A mum and dad are running their daughter to a school bus stop 1.5 miles away — because the council refuses to allow it to stop in their village.
Steve and Lynn Emery, of Hesket Newmarket, live 15ft from a bus stop but have to drive to Caldbeck and back every morning and afternoon to drop off and pick up their daughter, Megan, aged 14, who goes to Caldew School, in Dalston.
This is despite the same school bus going right past their house — with red tape apparently preventing it from stopping in the village.
This means the Emerys have to follow the bus in their car twice a day, with the council having told them it cannot “introduce another stop”.
Steve said: “The school bus has space and goes right past our house every day and it’s always mostly empty, with loads of seats available. The council don’t want the bus to stop but they are prepared to pay for a taxi at what would probably be about £40 a day — it’s crazy. We both work and we’ve both lived here for 20 years and it’s the only bus that doesn’t stop in the village.”
Other buses which do stop in Hesket Newmarket include the council-contracted school bus to the Nelson Thomlinson School, Wigton.
Cumberland Council cited Department for Education guidance as the reason.
This suggests that for a child to be eligible to use the school bus, they have to live at least one mile from the bus’s official collection point, otherwise they would not not qualify for free transport to school.
But an email seen by the Herald sent to the Emerys by the council also seems to suggest that because the Emerys were offered a taxi, which they turned down, the council will not allow a bus to stop there.
“Hesket Newmarket is an available stop onboard the (taxi) route to Caldew School. As there is already a stop instated to a pre-existing route (which you are opting not to utilise), we will not add this back on to the T0710 (bus),” said the council email.
Megan, a high-performing student who has dyslexia, moved schools this September. Initially, Cumberland Council had proposed to provide her, and other students, with a taxi from Carlisle to school and back — a 20 mile-plus round trip.
But Steve and Lynn decided this would be a waste of public money and had concerns about the length of time it would take and Megan travelling unaccompanied.
Steve said the situation was also damaging to the environment, as they literally follow the bus in their car like cat and mouse.
Jen Osborne, who works full-time and lives on a farm between Welton and Caldbeck, has faced similar issues.
Her son, Thomas, 11, goes to Caldew School and they too are entitled to free school transport.
But the council-run service requires him to be ready for collection at between 7.05am and 7.15am.
A journey to school of just seven miles has ended up taking more than an hour at the start and end of every day and over a distance of just under 30 miles, said Jen.
That is because the taxi also picks up on the fell side, then Oulton, near Wigton, before reaching Caldew School.
Jen said it was neither the fault of the taxi driver nor the school, and had emailed the council offering to meet them half way by driving Thomas to an agreed stopping point where the bus could collect him at a slightly later time.
The council did not reply, she said. Instead, she now drives him to school and back every day herself.
Jen said she planned to appeal.
A Cumberland Council spokeswoman said transporting more than 5,000 children and young people to school every day involved complex logistics.
The council is committed, she said, to minimising journey times, but this means varying travel durations.
The spokeswoman added: “Regarding the stops at Hesket Newmarket on the Caldbeck area route to Caldew School, we have ensured that the primary Caldbeck bus, which serves students from Caldbeck, is available.
“This bus stop is typically located over one mile from Hesket Newmarket, depending on the specific resident locations.
“Recognising that several students reside in the Hesket Newmarket area, the council has arranged for a taxi route using an eight-seater vehicle for five students.
“This arrangement eliminates the need for parents or carers to transport their children to Caldbeck, and the taxi journey to school typically takes around one hour.
“While we strive to accommodate all transport requests, it’s essential to adhere to the provided guidance, which specifies that students needing bus collection must reside at least one mile from the bus stop.
“Currently, there is available capacity on the prim
ry Caldbeck bus for students from Caldbeck, but parents or carers would need to transport and collect their children to and from the bus collection point.”
Parents or carers who are unhappy have the option to appeal the decision, the spokeswoman added.
The DfE’s National Guidance on Travel to School for Children was updated in June and made available to local councils as education authorities. It runs to 64-pages, totals more than 20,000 words and would take 75 minutes to read.
