School transport guide for parents

Parents and carers are advised to read the following information:

• eligibility for school transport is based upon the needs of the child and Community Transport cannot always take into account family circumstances when making decisions regarding how transport will be provided. Parental preferences for travel arrangements cannot always be considered and the timing will be based on the most efficient route, minimal journey times and efficient use of Local Authority resources
• where a door to door service is provided, it is the responsibility of parents or carers to ensure that their child is brought to the vehicle without delay. Under normal circumstances it will not be possible for the driver or passenger assistant to leave the vehicle to announce the arrival of transport, as this would leave other passengers without appropriate support and supervision. If you are unable to see the vehicle from your property, you must inform Community Transport who will assess the situation. The vehicle will only wait for 2 to 3 minutes and should your child not board within this time, the vehicle will pull away and will not be able to return
• on the return journey your child will not be left without the presence of a responsible person. In the absence of such a person, your child will be taken, at the end of the school run, to a local Children's Centre where they will be supervised. If this is necessary, a card will be posted at your address, notifying you of the procedure to follow to collect your child. You need to be aware that there will be a charge of at least £30 per hour for this service, the amount payable will be dependent on the level of service required. It will be the parent or carers responsibility to collect their child from the centre. If your child has not been collected by 5pm the Emergency Duty Team from Children, Education and Social Care will be contacted, who will then make further arrangements for the care of your child
• if for any reason your child is not attending school, please notify the driver or operator as soon as possible. Transport will not call again until you confirm that your child is ready to return to school. If you are unable to contact the driver or operator, please inform the Community Transport Team as soon as possible. You must also follow the agreed school procedure for absence notification
• your child can only be picked up and dropped off from the home address or designated point. Alternative pick up and drop off requests can only be considered if the proposal makes no alteration to the existing route or incur extra journey time for other pupils. An alternative drop off request (preferably in writing) must be agreed with the Community Transport Team
• pupils who are transported from home to school are expected to follow the same code of behaviour as they do in school. Behaviour that may affect the concentration of the driver, or the safety of other pupils, will not be tolerated. Incidents of unacceptable behaviour will be monitored and communicated to parents, carers and the school. Repeated inappropriate behaviour may result in fixed term or permanent exclusion from transport. If such an incident were to be considered sufficiently dangerous, the exclusion would be with immediate effect. Parents and carers will then be responsible for transporting their child to and from school. Read our behaviour information 
• if your child uses a wheelchair, Community Transport will need to be advised of any change (size, make or model) in order to ensure that we have the correct restraining equipment required for the new chair. All wheelchairs must conform to ISO 7176 Part 19 - Wheeled Mobility devices for use as seats in motor vehicles. This will require the wheelchair to be checked and "tagged" before being transported