After hours activity
Change of bus pass
Exchange students
GCSE’s
Restrictions
Seat belts
Seat restraints
Standards of behaviour
Waiting time
Q. Do you provide transport for after school / college activities?
No. the local authority is unable to provide transport for after school or college activities. Parents of pupils / students wishing to participate in after school or college activities are responsible for any transport arrangements.
Q. Can my child board at a different stop with their friend?
The bus stop named on your child's pass was allocated as it is the nearest to your home address. However, providing that your child will still be travelling on the bus designated to them, they can board at any stop in the village/town.
Q. Can my child travel on a different bus so he/she can travel with friends?
If you want to change the bus your child is travelling on, please return your pass and a covering letter with details of what bus you want your child to travel on to:
Education Transport Team
Box Number ET 1015
Castle Court
Shire Hall
Cambridge
CB3 0AP
The Education Transport Team will try to meet such requests where possible but this is not guaranteed.
Q. We are having an exchange student stay with us for two weeks as part of the school’s exchange programme. Will the student be able to travel on the school bus with my child?
Possibly, if your child travels on a contracted school bus and there are spaces on the transport. We will issue a temporary pass for the duration of the exchange student’s stay with you. If your child travels to school on a commercial (public) bus, or there are no spaces available on their school bus, you will need to make alternative arrangements.
Q. My child is in Year 11 and travels to school on a contracted bus. When they take their GCSE’s will you provide a pass for use on public bus so that they can travel to and from school to fit in with their exam timetable?
No. The local authority’s statutory obligation is to provide entitled pupils with a return journey to and from school at the beginning and end of each official school day. Therefore Year 11 pupils who are taking their GCSE’s and travel to school by a contracted bus, will have to travel to and from school at the specified times.
Schools make provisions, such as setting aside a revision room, for Year 11 pupils who have to travel in earlier or wait at the end of the school day. If your child chooses not to travel on the school bus, preferring to travel on public transport at a more suitable time, then you are responsible for the transport costs.
Q. Are there any time restrictions when using the bus pass?
For contracted services: yes. Contracted services are served by one vehicle travelling to and from school at the end of each school day. Therefore pupils who have passes for travel on contracted services can only use their passes on the route to and from school. However if a pupil uses a public service and is issued with a Stagecoach Goldrider Ticket it can be used at any time and is valid for seven days a week until the end date on the pass.
Q. What is the Local Authority’s policy on seatbelts?
All coaches have to provide seatbelts by law. And as such pupils and students MUST wear seatbelts where they are provided. Similarly, all pupils travelling in mini-buses or taxis MUST also wear the seatbelts provided.
Furthermore, the Local Authority’s Code of Conduct for Home to School / College Travel stipulates that pupils should wear the seatbelts provided. If your child refuses to wear their seatbelt they may receive an official warning about their conduct on their transport. They may even receive a ban if they have been warned about their conduct on a previous occasion.
For further information please click here to visit the Local Authority’s Code of Conduct.
Q. What is the Local Authority’s policy on seat restraints, for example car seats?
If your child is under 1.35m (four foot five inches) and under the age of 11 and will be travelling in a taxi or mini-bus they MUST use an appropriate seat restraint (for example a booster seat) by law. Such seat restraints will be provided by the Local Authority. You will be asked to specify whether your child requires the seat restraints on your transport application form.
Q. What standards of behaviour are expected on the school / college transport?
A pupil who fails to meet the standards set out in the code of Conduct will receive an official warning about their conduct on the school transport. Further breaches of the Code of Conduct will result in a pupil being banned from using the transport for a set period; after an initial warning letter has been issued. Where a ban has been issued it will be the responsibility of the pupil’s parent or carer to arrange transport to and from school for the period of the ban.
The Cambridgeshire Local Authority Code of Conduct for Home to School or College Travel is intended to improve the safety and behaviour of pupils on their journey. We would ask the parents and carers of pupils who use school or college transport to familiarise themselves with the behaviour expected of their child or children. To read the relevant Codes(s) of Conduct please click here to visit the Local Authority’s Code of Conduct.
Q. How long should a pupil or a student wait if their bus hasn’t turned up?
30 minutes. If there is no explanation for the non-arrival of their bus and the pupil or student has been waiting at the stop for 30 minutes, they should return home. If possible the pupil or student should try and telephone their school or college for advice before returning home as the bus operator may have contacted the school or college with details of any problems with the transport, for example a breakdown. Parents of school age children should have contingency arrangements in place in the eventuality their child’s transport does not arrive.
For answers to Pre 16 how to qualify click here
For answers to Pre 16 how to apply click here
For answers to Post 16 how to qualify click here
For answers to Post 16 how to apply click here