Loss of chaperones on school buses is ‘terrible’ mother says

Lisa Simpson, whose daughters Isabelle, Amelia and Zara attend Cubbington Primary School, is concerned about Warwickshire County Council’s decision to cut its funding for the use of chaperones on certain buses, which will mean her children will have to travel to and from the school unsupervised from the start of next term in September.

Mrs Simpson said: “I think it is terrible, if they don’t change their minds my children won’t use the bus because they won’t be supervised.

“I think a lot of parents will do the same.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted to stop school bus services in rural areas and this is a way of doing it.”

Sharon Allen has worked as the chaperone for the Cubbington service for nine years and will travel on the bus for the last time tomorrow (Friday).

Mrs Allen, who works full-time as a web chat moderator, is not concerned about the loss of extra income but is worried for the welfare of the children who use the bus, of which there are more than 20.

She said: “There has been an escort on those buses ever since I can remember, my son Nick used to have one when he went to the school and he’s 30 now.

“It’s for the safety of the children and to make sure they sit down nicely - they can be very excited especially in the afternoon when they let a bit of steam off.

“I spoke to an inspector from the council and they told me they were putting in their report that a chaperone was needed because at the end of the day a driver’s job is to drive the bus and not look after the children.

“The parents are upset about it and it is an unnecessary cut, I know the situation the country is in and things have to be done but some of the cuts are being done in the wrong places.”

The council has said cutting chaperones could save £700,000 over the next three years.

From September assistants will be retained on double-decker buses, where children need escorting from a pick-up or drop-off point, if there is a risk of behavioural problems or where an assistant is judged necessary because of the ages of passengers.

Cllr Heather Timms, who is responsible for policy for children, young people and families, said: “We will be taking a flexible approach to passenger assistants and will carefully consider each service ensuring the safety of the children comes first.”