Children attending 12 faith schools in Nottinghamshire could be “put at risk” if cuts to their transport are approved.
Nottinghamshire County Council is currently reviewing its discretionary bus service that serves pupils attending Catholic and Church of England schools.
The authority says it is facing “significant financial pressure” across its services, where potential cuts to the transport service could help it in its endeavour to deliver multi-million-pound savings across its term and to deliver a balanced budget.
Currently, some children attending these schools travel there on transport subsidised by the council.
520 pupils travel on the authority’s buses to faith schools either with a discounted bus pass as part of the scheme or on an ad hoc basis, where parents pay £420 per year for primary school pupils and £515 per year for secondary school pupils.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s consultation on the topic recently closed, where the authority is assessing four options, which include maintaining the service, removing the scheme from September 2027, removing it from September 2031, or increasing parents’ financial contributions.
James McGeachie, chief executive of Our Lady of Lourdes Multi-Academy Trust, has said removing the service would mean children’s safety would be “put at risk”, with longer journey times and walking in the dark.
He said: “These proposals would have a negative impact on hundreds of children across Nottinghamshire.
“Their safety and well-being would be put at risk due to longer journey times and the need to change buses, often in large towns or rural areas, and in many cases having to walk between stops in the dark for much of the year.
“The savings the council would make through these proposals do not justify the increased risk to vulnerable children, especially when they are about to receive a 31 per cent increase in their funding from central government.”
Fifteen faith schools currently benefit from the transport scheme, where 10 are in Nottinghamshire, two are in Nottingham, two are in neighbouring Derbyshire, and one is in Doncaster.
If no changes are made to the service, the authority says the cost over the next six years will be between £7.25 million and £7.5 million. Any changes would not impact those pupils from low-income families.
Councillor Sam Smith (Con), leader of the opposition on the authority, said: “In Reform’s massive plans, they have increased adult social care fees on the most vulnerable by £1.4 million – something the Conservatives never did – and now they’re [potentially] cutting transport to the minority group of faith school attendees.
“Whilst at the same time spending £75,000 on putting flags up and spending about £40,000 more on the council’s magazine, their priorities are all wrong.”
Councillor Bert Bingham, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said in a statement: “We’re incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with the faith community and highly value the education they provide to families across Nottinghamshire.
“While it’s never easy to review valued services such as our discretionary faith transport scheme, our aim is to ensure we safeguard what matters most for everyone.
“Nottinghamshire County Council is one of the only councils locally to still offer a discretionary faith transport scheme.
“We’d like to reassure parents that this review does not impact on their statutory entitlements, including extended rights for low-income families, which remain unchanged.”
Similar schemes in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Lincolnshire no longer exist. The authority says a final decision is expected by August 2026.
The school bus services that could be impacted by any changes:
St Edmund Campion, West Bridgford – 448
Christ the King School, Arnold – 910
The McAuley Catholic High School, Doncaster – 668, 669
St John Houghton, Ilkeston – 415, 416
The Trinity Catholic School, Aspley – 218, 650
English Martyrs School, Long Eaton – 517
The Becket School, West Bridgford – 441, 442, 447, 448, 449, 681
All Saints Catholic Academy, Mansfield – 213, 214, 215, 217, 219, 221, 224
Good Shepherd Primary Catholic Academy, Woodthorpe – 652
St Philip Neri, Mansfield – 215, 219, 224
The Emmanuel School, West Bridgford – 681
Bluecoat Academy, Aspley – 218, 652
National CofE Academy, Hucknall – 413, 414, 415/417
Burntstump Seely, Arnold – 710
Services to The Minster School in Southwell are not listed in the council’s proposals because the school transport does not wholly or mainly provide transport for pupils on the discretionary faith-based scheme, but the authority says faith pupils on the scheme could “expect a rise” in transport costs under the review.
The budget for faith school travel has risen in recent years. In the 2023/24 financial year, the council spent £1.34 million, rising to £1.46 million in 2024/25, and the 2025/26 budget stands at £1.54 million.
According to the council, around 60 per cent of faith school pupils who have free travel have it on a ‘discretionary’ basis – 40 per cent of pupils have a statutory need for free travel.
The authority says last year, the discretionary scheme cost around £1.25 million, where families contributed 20 per cent and the council covered the remaining £1 million.