School transport, inclusion and pupil attendance

摘要

In recent years the UK Department for Transport and the Department for Education and Skills have worked together to tackle the transport and educational implication of over-reliance on the car for journeys to school. The Education and Inspections Act that has just received royal assent aims to tackle the issues of congestion and the impacts of transport provision on opportunities in education. Small scale projects have had significant impacts on the levels of attendance, but few data have been gathered on the longer term implications of increasing the distances travelled to school resulting from increased choice. A greater understanding of the balance between the increased educational attainment resulting from educational choice and the cost of providing public transport needs to be developed to ensure equality for all in the long term.