W
wafflycat
Guest
In deepist ruril Norfik, as the provision of public transport in rural areas
varies from naff to non-existant, many a student is transported from home to
place of education and back home by buses the LEA pays for. There are rules
that apply as regards distance the student lives from college and whether or
not the place the student attends is his/her designated local college. No
problemo. Indeed when Nathan was deciding on where he wanted to study
A-levels, one of the things his Dad & I said to him was that if he wanted to
go anywhere other than Dereham (the designated local college) then he had to
realise that as part of his decision-making criteria, he had to consider how
he would *be getting himself* to college every day. Vernon & I both felt
that he was sufficently old enough to be aquiring self-sufficiency of
transport and developing a lot more independence.
Nathan eventually decided on study at Fakenham, which as you may know form
my various postings, is a 13-mile each way commute for him by bike. When we
were doing the rounds of colleges, it was confirmed to us by the people at
the colleges doing the sorting out of LEA transport that if Nathan wanted to
go anywhere other than Dereham, he'd have to pay for the privilege. In the
case of Fakenham, he could utilise the LEA bus, but 1, he'd have to pay for
it and 2, the nearest pick-up point is 5.5 miles away and he'd have to get
himself to the pick-up point. So no contest really, cycling it is, as by the
time he got to the pick-up point, he'd have to bike there and then there's
the problme of secure bike parking at the pick-up point...
In the local meeja, is discussion about the cost to the County Council of
providing free transport for those in post-16 education. See
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news...gory=news&itemid=NOED15 Dec 2005 20:42:56:827
or
http://tinyurl.com/7sges
What I found interesting about the article was that there is mention of kids
going to a college other than their local college (Dereham girl at City
College in Norwich) who appear to be given bus passes. This was specifically
not an option when Nathan was looking at his choices, so I find that strnage
from a purely personal point of view. But in the main that there is,
surprise, surprise, absolutely nothing about encouraging cycling as a
practical method of transport. Whilst not actually surprised at this, I am
disappointed. Whilst positively encouraging cycling as a practical means of
transport for this age group won't mean that loads of teenagers & young
adults become overnight cyclists, if there was a long-term programme of
encouraging cycling and with provision of secure bike parking facilities,
changing facilites, I owuld have thought that could be a positive step
forward. I know that from what Nathan has said about his place of education,
when he started cycling there, he was about the only person doing so. Now,
the aged and battered cycle sheds are getting more and more bikes there
during the day, so it would seem that more of his compatriots are cycling.
As the article says Paul Fisher, assistant director of resources and
efficiency within the council's Children's Services department, wants "...to
know what people think - young people, their families and of course we're
engaging with colleges and other establishments, to make sure we get their
views too." I've dropped him a line. I wonder if I get a response at all.
Cheers, helen s
varies from naff to non-existant, many a student is transported from home to
place of education and back home by buses the LEA pays for. There are rules
that apply as regards distance the student lives from college and whether or
not the place the student attends is his/her designated local college. No
problemo. Indeed when Nathan was deciding on where he wanted to study
A-levels, one of the things his Dad & I said to him was that if he wanted to
go anywhere other than Dereham (the designated local college) then he had to
realise that as part of his decision-making criteria, he had to consider how
he would *be getting himself* to college every day. Vernon & I both felt
that he was sufficently old enough to be aquiring self-sufficiency of
transport and developing a lot more independence.
Nathan eventually decided on study at Fakenham, which as you may know form
my various postings, is a 13-mile each way commute for him by bike. When we
were doing the rounds of colleges, it was confirmed to us by the people at
the colleges doing the sorting out of LEA transport that if Nathan wanted to
go anywhere other than Dereham, he'd have to pay for the privilege. In the
case of Fakenham, he could utilise the LEA bus, but 1, he'd have to pay for
it and 2, the nearest pick-up point is 5.5 miles away and he'd have to get
himself to the pick-up point. So no contest really, cycling it is, as by the
time he got to the pick-up point, he'd have to bike there and then there's
the problme of secure bike parking at the pick-up point...
In the local meeja, is discussion about the cost to the County Council of
providing free transport for those in post-16 education. See
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news...gory=news&itemid=NOED15 Dec 2005 20:42:56:827
or
http://tinyurl.com/7sges
What I found interesting about the article was that there is mention of kids
going to a college other than their local college (Dereham girl at City
College in Norwich) who appear to be given bus passes. This was specifically
not an option when Nathan was looking at his choices, so I find that strnage
from a purely personal point of view. But in the main that there is,
surprise, surprise, absolutely nothing about encouraging cycling as a
practical method of transport. Whilst not actually surprised at this, I am
disappointed. Whilst positively encouraging cycling as a practical means of
transport for this age group won't mean that loads of teenagers & young
adults become overnight cyclists, if there was a long-term programme of
encouraging cycling and with provision of secure bike parking facilities,
changing facilites, I owuld have thought that could be a positive step
forward. I know that from what Nathan has said about his place of education,
when he started cycling there, he was about the only person doing so. Now,
the aged and battered cycle sheds are getting more and more bikes there
during the day, so it would seem that more of his compatriots are cycling.
As the article says Paul Fisher, assistant director of resources and
efficiency within the council's Children's Services department, wants "...to
know what people think - young people, their families and of course we're
engaging with colleges and other establishments, to make sure we get their
views too." I've dropped him a line. I wonder if I get a response at all.
Cheers, helen s