We the undersigned are petitioning for a change in procedure and/or staffing on Brighton and Hove school buses as too many children are being injured and bullied on their way to and from school, many feel so unsafe they opt to walk long distances home or even end up not attending their educational setting. 

At a time when children’s mental health issues are at an all time high, we are begging Brighton and Hove council, B&H Buses, and the Secondary schools they serve to urgently review and act quickly to prevent further harm to our young people’s physical and mental well-being. 

Brighton and Hove buses state on their website that: “We are working with The Brighton & Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership (BHSCP) towards their vision that "children and young people in Brighton & Hove live a life free from fear harm, abuse, and exploitation, enabling every child in every part of the city to achieve their potential".”
However when fights break out the drivers seem to have no clear procedure to follow and only seem to stop the bus once police or ambulance are needed.

Currently action is retrospective, dealt with by the school after the fact with cctv footage handed over by the bus company, but students know that the bus bans threatened by school rules rarely happen and by then the damage has been done. Drivers either need to be given trained support staff, or clear guidance to follow, that enables them to act at the first inkling that there is trouble on the bus, and students need to feel that if they are in trouble and need help, there is somebody that will have the power to manage the situation.

Below I have added anonymous quotes from a handful of parents that I have spoken to about this situation this morning:

“Yesterday a girl was left with an inch long deep laceration to her head, hair pulled from her head, swelling and bruising to her face from the metal bar. The force of violence was unnecessary and unfair”

“My son says there is one bus driver that will intervene, but all the others just ignore it and I’ve been told by the bus company that they aren’t allowed to do anything for Insurance reasons. It’s over an hours walk to school and they start at 8:15 so in the winter he would be walking in the dark both ways so we have no other options, but in the 3 years he’s been there my autistic kid has been pushed over, hit, spat on and had things thrown at him, been chased off the bus way before his stop, the list goes on. Thankfully he’s never been so badly hurt that he’s had to go to hospital but I know of 3 instances where other people have, the first when he was in year 7 the driver kicked everyone off the bus about 10 minutes from the school and left them without instructions of what to do or if another bus was coming. He ended up melting down at the side of the road.”

“My daughter is walking now because of the kids behaviour in the bus Kids use Deodorant in spray to spray others kids' eyes. Use drinks to spill them on others.”

“My daughter was hit while on her way home from school at the beginning of this academic year. She was upstairs and a group of girls came upstairs threatening to fight her, when she ignored them they proceeded to encourage one of them to hit her which she did. My daughter was hysterical, the bus driver didn't stop but shouted up to tell them to pack it in or he would stop and throw them all off. Luckily so far this hasn't reoccurred but at one point last year she ended up walking home from school rather then risk getting the bus because she was scared to be on the bus. She has autism and severe anxiety so even seeing this yesterday made her get off and walk as she felt frightened.”

“Incidents of students fighting and causing disturbances on buses have led to injuries and damage to property. This has not only put the safety of the students at risk but also the safety of the bus drivers and other motorists on the road.”