PARENTS of pupils entitled to free school transport have been told they may have to make their own arrangements for taking and collecting their children this autumn due to a shortage of Somerset County Council buses.

And for the time being it was unlikely any more children would be able to go back to school than were already doing so, a decision which affects those in years two to five and years seven to nine.

The council’s children’s services director Julian Wooster said social distancing and a lack of availability of staff meant only a limited amount of school transport was currently available in Somerset.

Mr Wooster said in a letter circulated to all parents: “We anticipate that this situation will continue into the autumn term. I would therefore strongly advise you to plan to make your own arrangements for travel wherever possible so that we can try to meet the needs of all children.”

Mr Wooster said financial support for parents to help with school transport was available through a fuel allowance for families with children eligible for free travel.

He said individual schools would provide details of the home to school transport available to their pupils.

Mr Wooster also said schools in the county were not likely to be able to take any further pupils outside of those in reception classes, years one, six, and 10 who had already started to return.

“I can assure you that there is nothing more headteachers would like to see than their schools full of children again,” said Mr Wooster.

“However, given the current guidance schools have to follow around pupil numbers, safe working, and also staff availability, many have to continue to apply a range of arrangements, part-time provision, staggered start and finish times, and short weeks, and it is unlikely that they will be able to make much, if any, additional provision available to other year groups.

“I fully appreciate the situation is challenging to many of you but I would ask that you understand that headteachers and staff in schools have been working continually during this period to support the response to the pandemic and it is vitally important that we all support the actions required to minimise community infection.”

Court Fields School, Wellington, acting head Polly Matthews said last week the Government’s guidelines meant she could not have more than a quarter of year 10 pupils in school at any one time.

Mrs Matthews said: “We are unable to welcome back more children to secondary school at this time, beyond the face-to-face support schools can now offer year 10, and provision for vulnerable children and children of critical workers.”

She said year 10 classes were being split into groups of no more than nine who would be offered weekly two-hour intensive sessions in English, maths, and science for the next three weeks.

“Each group will have staggered start times and different entrances to the school site to ensure that students comply with social distancing guidance,” she said.

Pupils of St John’s Primary School, Wellington, had been set to attend from June 3 but governors decided at the last moment to postpone the re-opening due to uncertainty around the risks of spreading Covid-19. Year six youngsters instead started to return on June 8, while reception and year one began again last Monday (June 15). The school still hopes to be able to accept pupils from years two to five before the end of term despite the Government dropping its request to do so.