A FIVE-year-old boy has been refused a seat on a school bus because he lives 300 metres closer to another school.

Rhys Ellis lives with his family in the Montgomeryshire village of Dernol, near Llangurig, and started attending Llanidloes Community Primary School in September.

Dernol is roughly eight miles from both Llanidloes and Rhayader but because the family live ever so slightly closer to the gates of Rhayader Church in Wales Primary School, the local authority refuses to allow Rhys to travel on the bus to Llanidloes – despite the fact the family home possesses a Llanidloes postcode and the bus passes right by his pick-up point.

There are also vacant seats on the bus and parents Jenni and Phil have offered to pay for a space on it for Rhys, who is desperate to join his friends in Llanidloes. But their pleas have fallen on deaf Powys County Council (PCC) ears.

Rhys was enrolled at Llanidloes having attended pre-school and playgroup in the Llanidloes and Llangurig areas.

Mum Jenni has called the council’s decision “nonsensical” and “absurd” and started a petition – which gained 500 signatures within a week.

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“We want to stop children being cut off from their communities and friends for the sake of tiny distances,” said Jenni, 33.

“Our son is a prime example, having been refused transport to Llanidloes Primary School, despite our Llanidloes address and postcode, for the simple fact that they say our house is 300 metres closer to the gates of Rhayader Primary School than the gates of Llanidloes Primary School.

“He wants to attend Llanidloes Primary School. Although he is just five he understands the basic facts and is certain about going to school in the place he knows, along with his best friends. We do not realistically have the option to move schools as it would have an extremely negative effect on him.

“The nonsensical thing is a school bus with capacity passes his pick-up point every day and they still will not allow it – even on a vacant seat payment basis.

“This has highlighted to us a huge flaw in current council policy as well as a worrying tendency to ignore any and all other relevant policy and legislation in their attempt to hold firm on their flawed home to school transport policy.”

Jenni says she has “tried everything” to resolve the situation, but the family have lost two appeals so far, while she has also been in touch with the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales who has been of little help. This is despite the fact that a neighbouring family in the same situation, but reversed, saw their appeal succeed.

Jenni says she has been left with two options – drive Rhys to school for the next seven years until he becomes eligible for free transport to Llanidloes High School, as that is his closest secondary school, or move out of the house that the family have owned for 30 years.

As if the current malaise was not ridiculous enough, when he gets to high school Rhys would be permitted to travel on the very same bus he’s currently barred from.

“We asked about the vacant seat scheme before the summer holidays but the council just said no,” added Jenni, who said they provided PCC with a peer-reviewed study about moving children between schools and the detrimental effects it has.

“They ignored that too and have given us very little in terms of answers; we’ve just been dismissed.

“I take into account the fact they want to cut down on costs but this wouldn’t cost them anything and we’re not looking for a free ride. The bus is there and there are seats available on it.

“The only options we have now are either driving every day for seven years or move house – which seems absurd.”

She has calculated that driving Rhys to Llanidloes each day will see an extra 7.5t of carbon emitted over those seven years.

Jenni can only foresee more and more families throughout Powys being affected by the same issue as the council ruthlessly continues to pursue a course of closing rural primary schools in the county. Rhys’ nearest primary school in Llangurig was closed in 2008, which is why he’s in this predicament, while PCC’s cabinet on Tuesday (December 14) unanimously voted in favour of merging Mount Street Infants and Junior schools as well as Cradoc Community Primary School, in Brecon. At the same meeting, a decision to halt the closure of three schools in the north of the county – Llanfechain Church in Wales School, Llangedwyn Church in Wales School and Ysgol Bro Cynllaith in Llansilin – was withdrawn at the last minute.

The local authority has already announced this year that it will be pressing ahead with the closure of Llanfihangel Rhydithon Community Primary School in Dolau – despite severe opposition – as well as Castle Caereinion Church in Wales School. The fate of Llanbedr Church in Wales School, near Crickhowell, is also uncertain, although plans to shut Churchstoke Primary School were dramatically axed last month.

And Jenni says the council is now going back on a promise it made to local families when Llangurig was closed more than a decade ago. “When Powys County Council closed Llangurig School in 2008, it was agreed during the consultation process that there would ‘always be a place in Llanidloes Primary School for the children of Llangurig’,” she added.

“As a direct result of the closure of Llangurig school, there is now an invisible line on the map meaning different houses in Dernol are allocated to different nearest suitable schools.”

County Times: Llanidloes Primary School Llanidloes Primary School

In response, PCC said that following approval from the council’s ‘Strategy for Transforming Education in Powys 2020-2030’, its home to school transport policy was updated last year. The modified policy was subject to public consultation, which received over 330 responses from across all stakeholder groups, including parents and school governors. The consultation findings and the final version of the policy were considered and approved by cabinet in September 2020.

“In line with the policy, Powys County Council is committed to providing all qualifying Powys learners with free home to school transport to their nearest or catchment school,” said a spokesperson.

“Entitlement to free school transport will be decided by the corporate transport unit. Where a request is refused, parents/carers will be advised of the reason(s) not to award free transport.

“Parents/carers have a right of appeal against a decision not to award the provision of free school transport for their child.

“If the appeal is declined, parents/carers have a right to appeal this decision by sending a letter of appeal within two weeks of the date of the letter.

“There is a right of appeal on a point of law by way of judicial review. The right must be exercised within six weeks of the decision.

“There is also a right of appeal on procedural matters to the Office of the Ombudsman for Wales.”

To sign Jenni's petition and read more about the situation, click here.