School pick up

[cheeky_chimps]

Hi i currently collect from 2 schools and with my numbers increasing i cant use my car. Iv veen looking for a mini bus taxi to collect and am struggling. A parent has suggested getting 1 school picked up by a taxi without me. What are peoples views on this and how would you propose it to parents. Iv checked and the local taxi drivier is dbs checked and willing to do a first aid course if he gets the contract for school run pick ups.

[moggy]

Would the contracted hours begin with the arrival of the child at your house? That would need to be clear- you can not be responsibly for the child until he has arrived at your house. You are not contracting the taxi driver yourself, are you? I'd want the taxi pick-up and journey to be at the parent's own risk. You'd need to have a clear reporting structure for if he didn't arrive- who you call etc. And what if you are held up and no one is at home when the taxi arrives?

Sounds messy...

[Ripeberry]

Get yourself a minibus :thumbsup:

[Maza]

I think either you can pick the children up or you can't. Sorry, I think that until you have the resources (the mini bus) then you just can't expand.

As well as the issues brought up by Moggy - does the taxi driver know what it is like collecting several children from a school? You can be hanging around for quite a while - one class is usually delayed, the other kids can start playing up while waiting, what if one child wasn't present that day but the parents hadn't bothered to let you know - it would waste the taxi driver's time while this was all chased up and he would soon realise that it wasn't just the journey time he was being paid for.

I'm not sure the school would feel comfortable either. I have, as a teacher, had to hand a child over to a taxi driver on a regular occasion. This is years ago and the child was only in nursery. Her mum had a long tern illness and couldn't physically collect her. It was a different taxi driver every day and some were 'better' than others. Some barely let onto her and walked ahead whilst she trailed after them towards the taxi. There was an issue with one of them not checking that she was wearing a seatbelt (can't remember what the law was at the time re seatbelts/booster seats, but we weren't satisfied that she was as safe as could be). We soon arranged for a member of staff to accompany her to the taxi and see her safely off, but that was for compassionate reasons, not to assist someone's business.

Was the mum who suggested it offering for her own child to be collected by a taxi driver or was she assuming it would be the children from the other school?

Good luck. x

[samb]

Sounds like you should consider an assistant?

[sarah707]

Assistant - co childminder - or sometimes it's best to say 'no sorry I can't do that one' and walk away - how busy do you want to be? xx

[k1rstie]

Assistant - co childminder - or sometimes it's best to say 'no sorry I can't do that one' and walk away - how busy do you want to be? xx I second Sarah's advice.

[Bluebell]

my local school put kids in a taxi after school to be delivered home to their parents. They do this i assume for special circumstances and it is their responsibility to put them in the taxi. I assume the taxi driver is fully checked to provide this service, taxi drivers do provide school runs in my area as we are such a rural area it doesn't always warrant a bus. I think they may be vetted through the county council and DBS checked and so on as only certain firms are used and it does tend to be the same driver on the contract.

The local after school club based in the school also provide after school care for children from other primary schools that don't provide their own after school club. I asked them about it as I also have requests from other schools - they said its the parents or the other schools responsibility to arrange the taxi and then the teacher puts the children in the taxi and the taxi driver must deliver the children to the door - ie not just drop them off at the school gates. They then are responsible from the time the child arrives.

So it can be done but I echo what has been said about do you really want to? I am hoping to stick to one school tbh as what if I was late getting home or if something happened?

[mumofone]

I thought this was completely against the rules?