00:00Hello, I'm Anna Watson. I live in Danby and I have two children at Danby Primary School.
00:05I would like to highlight the concerns of a number of parents of children living in the Upper Esk Valley regarding the school transport policy.
00:13I had the opportunity of meeting with Councillor Chance last week and I explained that parents are feeling very anxious about the policy change.
00:22This policy creates so much uncertainty for families in North Yorkshire.
00:25It doesn't allow for forward planning as until offer day there is no certainty as to where our children will go to secondary school.
00:34An almost certain impact of the policy will be a reduction in the numbers at our local primary schools and also at Whitby School.
00:40I understand that a reduction has not been seen at Whitby School this year but I would suggest that this is because Whitby School have confirmed that they will subsidise transport next year.
00:50Whether they can sustain that in the long term remains to be seen.
00:53Hi, this is Lily, mum of three. My eldest is in year six.
00:58When we looked at our list of nearest schools, not one of them was in North Yorkshire.
01:03Since reception he has thought he'd go to Whitby School with all his friends like his dad did.
01:08He was so excited, now he's worried and sad and none of his year know where they're going.
01:12So our options are either to pay to send him to Whitby with no guarantee we'll be able to afford this next year or for his siblings or to put him in a council funded taxi to an unknown school.
01:24I'm Jen, my children are the third generation of my family to attend Castleton School.
01:30As my children will be following in my footsteps transitioning from a small village primary school to a larger town school, I have been very aware of the anxieties surrounding such a big move.
01:40Therefore, I have made a very conscious decision to make ties and friendships with families in Whitby.
01:45Castleton School's transition work has solely been with Whitby School as it has always been our catchment school.
01:50Now, because catchment and transport don't align, all my efforts have been for nothing, Whitby isn't even on our list of schools for free transport.
02:00We ask that you consider our children when you vote on Wednesday.
02:04If you cannot vote to bring catchment back, please consider abstaining.
02:08Thank you for your time.
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