Have your say on proposals for the future of 16-18 year old travel

Notice from the county council

Hertfordshire County Council wants to hear your views on its proposals for the future of travel for 16-18 year olds in full-time education or training.

A consultation is currently underway to review arrangements to provide school travel support to young people aged 16-18.

The review aims to ensure that the county council funds school/college transport at the right level, whilst supporting those in most need and developing young people’s resilience and ability to travel independently.

The consultation affects students in full-time education and training aged between 16 and 18 and aged up to 19 and beyond 19 if they are continuing on a course started before the age of 19, which also includes learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

Five proposals are being put forward as part of the consultation, which are based on the council’s pledge to support families on low income who need most assistance, particularly those without an alternative funding source.

Justin Donovan, Director of Education and Early Intervention, said: “There remains an ongoing pressure on the county council to reduce its spending.

“We want to ensure that we provide the right level of travel support to those young people who are most in need, so that they can continue to participate in full-time education and training.

“We are therefore consulting on a set of 16-18 proposals. Feedback from the consultation will be considered by the Enterprise, Education & Skills Panel in the autumn. The panel will make recommendations to Cabinet, who will determine the future 16-18 transport policy at their meeting on 13 October 2014. Following this decision, it is expected that a new policy will be published, for implementation from September 2015.”

The county council is committed to promoting sustainable travel – including the offer of the concessionary SaverCard Scheme (which enables young people to gain discounted travel on buses across Hertfordshire) – to a choice of schools and colleges. It is keen to ensure that as many young people as possible plan their travel arrangements, so they can access their school, college or training provider place using sustainable travel.

The consultation runs from 22 April to 21 July 2014.

Parents, carers, young people and schools/colleges of further education are being encouraged to respond to the consultation so that decisions are made based on the needs and opinions of the people affected. Visit www.hertsdirect.org/consultations to have your say.

We will also be holding a number of events across Hertfordshire. For further information, please visitwww.hertsdirect.org/consultations

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Liberal Democrats say Primary Schools admissions system is failing our children

Parents across Hertfordshire are reeling as they discover that their child does not have a Primary School place for September, and are bracing themselves for a second round of applications.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Education and Childrens’ Services, Mark Watkin (Nascot Park) said “Hundreds of families across the County have a worrying few weeks ahead while they wait to see in HCC can find any extra capacity in their area.

“Parents want to see their children in a good, local school and not having a school place for a child is very stressful.  I am also very concerned for those parents who have not been able to obtain one of their selected schools or will have to travel miles to have their child educated and shall continue to demand that the county ensures  more school places are provided where they are needed in good time for 2015/16. (more…)

16-18 year old Special Needs Learners to lose Education Transport support in Hertfordshire

At the meeting of the Enterprise, Education and Skills Cabinet Panel, County Councillors were told that the Conservative run County Council is looking to reduce the level of transport support for older students with Special Educational Needs by £500,000 per year.

This means that one SEN student in every three could lose all their education transport support.

The grants largely pay for students to travel to one of the four colleges of further education. Under the new criteria students will only be able to claim for journeys up to 10 miles from their home and will only be paid for journeys to the nearest college. Given that the colleges offer different courses and students have to travel to more distant colleges to attend the appropriate course, this may affect which courses are available and viable to SEN learners.

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One in four Hertfordshire schools needs to improve

Councillors at this week’s Hertfordshire County Council’s Education, Skills and Enterprise Cabinet Panel were told by officers that virtually 25% or one school in four across all age groups “requires improvement” which is the second lowest Ofsted category – just above the failing category (known  as Special Measures).

This is a much higher proportion than the National average (one in five) and is a major cause for concern. This will mean that these schools will be re-inspected much sooner than schools rated “Good” or “Outstanding”. If they have not improved after two more Ofsted inspections, there is a very high probability that they will be put into the lowest category “Special Measures.” Were this to happen, then almost certainly the Headteacher, and the Board of Governors would be replaced. This can be a very disruptive process.

“I am really worried,” commented the Liberal Democrat Opposition Spokesperson for Education, Mark Watkin. “The Conservatives boast that  Hertfordshire has some of the finest schools in the country but it has too many Primary and Secondary Schools which are apparently coasting. It is imperative that these schools, working with the County’s School improvement partner “Herts for Learning”, review all that they do to bring themselves up to the Ofsted “Good” category as a matter of top priority.”

Review into traffic issues caused by school coaches

 

A group of councillors from St Albans City and District Council is to look into traffic issues surrounding the transportation of pupils to school by coach.

The group wants to hear from residents about any issues they have faced with coaches travelling to and from local schools in their area.

The Local Services Scrutiny Committee set up a Schools and Coaches Task and Finish Group to look into this topic following concerns raised by residents and councillors.

Chris White, Chair of the Local Services Scrutiny Committee: “Some residents and councillors are concerned about traffic congestion caused by coaches transporting children to school. The Committee felt that this is a complex topic with many issues to consider. It has set up a sub-group to explore the matter in detail with the aim of coming up with possible solutions.”

Please send your comments to scrutiny@stalbans.gov.uk.

Applying for primary, junior and middle schools in 2014

Note from the county council

The process for applying to primary, junior and middle schools in Hertfordshire opens today (11 November).??It is vital that parents and carers make their applications before the closing date of 15 January 2014.

You should complete the online application form at www.hertsdirect.org/admissions, where you can also find an interactive version of the ‘Under 11s’ booklet which gives all the information you need about the primary, junior or middle transfer process and advice on where to find extra help.

Last year 99 per cent of parents applied online and found the system quick, easy and secure. If you apply online you can amend your application at any time up to the closing date. Online applicants can access their school offer before allocation letters are received and parents are also able to accept their school allocation online.

Teachers’ strike – Tuesday 1 October

The two largest teaching unions, the NUT and the NASUWT, have confirmed that a rolling program of regional strikes is planned to take place across the country in the autumn over national disputes around pay, pensions and working conditions.

Unless agreement is reached, strike action will take place in the Eastern, Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside regions on Tuesday 1 October. This is highly likely to cause disruption in schools across Hertfordshire.

Justin Donovan, Director of Education, said: “The best way for parents to find out about closures is by contacting their children’s schools directly. While we will publicise the dates of impending strike action in advance on www.hertsdirect.org, together with contact details for the county’s schools, schools are not obliged to tell us about closures, so we cannot give an entirely accurate picture of which schools are closing.”

Help for parents and pupils to find the best way to get to school

The Hertfordshire Schools Journey Planner offers a range of routes either on foot, by bike, by public transport or by car.

It finds the quickest and safest routes to school and helps parents to find alternative ways to get to school other than by car. This in turn should help to ease congestion on our busy roads as well as reduce emissions.

The planner also shows the approximate amount of calories burned on each route and the amount of carbon emissions produced to help families to pick the best way to get to school. (more…)

New online journey planner to help parents find best route to school

An online school journey planner has been launched by Hertfordshire County Council to help parents and pupils find the best way to get to school, which should help to reduce congestion.

The Hertfordshire School Journey Planner will be a tool for parents of children starting school for the first time and for older pupils planning their journeys to new secondary schools.

By entering the home postcode and a child’s school into the journey planner, users will be able to compare a range of travel options so journeys can be planned.

The journey planner offers a range of routes either on foot, by bike, by public transport or by car. The planner also shows the approximate number of calories burned on each route and the amount of carbon emissions produced to help families to pick the best way to get to school.

Walking routes take into account unsafe sections of a journey and if possible these will be avoided. For cyclists there are three options to suit the levels of experience and confidence – fastest / quietest / balanced. Public transport options use the up-to-date information from the Traveline web services

The system is available at www.hertsdirect.org/mapit and there are also other useful online services such as the school locator to find the nearest schools to where you live by entering your postcode and the type of school you want to find.