29 school heads & Nick Clegg wade into row over school bus passes

[Kevin123 10]

29 secondary headteachers have written a joint letter to the council complaining that removing bus passes for kids attending Notre Dame and All Saints will affect their schools:

 

http://postcodegazette.com/news/9002788572/clegg-joins-city%E2%80%99s-headteachers-in-opposing-bus-pass-axe-plan-AT-sheffield-sheffield-town-hall/

 

Nick Clegg is also backing their call for the council to think again.

[not_realy_me 10]

Hmmmmmm, interesting

 

Faith schools receive a lot of money from the state and are by definition only open to a small select group of children, not all of which have parents who actively practice the faith of the school in question

 

Take St Wilfreds for example, but you could choose several

 

It has an excellent academic record and tough entry criteria

I would loved have been able to send my kids there but not being Catholic, despite living nearby, we were denied and had to accept a different school with a lesser reputation which as you could imagine could upset some people

 

What I hadnt realised was that not only do I pay for the faith schools from my taxes but until recently I was also subsidising the travel plans and bus passes of their students too!

[Kevin123 10]

not_realy_me - but parents with children at Catholic schools are council tax payers too. Not only that, but Catholic schools also pay 10% of their capital costs themselves, so you're not really subsidising anything.

[EbonyBranch 10]

Cleggy sez: “This isn’t just an issue for Catholic families. If the plan goes through greater pressure on our already over-subscribed schools could see more families unable to send their child to their local school.

 

“Other schools may well be required to expand and take on more pupils, whilst Catholic schools could have too many places. So rather than save money, there is a distinct possibility that Labour’s move would lead to greater expense for taxpayers."

 

Simple solution: these 'Catholic' schools (indeed, all faith schools) should not be allowed to discriminate on the grounds of faith. They should use the same selection criteria as any other school. Problem solved. Why should 'Catholic' children get a free bus pass when my kids' journey to school costs upwards of £50 per month? How would they suffer by not going to a Catholic school?

[LeMaquis 10]

not_realy_me - but parents with children at Catholic schools are council tax payers too. Not only that, but Catholic schools also pay 10% of their capital costs themselves, so you're not really subsidising anything.

 

Kids at faith schools get - or got - a travel subsidy that other kids don't get. So they are getting subsidised by the rest of us.

[hodgepodge 10]

I don't agree with faith schools of any description. Schools should be mixed faith, take your children to church/mosque/place of worship if you choose to, and if you want to send your children to schools out of the catchment then you should foot the bill your self.

[Kevin123 10]

LeMaquis - Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. Parents of kids at Catholic schools are effectively paying a levy for the capital upkeep of the schools they send their kids to, so in fact pay more than other parents, free bus passes or not.

 

EbonyBranch - Some people don't like the idea of faith schools, but both the Catholic and Anglican churches were providing education before the state got involved. And their schools, on average, get better results and are usually oversubscribed. So if you believe in parental choice, then faith schools have a big role to play.

[hodgepodge 10]

If people wish to pay towards the up keep of the school then that is a different matter. If you prefer your child to travel to a school that is not local then you should foot the bill.

 

Of course we all welcome the fact that the church provided education of some sort prior to the state system, but that fails to recognise that times have changed and the nation has changed. We need to integrate from the start to have a better understanding of each other.

[LeMaquis 10]

LeMaquis - Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. Parents of kids at Catholic schools are effectively paying a levy for the capital upkeep of the schools they send their kids to, so in fact pay more than other parents, free bus passes or not.

 

I don't know about the capital levy details but parents who send their kids to a faith school outside their catchment area shouldn't have their kids' transport costs subsidised. If they do pay a capital levy, or any other levy that other parents don't pay, then they agree to take that on when they have their kids enrolled at a faith school. The transport subsidy was a reduction on that levy paid by the rest of us.

[Kat326 10]

Hmmmmmm, interesting

 

Faith schools receive a lot of money from the state and are by definition only open to a small select group of children, not all of which have parents who actively practice the faith of the school in question

 

Take St Wilfreds for example, but you could choose several

 

It has an excellent academic record and tough entry criteria

I would loved have been able to send my kids there but not being Catholic, despite living nearby, we were denied and had to accept a different school with a lesser reputation which as you could imagine could upset some people

 

What I hadnt realised was that not only do I pay for the faith schools from my taxes but until recently I was also subsidising the travel plans and bus passes of their students too!

 

Not wanting to cause offence but however good the school why would you want to send your kids to a catholic school if not catholic?

[pottedplant 10]

I don't agree with faith schools of any description. Schools should be mixed faith, take your children to church/mosque/place of worship if you choose to, and if you want to send your children to schools out of the catchment then you should foot the bill your self.

 

Agree with every word.

[gazza c 10]

religion causing another arguement i see. i went to one of the schools named, and there were people who werent catholic who attended the school. i think it is a lot more relaxed at certain catholic primary schools now and probably secondary schools.