Home to School Transport - Charlbury is affected!

Tue 14 Jan 2014, 12:16 (last edited on Fri 17 Jan 2014, 10:16)

Tue 17 Dec 2013, 08:43

The consultation period has been extended into January. The Council are beginning to get an idea of the strength of public opinion. Please complete it and add your voice.

Wed 11 Dec 2013, 11:09

The consultation closes on 20th December; if you have not already done so, please complete it before the deadline. The number of responses is the only thing that the council officers must legally report back when the matter is discussed in council in January.
https://myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/transport2015/consultationHome
They are unable to substantiate the reported savings,it could in fact cost the council more as they have admitted that they will need to employ additional staff in order to deal with the complications that will arise and an increase in admissions appeals. It is a tax on education in rural areas, please help defeat it.

Thu 28 Nov 2013, 15:36

I noticed that one side of Sturt Close is Chipping Norton school catchment and the other side is Woodstock or Witney (as is Woodstock Rd) but I thought it was based on mileage by road not As the crow flies?
Seems a bit silly.
I also noticed cost of travel for a sixth form students will eventually rise to over £690 by 2019 (If you travel over 3 miles) so this clearly effects Charlbury. You would have to pay it too being as over 16's now have to stay in education.

I certainly would not want my children cycling those roads to any of the secondry schools everyday.

Thu 28 Nov 2013, 09:51

Please do engage with the consultation process and register your concerns and objections. The consultation ends on 20th December so ensure that you get your responses in by then. Details can be found at https://myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/transport2015/consultationHome as per Helen's original post on this thread.

You may also like to consider copying your comments to our County Councillor Cllr Rodney Rose at rodney.rose@oxfordshire.gov.uk and/or the Leader of OCC Cllr Ian Hudspeth at ian.hudspeth@oxfordshire.gov.uk

There are still a number of public consultation meetings planned on this issue including two "local" ones at Woodstock and Burford. We understand that Cllr Ian Hudspeth will be available at each meeting to answer questions alongside senior council officers Roy Leach (School Organisation & Planning Manager) and Neil Darlington (Admissions & Transport Services Manager). These meetings are an excellent opportunity to raise your concerns directly with them.

The full list of public meetings still to be held (all starting at 7pm) is:
- 29th November - The Marlborough School, Woodstock
- 2nd December - Icknield Community College, Watlington
- 4th December - Wheatley Park School, Holton
- 9th December - Burford School
- 10th December - Larkmead School, Abingdon
- 12th December - The Warriner School, Bloxham

Make your views known!

Wed 27 Nov 2013, 10:12

The problem is that FOI requests can only provide information on what the Council knows - not what it does not know. As they have chosen not to ask the question 'will you pay to use the bus to your existing partner school?' they themselves do not know the answer - so cannot provide the information. The action group OSBAG are now taking legal action to get the consultation stopped due to errors in the process - but I would urge as many people as possible to respond before the deadline in case this fails.

Wed 27 Nov 2013, 09:12

Agreed. www.theyworkforyou.com/ is a really easy way to make FoI requests.

Wed 27 Nov 2013, 08:54

a situation that no amount of requests for information on costs has yielded results.

If that is genuinely the case, and the people asking for the info have worded their requests correctly, that's illegal and you should make a complaint under the Freedom of Information Act. The council should either say they don't have the information (which leads to a whole ot of other problems) or, they should supply you with it, or give a valid reason why you can't have it.

Wed 27 Nov 2013, 08:30

The whole scenario is very complicated - there are maps on the OCC website of which addresses are affected. The problem is that OCC have not asked parents in Year 5 and below whose addresses are affected whether they would pay to use an OCC bus to the current catchment school or whether they would opt to go to the nearest school. Their suggested savings are based on the assumption that all parents would pay to go the existing partner school. For many parents this is not affordable. OCC would then have to provide transport to two schools - a situation that no amount of requests for information on costs has yielded results. The only fair solution is to go for set transport areas, based on existing partnerships and to do a proper consultation on changing partnership arrangements, if there are surplus school places at one school and other schools are oversubscribed - but this is not an option on the consultation document. The second issue is around the cost of post 16 transport, just at the time when the school leaving age has been raised!

Wed 27 Nov 2013, 06:39

I got the letter through a few days ago about all this. Bit confused as the last paragraph says:
"The general entitlement to free travel to the nearest school with an available place if it is over the statutory walking distance (three miles for those aged 8 to 16 & two miles for those of school age who are below the age of 8) would also remain unaffected."
So I was assuming that as we live further away from Chippie school than that we'd be okay? But looking at the map from the link given - looks like the whole of CHarlbury will be affected which is just rediculous!
I will go onto the OCC website later today to voice my conerns!

Tue 26 Nov 2013, 17:44

We have repeatedly asked the council to provide us with the financial modelling they have done around these scenarios, but they refuse to provide

Have you done a FOI request? Local councils are required to give out information if asked.

Tue 26 Nov 2013, 11:40

Information from OSBAG. -
The school transport consultation which OCC launched on 4th November, ends 4 weeks on Friday on 20th December.

Primary: your parents may find that, although they are still in the catchment area for the same secondary school, they would be faced with a £600 bill for…

Long post - click to read full text

Tue 26 Nov 2013, 11:27 (last edited on Tue 26 Nov 2013, 14:19)

I would like to once again raise awareness of the proposals by Oxfordshire County Council to change their policies on home to school transport. These proposals were abandoned in the summer but have come up again - please take action. There are a number of public meetings arranged to address concerns directly with OCC.

https://myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/transport2015/consultationHome

This time, OCC have made it clear that Charlbury will be affected, please look at the map on the OCC website.
https://myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/gf2.ti/f/32130/74117.1/PDF/-/Village_Charlbury.pdf
Depending on where you live within Charlbury, you could be closest to one of 3 secondary schools and you will only be provided with a free bus to your nearest school which might not be the secondary school partnered with your child's primary school.

Addresses marked with a black dot are closest to Chipping Norton School
Addresses marked with a green dot are closest to The Marlborough School, Woodstock
Addresses marked with a yellow dot are closest to Wood Green School, Witney

You might also like to look at the Facebook page of OSBAG,a campaigning group initially set up by Warriner School, Bloxham parents who are very badly affected.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oxon-School-Bus-Action-Group/146863815505334

The OCC proposals are very badly thought through and are bad for education generally,it destroys the whole concept of partner Primary and Secondary schools which aid the vital transition at age 11.
Many, many families across Oxfordshire will be affected. More parents will end up driving their children to school,increasing the already congested morning rush hour.
OCC think that the A40and A34 are safe cycling routes to school for children!

Please help kill off these proposals!
Thank you.