Pupils join mums and dads in fight to keep bus chaperones

The four to 11-year-olds, who live in Hatton Park, a mile away from Ferncumbe Primary School, have joined their mums, dads and teachers in highlighting the problems.

There are no pavements on their stretch of the busy Birmingham Road - so that even if they wanted to walk to school - they couldn’t.

It’s for this reason the cash-strapped county council is obliged to provide two buses to transport the 80 youngsters the short distance. But there could be a small cost saving if each bus only had a driver and there was no escort to help the children.

But 11-year-old Ria, from year six, warns the council: “If children are being silly on the bus and distracting the driver and he looks over his shoulder he could crash the bus into a car or a tree.”

More solemnly, classmate Oliver, also aged 11, writes: “Money is worth nothing if children’s lives are lost.”

In his long letter, Oliver points out that he has three reasons: what happens if a four to six-year-old couldn’t put on a seat belt; second, what if a driver left someone behind because he didn’t know if everyone was present and third, what would happen if there was an accident and a driver was injured?

Back in October mother-of-two Caroline Adams, who lives on the Hatton Park estate, submitted a 200-name petition to the Warwick area committee where Cllr Jose Compton spoke up on the parents’ behalf.

As a result an extension to the chaperone scheme was granted pending a further health and safety assessment.

But Mrs Adams said: “Two weeks before the end of term, there is still no decision about whether the chaperones will be employed in the new year.

“Most of us are hugely concerned because some of the four-year-olds can’t even fasten their own seat belts and they often need the straps adjusting. As parents we will have no alternative but to drive our children to school - and the next problem will be there is nowhere to park.”

Alistair Ross, whose five year old daughter Hannah is a pupil at Ferncumbe said: “I know things are tight but you have to save money in the right place and the right areas.”

• On Wednesday the county council said the escorts would now remain in post until the February half-term while a new assessment was studied,