Call for Education Authority to make ‘contingency plans’ after school transport strikes

Unite the union’s workers in the EA commenced the seven day strike on June 15 over pay and grading issues.

It followed an overwhelming ballot result in which 94 percent of the union’s members voted for industrial action.

Lasting until Friday, June 23, the move led to disruption for school transport and school meals services, as well as availability of some classroom assistants.

Speaking after normal service resumed on Monday, June 26, one East Antrim mother said she believed the strikes were particularly difficult for parents of children with special educational needs (SEN).

The local woman, who did not wish to be named, has an 11-year-old daughter who attends a special school in the area.

“We got a text late on the Wednesday afternoon (June 14) informing us of the bus strikes on the Thursday. It didn’t give us much notice,” the local mum said.

"My daughter has autism and is non-verbal; she relies very much on her routine of getting the school bus and she didn’t understand why the bus wasn’t there on Thursday morning.

"We tried to leave her to school ourselves; her teacher was great and tried to help us coax her in. But [my daughter] got very distressed; she was sobbing and didn’t want to go in.

"It broke my heart to be honest. The whole situation was very confusing for her.

"You can plan for mid-term breaks and school holidays, but this was very sudden. She ended up missing seven days of school.”

Her young daughter also benefits from a range of sensory activities at school that cannot be replicated with online teaching. "She has speech therapy, occupational therapy; she needs that sensory input as it’s a wee release for her,” said her mum.

"The school are fantastic and it’s not their fault, but this left them under pressure and at the mercy of the transport service.”

The local mum called for “contingency measures” from the Education Authority to ensure that the children who need it most do not miss out.

"If parents were even given a little more notice that strike action is likely to take place, it would allow them to plan,” she added.

Responding, an Education Authority spokesperson said the strikes had an “unavoidable impact on some transport, school meals and cleaning services”, adding: “In some circumstances the impact is not known until the day of the action; this can result in routes not running at very short notice.”

Designated Special School Support Officers had been “working very closely with special schools to minimise disruption”, while contingency plans are in place to keep services operating throughout the year, the spokesperson said. “These include calling upon emergency relief drivers, private hire contracts, and a flexible recruitment programme.

“Routes to special schools can be more challenging as both the driver and escort being present are vital to the successful operation of the service.

“While every effort is made to reduce the number of routes that are disrupted on any given day, the levels of disruption due to industrial action has meant that it is not always possible to make alternative arrangements.”