More children could soon lose out on free travel to school and be left facing a long walk.Oh, noes!!!
Parents are concerned about a new policy which would see Southend Council cut its home-to-school transport arrangements.
A report to Southend Council’s cabinet recommends increasing the minimum walking distance from one-and-a-half miles to two miles before transport is offered.
It bring Southend in line with national guidelines.Wait, what?
Southend was a whole half a mile under national guidelines?
Judy Barton, 41, of Norwich Avenue, Southend, said: “I don’t think it is a good idea to make children walk further because it is dangerous.Oh, for pete’s sake!
“We have to think about the safety of our children.”
“Especially because it is getting dark in the mornings and evenings, you just don’t know what could happen to them on the walk to and from school.Alien abduction? Velociraptor attack? Just how dangerous is Southend anyway?
“One of my children goes to Cecil Jones College which is about a ten to 15-minute walk which is not so far, but two miles is quite a long way for children to walk if they are walking on their own.”
6 comments:
There's even a walkway over the dual carriage way and the rest of the walk is along residential roads.
"Alien abduction? Velociraptor attack? Just how dangerous is Southend anyway?"
You forget the candy floss wars.
There is probably too much energy expenditure or perceived risk in venturing beyond the front door.
The State always comes up with solutions by moan or default and I wonder how long it will be before the 4x4 school conveyance allowance is a statutory right for non Muslim parents?
Where does one start??
O.K. so I'm a senile old fart (54¾), but when I started infant school my parents couldn't afford a car, so I HAD to walk. On rare occasions my mother got to borrow her fathers 1927 Austin Seven....I was in junior school before dad had his own car, but he used that for work, so I STILL had to walk.
“We have to think about the safety of our children.” - How do you suppose they will ever learn about safety if you surround them with side impact protection & airbags??
"You just don’t know what could happen to them on the walk to and from school." Yeah, they could narrowly avoid being flattened by a 30 ton crane falling off a low loader....
"But two miles is quite a long way for children to walk if they are walking on their own." - At least they won't end up looking like this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1325509/34st-Georgia-Britains-fattest-teenager-piles-16st-on.html
And if Ms Barton is really that concerned why doesn't she organise a rota with other parents to escort a group of children - "Walking Buses" they call it round here.
When I started at grammar school I had to travel across the city, on regular public transport, not by dedicated coach. And if we misbehaved the school soon heard about it, leading to a detention....
Hint to Judy Barton:
Walk with them to school you lazy bitch!!
Just a thought...
"There's even a walkway over the dual carriage way..."
Yup. Mind you, with all the roadworks in Southend at the moment, nothing's moving very fast anyway!
"You forget the candy floss wars."
Heh!
"...I wonder how long it will be before the 4x4 school conveyance allowance is a statutory right for non Muslim parents?"
Looking at the school run, I think that's already happened...
"And if Ms Barton is really that concerned why doesn't she organise a rota with other parents to escort a group of children..."
Because that would entail her doing something. And we all know it's down to the State to do EVERYTHING...
"Just a thought..."
Not one the likes of Judy has ever had...
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