To receive an update on the impact of the revised education transport policy which became effective from September 2015.

The chairman introduced the item noting that implementation of the policy had been deferred for a year in order to allow schools and families affected to make alternate arrangements. It was also noted that the policy had had a diverse impact with rural areas adversely affected, particularly those in border areas. A comment was made that Herefordshire imports more students than it exports to other local authorities. However it was stated that the exporting of students is a controversial idea.

 

The head of educational development introduced the report acknowledging that it was a difficult procedure to change and implement a policy such as home to school transport.

 

It was explained that previous scrutiny decisions had supported changing policy in the interest of financial savings by providing the statutory minimum in service provision. Additionally the general overview and scrutiny committee had in 2014 recommended the delay in implementation of the home to school transport policy in order to allow parents to make alternative arrangements. The impact of the policy was demonstrated by the continued interest from members of the public. However it was for good reasons that the council was providing the statutory minimum service.

 

It was stated that the main reason for policy change was the necessity of cost saving and that it was right that this policy be periodically reviewed. It was explained that even though the policy had been in place for a short time, only since September 2015, effective modelling had already been completed.

 

The admissions and transport policy manager summarised key information from the appendix of the report. This included:

-          Since the autumn term 2015 there had been a reduction in the number of entitled riders and the number of children entitled to free transport.

-          There had not been a reduction in the choice of popular schools which had been a concern for many when the policy was first proposed.

-          There had not been a reduction in the number of students going outside of Herefordshire for education.

-          Herefordshire remained a net importer of students, people still wanted to send their children to Herefordshire for education.

-          Only 45.5% of those parents potentially entitled to free school transport had actually stated a first preference for their nearest school.

The chairman thanked officers for their presentation and asked members of the committee for comment.

 

A member of the committee queried whether actual savings made so far through the scheme had met with projected figures. The admissions and transport policy manager explained that figures showed that over £70,000 would be saved through the policy, by way of increased parental contributions and that it had also been identified by a review of transport routes to schools an additional £50,000 could be saved. Consequently, implementation over five years was estimated to lead to savings well in excess of the original estimate of £250,000. Given the successes that had already been achieved in the first year of implementation the financial savings achieved were promising.

 

A member of the committee queried to what extent the impact of the policy on looked after children had been considered. It was explained that looked after children were a separate issue not affected by the home to school transport policy. It was explained that these children would receive their first choice of school and that efforts would be made to accommodate their choices in regards to transport.

 

A member of the committee made a number of comments regarding the importance of parental choice and the policy in general:

-          It was contended that parental choice was the crucial factor in school admissions rather than whether or not free home to school transport was provided.

-          It was noted that many of the schools identified in the report as having been adversely affected by the policy were also high performing schools. This represented that a conscious decision was being made that higher quality education was worth paying for home to school transport.

-          It was described that schools with small catchment areas were dependent on providing the best quality education in order to attract students.

-          It was described that secondary schools were particularly affected by border area issues where responsibility for student’s transport varied between different local authorities.

In response the admissions and transport policy manager acknowledged that parental choice was important in admissions. It was explained that previously pupils in denominational education in Herefordshire had received free transport provided by the local authority. However, this provision of transport was withdrawn some years ago, well before recent policy changes and denominational schools in the authority remained oversubscribed. This suggested that admissions had not been affected by non-free transport. The extent to which catchment areas were influencing border area issues was contended.

 

A representative of Herefordshire Association of Secondary Head teachers (HASH) provided observations on the home to school transport policy. Key points included:

-          Of 8 out of 14 high schools who had responded to a survey conducted by HASH, 1 welcomed the policy as a success, all other respondents had expressed concern.

-          Home to school transport had generated a great deal of concern from families of low to middle income in rural areas as well as the children of members of the armed forces who were struggling to meet the resource cost of having to organise their own transport.

-          Concern had been raised by schools in areas bordering other local authorities where students were being transported into other local authorities at the expense of Herefordshire council.

-          It was noted that no other surrounding local authorities had chosen to implement a home to school transport policy similar to that of Herefordshire.

-          Some schools had begun to subsidise transport for students, this was a misappropriation of money that should instead be used to improve the education children receive.

-          The policy was having an adverse effect on families in rural areas where the policy was having a significant impact. It was noted that there was a significant emotional impact of the policy with children from the same family being sent to different schools due to the policy.

-          As more parents were driving children to school instead of paying for bus services, traffic outside of schools had increased with consequent environmental impacts and a heightened risk of accidents near schools.

The admissions and transport policy manager provided a number of responses

-          The claim that Herefordshire was losing students to surrounding local authorities was not supported by the actual numbers.. It was explained that in 2014 19 pupils went outside of Herefordshire for education. This increased to 24 in 2015 and preference estimates, which were unlikely to change by any significant amount showed 23 pupils for 2016. It was argued that these statistics show that there are a very small number of pupils who travel outside of the county for education and that there has been only a small variation in numbers since the introduction of the policy. It was explained that transfer and admissions deadlines for 2016 had passed, as such these figures presented accurate projections for the coming year.

-           A further 8 large local authorities have implemented the same home to school transport policies during 2015 with a combined population of 8 million people representing a significant shift in policy at a national level.

-          It was reiterated that the example of denominational education demonstrated that parental choice is the most important factor in admissions, not the provision of free transport.

-          Cabinet had deferred the implementation of this policy to allow parents to make alternate arrangements for siblings and that provisions had been made to mitigate the effect on families.

-          It was contended that the provision of free transport had only a minor impact on the use of private cars for school transport and that parental choice was again a crucial factor. It was argued that Hereford city represented an example where despite alternative transport options being available the use of private cars remained the first choice alternative to free school transport.

The chairman identified that the revision of school travel plans to reduce car use by parents may be a beneficial piece of work. The director of children’s wellbeing agreed that work on school travel plans would be of benefit.

The Director of children’s wellbeing was invited to comment, key points included:

-          It was important to remember the human factor around the issue, however it was also important to consider factual evidence. With the implementation of any policy there will necessarily be a transitional arrangement. It was explained that many of the cases which had been provided represented issues which could be improved upon throughout transition.

-          It was important not to conflate issues with the new home to school transport policy with problems which had existed prior to its implementation. Notably, the issue of providing a service for students travelling outside of the authority was due to legal obligations all local authorities are subject to. Additionally the evidence provided by the head of admissions and transport demonstrated that this was not an issue which had seen significant variation before and after the introduction of the new policy.

-          Thanked schools for the work which had been done so far to help reduce the impacts of the new policy.

The cabinet member for young people and children’s wellbeing was invited to comment. Key points included:

-          At the heart of the policy was the need to implement cost savings into service provision.

-          Having met with families affected, it was appreciated that there is resentment of the policy, particularly when there are parents who benefited greatly from the previous policy.

-          It was important for the committee to remember what is being achieved and how effective the policy has been in cost saving. It was reiterated that evidence gathered so far suggests that both savings may be higher than expected, and that there does not yet seem to be a verifiable impact of catchment policies or the exporting of students becoming an issue.

-          Herefordshire council is currently a net importer of students and this is not a negative. While the idea of exporting students seems counterintuitive and an injustice the council has a legal obligation to provide free transport to another local authority school, where this is the nearest.

-          The policy is one which will be looked back on as having met a realistic need to make cost savings.

A committee member asked what provision had been made for parents of low wage children and those in receipt of housing benefit. The admissions and transport policy manager explained that there is a legal policy of extended rights through which low income families, notably those in receipt of free school meals or the maximum level of working families tax credit are entitled to free transport depending on distance from schools and age. It was noted that this could give a number of choices for parents in terms of school, depending on location.

A committee member queried if there had been any measurable impact of the policy on home schooling. In response the head of educational development stated that this was something which was measured very closely and as yet had not demonstrated any significant change.

 

The vice chair made a number of contributions:

-          Noted that this update was taking place very shortly after the implementation of the policy and suggested that it would be good to have an additional briefing later in the year when more views could be taken.

-          Noted that having discussed the issue with surrounding local authorities it is important to remember that the importing and exporting of students is bound by law and will continue to be the case indefinitely.

-          Questioned how many appeals had been heard in regard to home to school transport and queried whether there could be more work done to encourage people to use this process. In response it was stated that 33 appeals had been held concerning the issue and 2 of which had been upheld.

The admissions and transport policy manager noted that with only a limited period’s worth of data to analyse, it was too early for a comprehensive review of the policy. However the item had been added to the scrutiny agenda for January 2016 in accordance with the general overview and scrutiny committee’s request for a review at that time.

 

The director of children’s wellbeing explained that the issue of exporting children to other local authorities had been a cause of considerable debate for both General Overview and Scrutiny, as well as the cabinet when the policy had been introduced. It was explained that families on Welsh border areas were subject to different choices than families on local authority borders due to there being different education systems in Wales and England. It was explained that at the time it had been decided to introduce a consistent policy for the whole authority including border areas, but acknowledged that this made for more difficult choices such areas.

 

The chairman requested for a further update on the policy later in the year at a time convenient with school terms.

 

The influence of school catchment areas on school choices, particularly in Hereford city was discussed. It was clarified that most schools in Hereford City fall within the statutory walking distance for most children and were therefore not of relevance.

 

There was discussion of potential further scrutiny work to investigate an apparent divergence between opinions of those affected negatively by the home to school transport and the statistics provided on the issue.

A member of the committee stated that the online only availability of key policy documents explaining costings and the financial implications of the policy for families was not sufficiently accessible.

 

A member of the committee noted that many of the areas which had experienced negative impacts from the home to school transport policy were identified as ‘growth villages’ in the core strategy.

 

A member of the committee noted that the use by schools of grant money to mitigate the impact of the home to school transport policy could have a significant impact on the quality of education these schools were able to provide over time. It was warned that there could be other ‘creeping’ impacts of the home to school transport policy which might influence demographic trends in Herefordshire.

 

There was discussion over the need to look at alternate dynamic and sustainable transport methods to provide more cost effective home to school transport. It was explained that work had been done in this area, for example route planning and integration with existing public transport networks had been undertaken for schools in the Ledbury area and that work in efficiency savings for routes would continue indefinitely.

 

There was discussion of the adverse effect of the policy on rural and border areas of the county. It was stressed that the policy was consistent for the whole authority, but that there were some scenarios, such as border areas which were impacted more by the policy than others, and that these were areas which would need to be improved on in the policy going forward.

 

A councillor in attendance asked how many schools were considering providing their own transport at low cost, for example by purchasing their own vehicles. In response it was explained that consultation with schools on this was ongoing and as such a full response could not be provided until this was completed.

 

A member of the committee explained that while changes in policy would always have difficulties, the significance of parental choice in the debate was a demonstration of market forces which could improve the provision of education. If parents were willing to pay in order to send their children to what was perceived to be a better school then this would create competition obliging other schools to improve their service. That denominational and alternate educational schools had remained over-subscribed despite the previous introduction of paid for transport was evidence of this.

 

The representative of HASH commended member’s acknowledgment that rural communities were being adversely affected. It was reiterated that rural communities in border areas were not the only groups adversely affected, schools in central but rural areas such as Weobley high school were also affected.

 

There was discussion of the extent to which parents had free choice given the financial costs involved not being affordable for all parents.

Members of the committee expressed interest in receiving periodic updates regarding the implementation of the home to school transport policy, particularly were a review of the entire public transport network to be undertaken.

 

A member of the committee noted how traditional school behaviours had been affected. The member also stated that given the need for innovation in transport planning across Herefordshire, parents may be required to make less obvious and innovative choices regarding transport and schools. In response the director of children’s wellbeing explained that extent to which free choice would be affected by change in policy could not be comprehensively assessed at this stage as it would take time for trends to develop and become observable. The cabinet member young people and children’s wellbeing agreed that due to the early stage of the policy’s implementation, it would be prudent to wait for more information to become available before reviewing the policy further.

 

The admissions and transport policy manager explained that regardless of the provision of home to school transport, 50% of families made their own transport arrangements for school. There had been examples of innovative transport arrangements. It was agreed that schools should not have to contribute significant proportions of their resources into transport.

 

Resolved

That:

A)   The relevant officers work to produce a briefing note on home to school transport to present to the General Overview and Scrutiny Committee for July 2016

B)   The item be returned to the scrutiny committee for another annual review in January 2017

C)   It be investigated what other scrutiny activity would be of benefit regarding home to school transport