Staffordshire County Council has abandoned plans to cut school transport concessions that would have seen some parents paying almost £400 to get their children to school.
The county’s Cabinet member for learning and skills, Ben Adams, has shelved a consultation launched in June following criticism from parents and teachers.
Cllr Adams said: “We have listened to parents and I think many valid points have been raised so, with this in mind, I have decided to close the consultation and recommend the county council doesn’t continue with the proposals. In making an early decision I wanted to remove uncertainty for pupils and parents as they moved into the important last few weeks of term, and to allow heads to focus on their work to improve schools and achieve outstanding outcomes for local children.”
The consultation on whether parents should pay a contribution towards the cost of discretionary school transport was launched by the county council last month and was due to end on July 12th.
The proposals would have affected around three per cent of the county’s pupils, who currently get free transport if they live over two miles from their catchment primary school, and over three miles from their catchment secondary school.
