Parents' fury as school buses fail to turn up on first day of school leaving pupils 'stranded'
Pupils were left stranded at bus stops resulting in many being over half an hour late for their first day of school
Parents in Midlothian have branded Midlothian Council a “disgrace” after school buses picking up pupils for their first day back at high school failed to turn up.
The council was forced to issue an apology on Thursday morning after buses taking Rosewell pupils to St David's High School and Danderhall pupils to St David's and Dalkeith High School did not show up.
Parents said students were left “stranded” at the bus stops and several were late to school as a result of the chaos.
One said: “Not good enough Midlothian Council, my daughter and several pupils from her school were left standing waiting on a bus that never arrived. Thankfully replacement bus duly came .
“What a start to first day back at school for new term.”
Another said: “First day of high school for a lot of kids and they were left waiting for half an hour before parents stepped up and took kids to school. I even saw some parents taking kids that weren't theirs just so the kids weren't stranded.
“Some of these kids have additional support needs and are trying to become more independent by getting school buses themselves. What a disgrace.”
Others reported that due to recent changes to pick-up times even the buses that arrived as scheduled did not get the pupils to school on time.
One parent said: My child’s bus HTST9 arrived at the scheduled time of 08:19 at Birkenside Terminus, and arrived at Newbattle at 08:47 - almost 10 minutes after the start time of 08:40.
“That doesn’t take into account time for the kids to actually get off the bus and to their first class. Can you please confirm when the times will be amended to actually get them to school on time?”
A Midlothian Council spokesperson said: "We sincerely apologise after some pupils travelling to Newbattle High School arrived after the start of the school day and two buses carrying a small number of pupils from Rosewell and Danderhall to the Dalkeith Schools Campus did not turn up as scheduled.
“This was not the standard of service that pupils, parents and carers should expect.
“Replacement buses were arranged as quickly as possible and all affected pupils travelling to Dalkeith arrived safely at campus within the hour. We are also working closely with our transport providers serving Newbattle High School to ensure pick-up and drop-off times allow sufficient time for pupils to arrive at school before the start of the day.
“We understand how frustrating and disappointing this was, particularly on the first day of the new term, and we have taken steps with our transport providers to ensure there is no repeat of these issues this afternoon or in the days ahead.
“We would like to thank parents and carers for their patience and understanding and welcome back the more than 1,400 pupils who travelled on school transport and arrived safely and on time today."
The chaos comes after weeks of uproar from parents in response to changes made following a review of the school transport system in Midlothian.
Earlier this week, around 60 people attended a meeting organised by Dalkeith High School’s parents partnership after many families received letters during the summer holidays telling them their children were no longer entitled to the free bus services.
In some cases it was claimed parents were given ‘safe’ walking routes their youngsters could use which took them through unlit woods or along busy main roads and junctions.
Midlothian MP Kirsty McNeill has called on the local authority to pause changes to the school transport services after being flooded with complaints from local families.
In a letter to the chief executive of the council Ms McNeill said: “Given the large number of significant concerns being raised by families, I strongly urge the council to pause these changes.”
A spokesperson for Dalkeith High School’s Parents Partnership described the council’s approach to changing its transport policy as a “Mickey Mouse review”.
They said: “The council required families to apply for free bus passes this year but not every family who uses them was aware and many who did found they no longer fit the criteria despite being given it in the past.
“Families who were denied were sent maps of safe walking routes which seemed to be outdated and were not safe, while individual circumstances were not considered.
“A lot of people are worried about how their children are going to get to school, one primary school whose P7 parents say they were not told they had to apply for a pass as they move into secondary school are talking about keeping their children at home until the issue is reversed.”
A spokesperson for Midlothian Council said they recognised concerns from parents but that their transport policy had not changed and they continue to offer free transport to eligible pupils who live more than two miles away, pointing out it was more generous than Scottish Government guidance which recommends three miles.