Families from a Breconshire village are celebrating after successfully appealing for their children to be granted school bus passes.

Frustrated parents from Bwlch and neighbouring hamlet Cathedine had rallied together over concerns about the allocation of the passes, which are granted by the transport unit of Powys County Council.

After being told in the summer that some of their children had not qualified for a pass, which entitles them to transport, around 20 families in the community formed an action group to focus their efforts.

The action group released a statement, condemning the council’s approach to the situation, adding that they would fight for what is ‘right and fair’ for their children.

The two nearest primary-age schools to Bwlch/Cathedine are Llangorse Church in Wales School to the north and Llangynidr County Primary School to the south. The action group claimed that Powys County Council was trying to stop the village’s transport to Llangorse School.

The group had also accused the authority of ‘inconsistencies’ in its approach, while citing one family in the village with two children enrolled at Llangorse School. The family’s 7-year-old was initially granted a bus pass but their 4-year-old had not.

Following the appeal, both siblings were granted bus passes via confirmation email, with other families in the village also successfully appealing their case.

In a letter released last week, the action group said: “Over the past 18 months our children have gone through the most dreadful and challenging times of their lives.

“They’ve been separated from friends, had to adapt to home learning and the challenges that brought many families and also being away from their school settings.

“Starting back school in September 2021 should have been a fresh start and hopefully the beginning to post pandemic life. However, there are a group of children who live in the Bwlch and Cathedine area who are, for the time being, blissfully unaware of the stress being caused to their parents over the past few months and is still ongoing. Thankfully they are oblivious to the fact that this issue has the potential to affect their whole school life.

“Powys County Council made the decision over the summer to inform some parents that their children would not qualify for a bus pass. This came as a shock to most parents leaving them frustrated and confused about the sudden change of policy. There was inconsistency from the council with many parents unaware of the fact passes were being refused for the children in the village to use the bus. One family has a 7-year-old who has a bus pass but a 4-year-old who has been refused. The social and emotional impact this one decision alone has had is unbelievable.”

Continuing, the group said: “Bwlch village has historically been included in the catchment of both Llangorse and Llangynidr since the closure of Cathedine school many years ago. Yet every few years Powys County Council try to stop transport for children in the village to Llangorse. As a group of worried and concerned parents we are appealing this decision. We believe that should all the children attend Llangynidr Primary school the council would be forced to either provide a bus too big for the bridge into the village and consequently must travel via Talybont, or alternatively provide an extra minibus.

“The well-being of our children is paramount and is ultimately why we are fighting for them and future generations who come to the village. Our children attend the school and we are deeply concerned about the council’s sudden change of catchment without any consultation or warning to the very parents it effects. Should the council be successful in implementing this change of policy then it will mean that many children who currently attend the school will be unable to attend the feeder comprehensive with their friends.

“What is even more frustrating is that should be decide to send our children to a Welsh medium school the council would provide a bus no questions asked. How is this fair?

“As a group we are particularly concerned with the lack of thought by the council with regards to the environmental impact refusing bus passes is having. The bus currently stops in Bwlch but only a few are able to actually get on the bus is meaning that parents are forced to take their children in cars to get to school. For a council looking to hit a carbon emissions target surely this is not very forward thinking about this aspect of their decision.

“After what has been such a trying and testing time for the whole country, it is in times like these that the well-being and mental health of our children should be at the forefront of every decision that the council make. Our children are not numbers on a piece of paper, they are children, our children, and we intend to keep fighting for what we know is right and fair for the children of Bwlch. It is a village which has always been recognised as having a dual catchment and we want that to remain in place.”

Since the introduction of the new school bus pass, the school transport unit have issued over 6,000 passes to Powys learners.

The new passes were established to improve the safety of students as well as ensure that the home to school transport service is run as efficiently as possible. Students are required to have their pass scanned when they get on and off the vehicles, both on the way to and from school.

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “The school transport team is correctly applying the school transport policy to all applications received. Letters explaining the policy and whether applications for pupils to use the school transport service have been successful, or not, have been sent to all relevant families. 

“A number of families who had applied for school transport to Llangors Primary School, who are only entitled to travel to their nearest catchment school in Llangynidr, have been written to with clarification. 

“Although we are unable to comment on individual situation, we can confirm that some families have begun the appeals process into the council’s decision regarding their children’s entitlement to travel to a different school to their allocated one. Results of the first stage of the appeal progress will soon be communicated with the relevant families, at which point, if needed, they can request a stage two appeal.”