Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice to David Smith of Democratic Services (contact details below) and supplied the text by midday on Monday, 3 March 2025, three working days before the day of the meeting. Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item. Members of the public who have given notice will be invited to speak
· at this point in the meeting if their questions/statements relate to matters which are not otherwise on the agenda (subject to an overall time limit of 30 minutes);
· when the relevant agenda item is being considered if they wish to speak on a matter which is on the agenda for this meeting.
If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chair who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.
Minutes:
Simon Peach, Chair of Governors at Settle College said the following.
“I am here to represent Settle College as the Chair of Governors and I am asking this question because we are wrestling with out midterm financial planning and needing to understand the impact of changes to school transport. I apologise for bringing it to you – I wrote to Officers in December, but I haven’t had a reply.
We have been told that there will be a review of the new Home to School Transport Policy in 2026 and it is important for schools in the Ripon and Skipton area to understand how that review will be conducted,
We were also told at the Executive meeting on July 16 2024 that “...savings can only be realised if the expected reduction in the number of eligible pupils translates to a reduction in the sizes or number of vehicles …”
We have the following question regarding the 2026 review; will the review:
· be based on actual, reduced contract costs due to specific changes in the size or number of vehicles and not simply a theoretical saving based on the number of newly ineligible pupils multiplied by a notional cost per pupil,
· take into account the cost of additional vehicles made necessary by the new policy, lost income to North Yorkshire schools and additional costs incurred by families when reaching a balanced conclusion, and
· be concluded in time to make changes to the Home to School Transport policy that will be in force for 2027 starters?”
The following response was read out on behalf of Officers.
“You correctly note that the Council has committed to undertaking a review of the implementation of the policy during the summer of 2026.
That review will consider a range of issues that are applicable to the Council’s provision of home to school travel including, but not limited to:
· the extent to which savings have been achieved
· the extent to which further savings are expected to be achieved during the course of the phased implementation of the policy
· pupil cohort information relating to admissions and transport
Legislation requires that home to school travel policies are agreed by the end of July in any given year to be effective from September of that year. This is so that parents who are applying for a school place for their child for the subsequent academic year can make informed decisions about where to apply.
The review will take place at the end of the academic year 2025-2026 and the review findings are likely to be presented in the autumn term of 2026-27.”
Rachael Berry said the following.
“The purpose of me coming today was to outline the practicality of what is happening in Skipton due to the Home to School Transport Policy. You’ll be aware that the three secondary schools are on Gargrave Road. What that means in practice for my family, who lives West of Skipton within the catchment for Skipton Academy and the grammar schools, is that because of the policy, we can no longer expect transport to the grammar schools because the nearest school is Skipton Academy.
In September when I rang up to ask whether my child, if they pass the test for the grammar school, can get off the bus at Skipton Academy and walk along the pavement to Skipton Girls’ High School next door, we were told absolutely not and that the transport will be removed. So I’ve concluded therefore that in order to access the grammar school provision from where I live five miles from Skipton, we have to forfeit home to school transport provision.
That really matters to me because I live remote rural, so I don’t live near a bus stop. I live two miles from the nearest bus stop, so if my child goes to the Skipton Academy they can access shared transport provision to the bus stop and the bus the rest of the way. If I would like them to take up the place at the grammar in the town, I can’t have any of that and I’m left with potentially applying for bus pass either from the a59 or the a65 – reviewed year to year, no certainty, doesn’t take them all of the way, changes to family working patterns and all sorts of things if my child is deposited two miles from where I live in the afternoon. So it’s difficult if we want my child, who has passed for Skipton Girls to access that place.
It’s only a slice of Skipton that’s affected by it. I’ve drawn a map and it’s West and Northwest, roughly 3 miles from the town – Bank Newton, Gargrave, Coniston Cold and Bell Busk. They all, by footpath (which is how it is calculated), hit the academy first which means none of those children now can have home to school provision to the grammars. I just want to reflect on the fact that about 60% of secondary school places are in the two grammars with about 40% in the academy.
Children coming from the other end of town that are told their nearest school is one of the grammars effectively have a choice. If they pass for the grammar and
want to go, they will go there, but if not, it would be the next nearest school – they therefore have the choice to have transport to Skipton Academy.
I have had unanswered letters from October and December asking for two policy adjustments and they were.
1) If schools in Skipton are a child’s closest, can children have the choice to go to any of them please?
2) Can you think about how Lancashire County Council calculate the distance as they do it as three miles by the nearest road whereas North Yorkshire is calculating it by footpath. That is creating anomalies across the county so there’s situations where children on the other side of Sharp Haw that are told that um the grammars are nearest but in practice they would come the same route by road.”
The following response was read out on behalf of Officers.
“The Home to School Travel Policy that was adopted by the Council in July 2024 aligned the Council’s arrangements to the Department for Educations guidance in respect of the main eligibility criteria for home to school travel which is that transport will be provided to the nearest suitable school with available places.
The comments made in respect of access to the grammar schools in Skipton are noted.
It should be noted that the policy relates to the arrangements for home to school travel only, and not to those for admissions. Parents can continue to express a preference for a number of schools when applying for a school place for their child. The council continues to ensure there are sufficient places within schools for children resident in the county to attend a school in the county.
The Home to School Travel Policy does include provisions to provide extended rights for children from low-income families to support the principle of parental choice for school places.
During the 2024-25 admissions round (for starters in September 2025) parents were encouraged to consider the implications of the revised Home to School Travel Policy, and to take these into account if they were likely to require assistance to be provided with home to school travel.
To support this the Council provided an online tool which enabled parents to identify their nearest schools.
In considering the policy the Council did undertake an equalities impact assessment, including the potential impact upon families who live in rural areas, and noted that assistance with home to school travel will continue to be provided for pupils with eligibility and there is extended eligibility for those from low-income households.
Assistance with travel, either in the form of paid-for transport or a parental allowance, will be made available to all pupils who are assessed as being eligible.
The Council has committed to undertaking a review of the home to school travel policy during the summer of 2026 and will consider a range of issues during that review including cost savings (as per the response to the previous speaker).”
Resolved
a) Members requested that investigations be made as to why no response was received to the letters sent by the public speakers.