Over 500 pupils still waiting for council funded school transport

The backlog of the home-to-school transport service of parents who submitted applications on time has been nearly halved.

The number of applications submitted on time but still awaiting completion has now fallen from 44 to around 20.

However, the service is dealing with more than 500 late applications, with more continuing to arrive.

The latest update from the council also revealed there were 239 Post-16 cases awaiting educational timetables before transport could be finalised.

The council has confirmed that extra priority is being given to families where a child's school placement was not confirmed until after the June 30 deadline, recognising that this was outside the family's control.

Interim support, including Personal Travel Budgets, may be available while permanent arrangements are organised.

The current expectation is that all outstanding cases received before September 1 will be addressed by the October half-term, subject to the necessary information being provided.

Sean Woodcock and Anneliese Dodds, MPs for Banbury and Oxford East respectively, issued a joint statement on the decision (Image: Anneliese Dodds)

While it is positive to see the backlog coming down, this has clearly been an incredibly frustrating start to the school year for too many families.

The council's opposition leader has asked the Shadow Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Cllr James Plumb, to ensure the relevant scrutiny committee looks at what has gone wrong.

He said: "There needs to be proper scrutiny, lessons learnt and a clear plan in place to make sure families aren't put through this uncertainty again."

Oxfordshire County Council said that home-to-school transport arrangements for most of the more than 8,000 eligible children have been finalised.

This includes special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pupils who submitted their travel information applications before the deadline.