a school. I agree that it is unfair on those who are awaiting school allocations now, who maybe would have made different decisions had they known about these proposals before submitting their SCAF.
pheasantchick
Posts: 2439
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:28 pm

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by pheasantchick »

(Isn't it good to have good discussion in the Kent forum again - I've missed it, and no-one has mentioned Judd yet...) :lol:
sherry_d
Posts: 2083
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:38 pm
Location: Maidstone

Re: Withdrawal of Free Travel to school proposed.....

Post by sherry_d »

Be careful what you wish for PC. :wink:

Its 26 days now to the big day so the madness will soon bring back the Kent section alive.
Impossible is Nothing.
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