by political editor Paul Francis

pfrancis@thekmgroup.co.uk

Free transport for thousands of children who attend Kent’s grammar and church schools is set to be scrapped.

Kent County Council is to consult on plans that would mean parents would no longer get fully subsidised transport if they opt for either a selective or denominational school that is not their child’s nearest.

From 2012, KCC says parents will be expected to make a contribution to the costs - possibly as much as half. The current subsidy is worth on average about £400 a year.

The move is likely to prove highly contentious with many parents, who often take into account whether they will get such support when deciding which school to apply to.

KCC says it needs to take steps to cut its home-to-school transport budget, which costs more than £14m a year for 19,000 children at mainstream schools. Around half of that is spent on support for grammar and church schools.

Under the council’s existing discretionary arrangements, children can get help with transport costs where the grammar or denominational school is more than three miles from their home.

The move would help the authority generate £1.5m but will prompt questions about the potential impact on parental choice.

It is possible pupils who are already at grammar or church schools and qualify for support will also have to start paying from 2012.

In a statement, the county council said: "KCC is keen to make sure that parents are able to choose their preferred school. However, the massive financial constraints faced by the public sector cannot be ignored. It is proposed that from September 2012, a contributory fee be introduced to help towards the cost of this transport."

The statement added the charge would be waived where children were from a low income family or eligible for free school meals.

Cllr Sarah Hohler, KCC’s cabinet member for education, said the council was also having to respond to the fact that parents were entitled to ask for a place at a school that was not a church school.

"There has to be a level playing field between those who want a denominational school and those that do not. We certainly do not want to limit choice and there will be concessions and we will look at cases of hardship."

However, she added it was possible that subsidies would end for all pupils at selective and church schools from 2012, not just those who were starting then. "We will be asking if we should bring it in for everyone, not just for those starting school at that time."

Brendan Wall, head of Maidstone’s Simon Stock Catholic School, said: "I am disappointed to hear KCC is withdrawing the subsidy. Catholic schools have a wider catchment area than other schools. I recognise the pressure the authority is under and hope this is a genuine consultation to try and assist Catholic parents send their children to a Catholic school."

The rising costs of KCC’s home-to-school transport costs is among its major spending pressures. In addition to the £14m spent on mainstream schools, some £17m will be spent this year on transport for 3,700 special needs pupils.

On top of that, nearly £11m is expected to be spent administering the council’s Freedom Pass, which provides 25,000 youngsters under the age of 16 with free bus travel.

However, the shake-up will not affect those families who qualify for statutory transport help. KCC has a legal duty to provide free home to school transport for those attending their nearest school where 'an available walking route’ is more than two miles from home for children aged under eight years and three miles from home for children aged eight and over.

Consultation will begin on February 1 and run until March 31.

The policy change could affect as many as one in four of the county’s secondary schools.

Kent has the largest number of grammar schools in the country - 33 - and six Catholic secondary schools. These are St Anselm’s, Canterbury; St Edmunds, Dover; St Gregory’s, Gravesend; St Simon Stock, Maidstone and the Ursuline College in Westgate-On-Sea.

The move would also affect pupils at the Bennett Memorial School in Tunbridge Wells.

Primary schools would also be affected but the impact is likely to be less pronounced.

KCC is following many other authorities in proposing to withdraw the subsidy. Last year, East Sussex county council ended its support for transport for denominational schools.