No ‘current plans’ for bus to take pupils to Tyrone school

THE Education Minister has said there are ‘no current plans’ to provide a school bus for pupils living in a rural part of West Tyrone.

Each morning, 19 pupils from the Glenmornan area make their own way to St Mary’s Primary School in Cloughcor.

Their parents receive a ‘parental payment’ from the Education Authority to help with the costs of transporting their children to and from school.

Given the number of children travelling from Glenmornan to the school every day, local MLA Maolíosa McHugh recently submitted a question to the Education Minister Paul Givan, asking if the numbers were sufficient for a ‘home to school’ bus to be provided for the pupils.

In response, Mr Givan said the Education Authority is responsible for the operation and delivery of home school transport.

“It has advised me that it currently provides transport assistance via parental payment to 19 pupils from the Glenmornan area attending St Marys Primary School, Cloughcor. It has also confirmed that it has no current plans to introduce a bus service to facilitate this route,” added the Education Minister.

On its website, the EA states a parental payment is a form of transport assistance.

“We award transport assistance via a parental payment if it is not possible or appropriate to make available a seat on a vehicle.

“It is an assistance payment to contribute towards the cost of alternative arrangements made by parents/carers.  It is not intended as a full reimbursement of costs.”

The amounts available under the parental payment scheme range from £185 per year for within a four mile radius of their school, to £740 for those families who live more than 15 miles from the school.