As the school services a large area, the vast majority of our pupils travel to school by mini-bus or taxi. This is arranged by the Transport Officer at County Hall prior to placement. Passenger Transport makes contact with parents/carers of new pupils during the summer holiday. You should also be contacted by the transport company who will be responsible for bringing your child to and from school. They will make an appointment to visit you and your child during the holiday so you can ‘meet and greet’ the driver and possibly also the passenger assistant. If you have any problems regarding transport place contact the school (01362 693915) or the Passenger Transport Unit (01603 222991).
It is important that parents keep to the agreed time of pickup because the schedule is tight and vehicles pick up a number of children from different locations. You are also expected to have made suitable arrangements to meet them when they are dropped off at home as the transport are unable to drop off children without a known adult being present.
When pupils get to school they remain in the transport until 8:55am when they are met by school staff. Any pupils arriving late at school come in through the front entrance and report to the School Office. If your child is absent from school, please advise your transport provider as well as the school.
At the end of the day pupils meet in the school hall and are escorted to their transport by staff. We cannot make alternative arrangements for pupils to travel to the homes of other pupils. Pupils should arrive home at approximately the same time each day. In the event of a problem the transport operator or the school will make every effort to notify parents as soon as possible. Finally, it is worth remembering that occasionally transport may be late due to factors beyond their control, e.g. fog, ice, snow or traffic problems. All transport is equipped with a mobile telephone or radio system for such occasions.
Pupils who are brought to school by their parents/carers are asked to wait by the front entrance and a member of staff will let the children into the school building at 8:45am. Staff will be present from 8:45am – 8:55am in the Reception area to receive children. Any child arriving after this time will need to report to the School Office. At the end of the day we ask that parents wait at the door near the DT workshop. Children will be let out of school at 3:15pm provided there is a known adult there to collect them. To ensure safety we take a register of all pupils leaving the building at the end of day so please do not leave with your child unless you are sure a member of staff has seen them leave.
If for any reason, your child is to be collected by another person or not going home on their taxi, please let the school know. The person collecting your child will need to have identification and authorisation on them, for example, a letter signed and dated by yourself.
(See the Notice Board section under Useful Information for information from NCC about various transport options for students and adults through Adult Services)