Northumberland mum’s school bus concern as children ‘travelling along A1 without a seat’
A concerned Northumberland mum has called for monitors on a school bus after allegations of violence and children not having a seat as the bus travels along a section of the A1. The 890 service, operated by Travelsure, takes Berwick[1] Academy and Berwick Middle School pupils to school from Wooler[2], stopping on the way in Fenwick, Lowick and Scremerston. On Friday December 1, the bus was involved in a minor collision with a car in Berwick town centre, Northumbria Police[3] confirmed, though nobody was injured.
The mum, who asked not to be named due to fears that her child would be targeted, said that she was already concerned about the school bus but after the crash on Friday, she is even more worried. Northumberland[4] County Council confirmed to ChronicleLive that 40 – 45 children use the service which has 53 or 57 seats. However, the mum says that older pupils dominate the back of the bus, and that younger pupils are forced to take their chances in the aisles, or by overloading the banks of two seats. She claims that one pupil had a plastic bag put over his head by a Berwick Academy pupil around a year ago, and that another younger pupil was “pulled out of his seat by the throat” in September after sitting in “someone else’s seat”, also from Berwick Academy.
The concerned mum said: “I think the bus needs monitoring by a second person because the driver, understandably, has to keep his eyes on the road and he can’t keep his eye on the kids as well.” However, the mum claims that after a recent inspection, the driver told pupils “not to worry about seatbelts,” once the inspector had gotten off the bus. She continued: “Maybe after this crash, the drivers will be a little less complacent, but it seems like they’re not bothered about what’s behind them at the minute.”
The troubles on the 890 have led the mum to consider making two 20+ mile round trips per day so that her child can get to and from school safely. She said: “Every month I’m assessing whether it’s the right service for him because at some point or another it feels like there’s always going to be at risk of him being on the end of violence or an accident. “On Friday, when there was an accident, that was the worst case scenario and we’re just pleased that nobody got hurt.
But if it carries on like this there’s always a chance it could carry on again and someone will get hurt.” The parent said that she hoped these issues may be addressed when a new operator for the 890 takes over the service next year, but said that nothing has been communicated to parents yet. Northumberland County Council confirmed that the contract for the 890 is up for tender, with Travelsure due to close at the end of this year as its owners retire[5].
A spokesperson for Northumberland County Council added: “We are in the process of appointing other transport providers to take over Travelsure’s current contracts from the start of the new spring term in January 2024. Further details will be communicated to parents before Christmas[6].” Steve Gibson, the deputy head teacher at Berwick Academy said that it works with Northumberland County Council when there are disciplinary issues on school transport.
He said: “We are proud of the high standards of behaviour, respect and courtesy shown by the vast majority of our students both in and out of school. “We have robust policies in place so that where behaviour falls short of our high expectations, we take swift action to identify issues and put in place appropriate sanctions. As a school in a rural setting, many of our students travel on school transport every day.
“On the rare occasion where concerns are raised by transport providers to the school, we work closely with them and with Northumberland County Council’s school transport team to identify those responsible and to put appropriate responses in place in line with our policies.” However, Berwick Academy did not confirm what action had been taken on the incidents mentioned above, nor if those who had allegedly carried out the actions were still travelling on the school bus. A spokesperson for Northumberland County Council added: “The safety of our young people is always our top priority as a council, so we are sorry to hear about these concerns.
There is a behaviour policy in place for all students using school transport outlining expectations for behaviour to ensure safe transport for all. “This includes finding a seat, sitting down and wearing a seatbelt. If we receive reports of unacceptable behaviour, the transport team will work with the school, the students involved and their parents to ensure behaviour on school transport improves.”
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References
- ^ Berwick (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Wooler (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Northumbria Police (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Northumberland (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Travelsure due to close at the end of this year as its owners retire (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Christmas (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Northumberland WhatsApp community (chat.whatsapp.com)
- ^ privacy notice (www.reachplc.com)
- ^ CLICK HERE TO JOIN (chat.whatsapp.com)