Introduction
It is really important that we know about any problems with school transport, such as a vehicle running early or late, if a vehicle fails to operate and any behaviour issues.
We only know about a problem if we’re told about it. Please give us specific details so that we can discuss any issues with the contractor or the school. If you prefer, you can tell us anonymously. We will deal with all matters reported to us in confidence.
Email us transport@somerset.gov.uk
Behaviour on school transport
We want to provide school transport that is safe and stress-free for all passengers. One of the major worries that parents have is that there will be poor behaviour on school transport. We take this very seriously and we are working hard to overcome concerns. We spend a lot of time working with schools and operators to make sure any problems are dealt with effectively. We will always work with the school involved to try to solve the problem.
To overcome the concerns of parents, we have a co-ordinated approach to dealing with behavioural problems, including:
- Behavioural protocol – A clear system of advice, rules and guidance, designed with schools to make sure that poor behaviour is dealt with consistently, fairly and effectively
- Bus passes – All middle and secondary school pupils have been issued with a bus pass to make sure the buses are loaded properly, and only authorised passengers travel – improving safety and behaviour. We will withdraw bus passes from pupils whose behaviour is consistently poor or when their actions seriously affect safety
- Seat belts – All of our contracted fleet has seat belts, which must be worn by law
- Driver training – We aim to have all drivers trained to effectively manage their school run by avoiding conflict and dealing with any problems effectively
- Prefect training – Schools that have bus prefects are invited to have their prefects trained so that they can act effectively to report problems
- Bus groups – Some schools have active bus groups so that children can report problems and discuss ways of dealing with them
- CCTV – Much of the coach fleet we use is fitted with CCTV. Although this does not stop trouble, it provides a reliable and objective ‘witness’ to events, helping to identify culprits and exonerate those who are innocently involved
- Supervision – Some buses have dedicated passenger assistants, although these are rare.
If you know about a behavioural problem on school transport, please contact us as soon as possible.
What happens next
When we receive information about a behavioural problem we will contact the school and work with them to try to solve it. We take poor behaviour, including bullying, very seriously. We deal with reports of problems in many ways:
- We report each child or incident to their school.
- Schools address poor behaviour on school buses as seriously as they do with similar behaviour on their own sites.
- We write to the parent or guardian of the child, warning that transport may be withdrawn, unless the incident is extremely serious, then transport may be withdrawn immediately.
- We record incidents of poor behaviour. Repeated poor behaviour will lead to a ban from transport. The length of the ban will often be guided by what the school feels is appropriate, although bans are usually for a minimum of 5 days. For persistent very poor or dangerous behaviour, we will ban pupils for much longer. During the ban, the child’s parent or guardian is responsible for getting them to school. We do not provide alternative transport for banned pupils
Property left on a school vehicle
If your child has left property on a school transport vehicle, please contact the operator directly to arrange to collect it. If you don’t know who the operator is or want their contact details, please contact us and we will tell you.