A mother has slammed a bus company after it refused to take her disabled and special needs son to school because of his poor behaviour.
Charlotte Bye, 28, received an email telling her George, seven, could no longer catch the bus after a spate of bad behaviour.
The mum-of-two made George apologise to the bus driver employed by AMB Travel, which runs the service to Wyvern School in Great Chary for Kent County Council (KCC).
But she was shocked when the company still refused to allow George, who has chronic lung disease and special needs after being born premature at 27 weeks, back on.
Charlotte, from Stanhope, Kent, claims two days of walking to school in the cold this week have led to George feeling ill in his chest and he had to miss school on Wednesday.
The single mum said: “We need the bus to take him to school as he gets out of breath very quickly.
“I worry what will happen when it gets cold. I also have to walk with my older son, Tommy, to another school.
“As a single parent, this makes things really difficult. I’m walking them both at the moment, but the clocks go back soon and we could be walking home in the dark.”
She said she accepted George had been misbehaving on the bus, by kicking, spitting and threatening to open an emergency door.
But added: “I made him apologise to the bus driver, and asked if he would be allowed back on.
“Then on Friday morning the bus didn’t stop outside, so we went down Linsted Close opposite, but they refused to pick him up.”
“Apparently KCC said there were three incidents of his bad behaviour, but they had only made me aware of one.
“They said there is nothing they will do until his behaviour improves. He has attention deficit disorder, but I don’t see how he can show he has improved his behaviour if they don’t let him back on.
“I just think that it is disgusting. There are other children who have got disabilities on the bus who have the same issues as George.”
A KCC spokesman said George is not banned permanently and will be allowed back on when it is “safe and appropriate”.
He said: “George has not been banned permanently from the vehicle.
“However, there have been a number of recent incidents where George’s behaviour has represented a safety risk to himself, other children and the transport staff.
“Safety of all of the children being transported is paramount. Therefore, in the interests of safety and in conjunction with the school, he has been removed from transport as an interim measure, until his behaviour settles.
“Where there are such concerns we would always look at the balance between expectations of a pupil’s behaviour in light of their individual needs and support for the pupil and their family in order to address any underlying difficulties.
“We anticipate George’s transport by bus will be resumed once it is safe and appropriate to do so.”
