The lack of public transport and rising fuel costs for private transport significantly disadvantage the poorest children living in the countryside, according to a survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).
ATL questioned 475 teachers working in schools and colleges around the UK in July and August. Over 70 per cent of teachers said transport problems mean children have difficulty even getting to school or college.
Seventy-seven per cent said transport problems prevent children from taking part in after school or college activities so they are unable get involved in school sports, choirs and orchestras or plays. And over 50 per cent said lack of transport prevented parents from attending school or college parent meetings to discuss their children’s progress and seeing their children perform in school events.
Ian Wheeler, head of geography at Bishop Wordsworth School in Salisbury, said: “Special bus services for school children in rural areas usually mean they are unable to participate in after school activities.”
Because of inadequate transport many teachers fear poorer pupils will not be able to do diplomas. Barry Williams, from Abbey College in Cambridgeshire, said: “Because of the distances between schools and FE facilities the introduction of diplomas will be made more difficult. Travel time alone is not in any way comparable to urban areas.”
Iain Freeland, from Launceston College in Cornwall, said: “With developments to widen the curriculum, rural schools are placed in a very difficult situation. Either young people will have to travel up to three hours per day to access specialist facilities or not be able to access the courses. School funding simply does not stretch to equipping every school with all the facilities new courses, such as specialised diplomas, require and central government have declined additional funding.”
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: “The Government must stop ignoring the countryside. Poverty does not stop at the edge of our towns and cities. Before the Government makes any policies or changes existing ones it must stop and think about the impact they will have on families living in rural areas.
“The diploma programme could fail in the countryside if children cannot get to the colleges running the courses. And without access to apprenticeships or jobs outside their immediate neighbourhood children have little incentive to work hard at school and raise their aspirations to escape the poverty trap. We cannot allow this situation to continue – the political parties need to wake up to the reality and see the poverty hidden in our rural areas behind the green fields and leafy woodlands. ”
Teachers also highlighted concerns about the isolation of their poorer pupils because of their inability to mix with friends or get to and take part in local sports, drama or music events.
Jennifer Scrafton, a secondary school teacher in Derbyshire, said: “Less money is present in rural areas to provide social spaces and activities where they can mix and transport is poor, leading to isolation for families without cars.”
A secondary teacher in Lincolnshire said: “People think that rural areas are ideal places to bring up children, but those outside the area don’t realise the impact of social isolation on the young and their parents and the costs involved, particularly for low income families.”
Other significant problems affecting children living in the countryside include the lack of employment opportunities for part-time work and those over 16, and the lack of work in the local area, as well as the lack of apprenticeships locally. Without access to transport poor children have little chance to take up opportunities to get training and jobs so are unable to escape the poverty in which they grow up.
A lack of pupil aspiration and motivation is the biggest problem facing teachers working with disadvantaged children in rural areas – cited by over 80 per cent. And over 70 per cent said a lack of parental support was a significant deterrent to children’s learning.
Maria Chiru, from Neal Waele Community College in Cambridgeshire, said poorer children suffer from “In general low life aspirations due to lack of job variety opportunities in the area.”
Jennifer Scrafton, a secondary teacher in Derbyshire, said: “The lack of parental support for the pupils’ education is the worst of all, if the child believes that their education isn’t important then it is hard to get them to try.”
Over 40 per cent of teachers complained about the lack of funding available to help poor children. Funding shortages coupled with the distance between schools and fewer pupils in small rural schools mean less support for pupils with special educational needs, and for with emotional and behavioural problems and pupils being taught in mixed age group classes.
Alison Ruff, a primary teacher in Leicestershire, said: “The difference in levels of funding between rural and urban areas creates poverty in rural schools. Everyone assumes it is leafy and prosperous and it isn’t. Lots of money gets thrown at urban poverty – we get none.”
Sue Warner, head of a school in Worcestershire, said: “We have a large number of SEN pupils, but this is not recognised. We are seriously underfunded in Worcestershire and we are compared to schools with similar population data, but very different circumstances.”
A secondary teacher in Oxfordshire said: “Social services support is very poor, almost non-existent and when it is present it is ineffectual. At times it feels as if the school is working in a vacuum to support young people living in poverty or near the poverty line.”
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