from a few days ago but we seem to have missed this one
much ado about nothingA gran has blasted Cambridgeshire County Council after her granddaughter was unable to get to school for the start of term. Karen Jones, from Manea, who is the guardian of Year 5 pupil Sophia, said the family have an arrangement with the local authority to provide taxis to and from school.
However, on Monday morning (September 4) Mrs Jones said a "strange taxi" arrived to take her grandchild to class and not the person who had previously provided the service. She claims she had never seen the driver before and had not had a 'meet and greet' session with the driver ahead of time.
"I didn't know who he was," she said. "She is not getting in a car with someone she doesn't know."
Mrs Jones said she cannot afford to take Sophia, who has anxiety and sensory problems, to school every day. Speaking about a change in driver, she added that her grandchild got "into a panic". She also said the change in routine puts her in a situation "where her anxiety is going to kick up."
She said she had heard from other parents and guardians in the same position. Mrs Jones described the situation as a 'chaotic mess'.
Jonathan Lewis, service director for education at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "We are hugely apologetic for this scenario. Unfortunately, the previous operator handed the route back in the summer holidays due to a shortage of drivers and price, so we had to find an alternative operator last week at short notice.
"We will work with the family to make sure they're kept up-to-date. My team has already spoken to this resident to apologise for the changes and the lack of communication around the change in provider."
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