This year, strictly speaking this academic year feels different and it's not the never ending arguments over school uniforms - excessive logoization, are skirts and shorts acceptable? or even the "right to free expression, man" topics.
Nor is it school dinners as in entitlements to free ones although that will change in 2027/8 which pleases me, or the rumblings over what should be permitted in them which we've had yet another statement on or the sandwich box police confiscating items put in by parents that aren't allowed.
This year our amazingly bad council decided to axe free school transport for those over 11 for distances of three miles or less as a child just turned 11 in Junior can't walk it and at 11 and bit and moving to the First Years of a high school somehow can now.
Now this means going on partly pavement free roads with heavy traffic, lots of concealed spots where nasty people can lurk to do nasty stuff to kids on a three mile each way walk.
It was protested, rightly I might add, but no change made so some who can afford the £800 per year per child can pay for a fee paying bus organized by the school by a local coach company but many can't.
So guess what happens?
Those children's parents enrol them very late in the day into a school five miles away that they do have provide free transport for which means the LEA has to put another bus on at cost.
The stupidity of Groan Ups is outstanding as they now lose savings and by reducing pupil numbers at the other school means a number of senior posts will have to go as they'te no long getting the "per pupil" funding.
It also means this September I see few children walking to the school bus around 8am and instead see others in their plainer uniform go past instead as locals have voted with their feet at such a rediculous policy.
All this happens when parents are no longer able to afford to send their children to the nearest school.
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