Transport

If your child uses school transport, Transport shows the route they are on, the pickup point, and — where the school has GPS tracking fitted — where the bus is now.

The parent transport view combines route assignment, live status and trip history.

The live map

The map shows the vehicle’s current position, updated as it moves.

It answers the question the school office is otherwise phoned about forty times on a wet morning: where is the bus?

Use it to time leaving the house rather than standing at the stop for twenty minutes. It is at its most useful on the days the bus is delayed.

What it does not tell you

The map shows where the vehicle is, not whether your child is on it. A bus at the school does not confirm your child boarded.

If your child did not travel, tell the school — otherwise they may be marked absent, or someone may be waiting for them.

Pickup arrangements

Your child’s pickup point, route and vehicle are recorded on their transport record. The parent view shows what the school has.

Check it at the start of term. Routes change, and a child assigned to last year’s route is a problem best found before the first morning.

To change a pickup point, contact the school — it affects the route and cannot be changed from the parent view.

Delays and messages

The school can send a message to the parents on one route — a breakdown, a delay, a diversion. These arrive by SMS or as a notice, and the map will show the reason.

If the bus is very late and you have heard nothing, ring the office rather than the driver. The driver is driving.

Half term and closing day

Closing days are the hardest transport days of the term: everyone leaves at once, and arrangements change.

Confirm in advance how your child is travelling, tell the school if it differs from normal, and check the diary for the departure time. A change told to the school the morning of closing day may not reach the right person in time.

Safety

Transport records exist so the school knows which child is on which vehicle. Keeping your child’s record accurate is part of that — an out-of-date pickup point or an old phone number matters most on the day something goes wrong.

If you change your phone number, tell the office. It is the number they will ring.