PARENTS of students at a Wokingham School were left ‘blindsided’ on the final day of term after being informed they would not be able to use the council’s school bus service next year.
More than 50 parents and carers whose children attend Emmbrook School will spend the coming weeks finding alternative ways to get to and from school.
Wokingham Borough Council had previously accommodated both students entitled to home to school transport and those whose parents were willing to pay. But due to rising costs, it will retain the free school bus provision next year, with the remaining seats allocated on a first come first served basis.
Darren Houldcroft, who lives in Spencers Wood – seven miles from Emmbrook, will have all three of his children going the school in September, but his youngest – who has autism – has been denied a seat on the bus.
He said: “When I received the notification, I thought I had just been unlucky, but speaking to other parents it’s clear that it’s not just a few of us – it could be upwards of 80.
“The feeling is one of immense frustration, particularly because parents are willing to pay.
“This has been so poorly communicated, with no discussion. We had a consultation recently and the closing date was on Friday, the same day we found out about this decision.
“If they weren’t going to spend time reviewing the results of the consultation, what was the point of doing it? If you’re being cynical, it feels a bit pre-determined.”
The council’s E1, E2 and E3 services transporting students from Shinfield, Spencers Wood and Finchampstead respectively, will all be affected.
Mr Houldcroft explained that his and his wife’s current working situations do not allow either of them to drive their children to school. Using regular bus routes would involve his children walking one hour from home.
He believes that running more, or using larger, coaches are not unreasonable solutions to this issue, suggesting additional costs would not have to be subsidised by the council.
“It all comes from a chronic lack of investment in education, transport and health services from this side of Wokingham.” Mr Houldcroft added.
“It’s just a forgotten part of the borough. I believe the tax I pay entitles me to the same opportunities that are available in the centre of Wokingham.
“I suspect they’ve drastically underestimated the feeling amongst parents.”
Shinfield South councillor Jackie Rance described the move as “ludicrous”. She said: “All children need to go to school by law. Two of my grandchildren will be affected by this, as are many people in Shinfield.
“My daughter, who is perfectly willing to pay the bus fare, and all the children are being thwarted and hindered. Wokingham Borough Council are offering absolutely no help or thought, it’s frankly appalling.
“For this to happen the weekend after school broke up makes it worse, you can’t get hold of anybody and I’ve already had several parents contact me about this.”
She added that a lack of alternative modes of public transport to the school would put undue pressure on parents, especially those with children attending different schools.
According to Cllr Rance, the decision will leave parents with no choice but to drive their children to school, which contradicts the council’s messaging regarding carbon footprint reductions and sustainable travel.
It will affect one of Cllr Rance’s grandchildren, who has mild ADHD and is set to start at Emmbrook this September.
She said: “He was thrilled to be joining his new school and getting his new uniform. He gets very stressed and taking the bus was already a bit of a challenge, this certainly won’t help.”
Cllr Rance believes that the service would between £27,000-£35,000, and that would be enough to cover the running costs.
This claim was refuted by the council’s executive member for children’s services, Cllr Prue Bray, who stated that each coach costs around £75,000 to run per year.
Cllr Bray said: “We understand that some parents are disappointed that they aren’t able to use the council’s school bus services for Emmbrook School in September.
“We provide this service for those that are eligible for home to school transport, and if there is extra space, we open places on a first come first serve basis to non-eligible students, who pay a reduced rate to use the service, which costs around £75,000 a year per coach to run.
“Unfortunately, for this September there was not enough space to meet the demand of all those wanting to use the extra spaces.”
She explained that students who would be missing out on using the council’s school bus services were not eligible for home to school transport either because they either live within walking or cycling distance from the school or because parents “chose the school” and therefore had taken responsibility for getting their child there and back.
Cllr Bray added that parents would have been aware of this through communication made on the forms they would have completed and a letter received after the Easter holidays.
“The parents were then sent a letter at the end of term, confirming if they had a place for September, giving them several weeks to make alternative arrangements before the start of the new school year in September,” she added.
“The Home to School Transport consultation is unrelated to this. The letter coinciding with the end of the consultation was purely coincidence – no decision consultation has been made yet and would not come into effect until September 2024.”
