Children and young adults have been adversely affected by the pandemic and it is imperative we reverse this in order to help their development and to secure their future. We must do everything we can to provide them with the level of education they deserve whilst assuring their health both physically and mentally and this means getting them back to school and in full time education in September.
In order to maintain levels of social distancing the government has announced £40 million worth of funding for local authorities to create extra transport capacity in the Autumn term. Thousands more students who can walk, cycle or use a scooter are encouraged to do so.
The Government are committed to ensuring the safety of everyone in our community and the additional funding for school and college transport will reduce the numbers of pupils on public transport which will make it safer for everyone travelling.
This is particularly welcome in South Derbyshire where so many of our pupils are bussed into school.
I fully support this investment and am pleased to see the government doing all it can to get children and young adults back into school safely in September. They have already lost a considerable amount of education time due to the pandemic and it must now be our priority to ensure they do not miss anymore.”
