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25
Jul
‘A catalogue of errors’: Council’s conflicting data on school transport policy poses ‘significant risk of injustice’
Campaigners fighting against a home-to-school transport policy have raised concerns about a "catalogue of errors" made by North Yorkshire Council throughout the process.
The policy, which provides free school transport to a child’s nearest school only, rather than the former catchment-based system, has proved controversial with parents in local villages in the county.
The latest alleged mistake is regarding the mapping system used to determine which school is closest to an individual’s home, and therefore which school they can get free transportation to.
The School Transport Action Group (STAG) received a letter, seen by the Stray Ferret, from the council's legal and democratic services team confirming that 28 schools were mapped incorrectly.
It said:
Following the introduction of the home to school travel policy in July 2024, the council received complaints about the accuracy of the data contained within the GIS System relating to the location of school entrance points and the extent to which this had impacted upon the calculation of individual home to school travel distances. Arising from these complaints, the council undertook to review the data held in respect of the entrance points for each school and to input revised data into the system with effect from September 2026, prior to the opening of applications for school places to commence in September 2027.
I regret to advise that, in preparation for this exercise, the data associated with 28 schools was amended in the live system in error, rather than in the test site system, with effect from 21 May 2026.
The letter confirmed that Tadcaster Grammar School and Scalby School in Scarborough were among the schools affected. The Stray Ferret reached out to the council to find out the full list of 28.
The response stated that: “Seven primary schools were affected and they were: Airy Hill, East Whitby Primary Academy, Hawsker cum Stainsacre CE VC Primary School, Lythe CE VC Primary School, Ruswarp CE VC School, Stakesby Primary Academy, West Cliff Primary School.”
When trying to clarify the inconsistency between the list given of seven schools compared to the figure of 28 in the letter, the press office only repeated the initial given statement.
STAG says the latest mistake is not an isolated issue but the latest in a series of mapping problems identified by parents since the policy came into force.
Campaigners have previously highlighted missing school entrances, unavailable walking routes, incorrect start and end coordinates and inconsistencies within the council's mapping system—issues they have labelled a "catalogue of errors."
The group has written to senior councillors and officers requesting publication of the full list of the 28 affected schools, disclosure of the underlying GIS evidence, confirmation that recent transport decisions and appeals have been reviewed, and a commitment to greater transparency going forward.
'It's a war of attrition now'
The Stray Ferret spoke to Jo Foster, part of the steering group for the STAG, and she listed yet more mistakes made by the council, which the group – alongside help from professionals and parents – have uncovered.
North Yorkshire Council said the change in policy would save £3 million a year in seven years’ time.
However, data experts working with STAG using publicly available information claim that the change could cost the authority up to £5 million a year.
Ms Foster said:
North Yorkshire Council is hoping to save money by not having to pay for statutory bus payments, but they’re not considering other costs. For example, a taxi – paid for by the Council – comes every day from York to collect one child in Coulby Newham to take them to their nearest school, which is in County Durham. It does that journey each way. This school is a third of a mile closer than Richmond School.
She also points out how this financially affects schools in North Yorkshire, as pupils being sent to schools in other counties means that local schools don’t receive government funding for these children.
The school gets on average £6,000 per child, but then if they go to school in County Durham the money doesn’t go to local schools. Boroughbridge School has lost about 30 kids a year, both last year and this year. That means £360,000 this year, and will result in lost teachers, a smaller curriculum.
Every time another error is uncovered, the council's instinct has been to withhold the very information that would allow parents to independently check the calculations for themselves. That's not how you build confidence in a policy that depends entirely on accurate measurements.
How much longer will the council continue pouring time and public money into defending a policy that families warned from the outset was overly complicated, prone to error and ill-suited to a rural county? At some point someone simply needs to press the common-sense button, restore catchment-based transport and let children get to their local schools in the way North Yorkshire families have done for decades.
STAG says it will continue pressing for full disclosure of the GIS data, greater transparency and a comprehensive review of any transport decisions affected by the admitted mapping errors.
Councillor Annabel Wilkinson, the Conservative executive member for education, learning and skills, has said the council is awaiting the findings of a post-implementation review so it has a full and robust evidence base before considering any further decisions.
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