Crookedholm parents rage after bus attendants axed

Jul 2 2008 By Clair Fullarton

PARENTS are up in arms after council bosses scrapped the attendant on their kids’ school bus.

An attendant has supervised children aged four to 12 on the bus from Crookedholm to New Farm Loch since Crookedholm Primary closed in 1996.

But parents of 45 kids in the Crookedholm area have now been told that the attendant will no longer be needed.

One angry parent Alison Currie, whose daughter Shannon, 5, is a passenger on the bus, said: “We just don’t think it is safe to allow the kids to travel on the bus to school unsupervised.

“Who will make sure the kids are seated safely with their seatbelts on? No-one can answer us this.”

Mrs Currie’s fears that the children will misbehave and the younger children will not be able to strap themselves in effectively.

She added: “If the driver has to brake suddenly and the kids are up out of their seats carrying on or the little ones are not secured, there could be a nasty accident.

“The council say they will monitor the situation, but what does that mean? Will they wait until there is an accident before acting?”

Concerned parents have contacted council bosses and lodged a petition protesting against the decision.

But so far their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Robin Gourlay, head of facilities management, said: “As part of a review of school transport across East Ayrshire the anomalous situation that exists at four schools, St Matthew’s, Fenwick, New Farm Loch and St John’s Primary Schools where escorts are provided daily on the school buses, has been considered.

“The small number of routes in question have an exemplary record for pupil behaviour and do not present any extenuating circumstance or statutory reason for escorts to be maintained when all other schools operate successfully without escorts present.

“In East Ayrshire, 51 bus journeys are provided for primary school pupils for which there is no policy or practice to include escorts on buses.

“Consequently, it is intended that from the commencement of the 2008/09 academic session beginning in August that the bus escorts on the four routes will be discontinued and regularised with all other primary school transport provided by the authority.”

Mrs Currie added: “The behaviour on the bus is far from exemplary. My daughter was punched in the face by another child on the bus a few weeks ago.

“I’ve contacted the bus company who provde the buses and they say the driver will not be allowed to leave his seat to ensure the kids are strapped in. So the question is who will be responsible for our kids’ safety?”