The Excetera School Bus Code Of Conduct
Most of the children we transport to school each day behave and are a credit to their school and their parents, however sometimes one or two may get a little excited especially at home time!!
Parents and their children should take time and read our code of conduct and please abide by it, we wouldn't want to ban you from one of our buses.
Code of Practice
Parents/Guardians agree to:
•Help their children to know and follow the safest route to and from pick-up points if unaccompanied.
•Remind children how to behave in a safe manner: wait for a bus to pull well away before crossing the road:never open a door on the bus, except in an emergency:never throw anything out of a bus window:do not distract the driver by bad behaviour, including shouting, on the bus.
•Ensure children leave the house with sufficient time to get to the bus stop easily before the bus is due.
•Make sure children have their weekly ticket or money to give to the bus driver
•Remember that unruly or dangerous behaviour on the bus will not be tolerated nor will foul language, spitting, smoking, drug use or any abuse towards the driver and other students. Any student may be excluded from school buses without notice.
•Teach children the financial consequences of vandalism on the bus. Payment to Excetera for any damage caused will be the responsibility of parents/guardians.
•Regularly talk to children about their bus journeys and contact the school or Excetera if they suspect any dangerous or inappropriate behaviour is occurring on the bus.
•Support action taken by the school and/or Excetera to deal with poor behaviour on behalf of all the students on a bus.
Students agree to:
•Be ready at the bus stop before the bus is scheduled to arrive and indicate for the bus to stop
•Have their weekly ticket or money ready to hand to the driver.
•Wait until the bus has stopped before trying to get on or off.
•Sit down as quickly as possible.
•Stay in their seat when the bus is moving.
•Think about their actions at all times and not distract the driver.
•Never eat or smoke on the bus and drink only if really thirsty during hot weather.
•Have consideration for other people and be careful with their language so as not to cause offence.
•Ensure that litter is not thrown around or left on the bus.
•Remember that they have a collective responsibility to stop bad behaviour.
•Act in a way that does not endanger themselves or others. Items thrown from a bus can kill or seriously maim. Occurrences of this will be dealt with as a police matter.
•Treat the driver with respect & consideration and follow any instructions he gives.
•Tell the driver if he is doing a good job, it builds up a good relationship; if he isn’t – just tell us and they can sort it out
•Remember that the driver can insist that students misbehaving should leave the bus and he can ask the police to assist.
•Take care of the bus and do no damage. Your parents will be liable for any damage caused and if Excetera reports the matter to the police it may result in a prosecution.
•Not to take up needed seating by placing schoolbags on seats. Put them under your seat. Do not block the aisle or emergency exit.
Bus Drivers agree to:
•Follow the scheduled route and timetable stopping at all stops as requested.
•Maintain a courteous and professional detachment with students.
•Report any instances of misbehaviour. If needed, seek as a last resort assistance from Excetera supervisors, the school or the police.
•Check for lost property after each journey and hand in anything found at the end of the day.
•Check for any damage after each journey and report any found to the Excetera supervisor.
During Boarding & Alighting,your driver will
•Approach bus stops with care and not brake sharply.
•Maintain control of the bus doors and keep the doors shut until the bus is at a complete standstill.
•Check in the nearside mirror before pulling away in case latecomers are trying to board.
•Not leave a stop until all students are seated.
•Make sure all students are clear of the vehicle before pulling away.
•Co-operate with schools over pick-up and set-down arrangements on school grounds.
•Not to load the bus beyond the licensed capacity.
•Neither smoke at any time on board a school bus or use a hand held mobile phone while the bus is moving.
•Make sure luggage is safely stowed and the gangway and emergency exits are not obstructed
•In an emergency, if necessary, evacuate the students in an orderly manner and place them in a safe location.
Schools agree to:
•Reinforce the safety rules for students on buses.
•Ensure students understand that poor behaviour at any time on or in the vicinity of buses may lead to death or serious injury to themselves or others.
•Take appropriate measures to deal with any poor behaviour and work with Excetera and parents/guardians in the event of problems.
•Agree contingency plans with operators in the event of bad weather or other emergencies.
•Provide adequate supervision at school set-down and pick-up points.
Conditions of Use
Lost or stolen cards will be re issued subject to a £15 administration fee Excetera Student Plus+ cards are issued once payment is made, are valid for use of the named holder and are not transferable. Students will not be allowed to travel if we have not received payment. Students must show their pass every time they travel, failure to produce a valid pass may result in the student being refused travel. The exception to this rule is the first day of each term. Students will be allowed to travel on that day while enquiries are made to determine payment status. If after a thorough investigation by Excetera and a final attempt to obtain payment from the parent / carer is unsuccessful, then the student can be refused travel from day two of each term onwards.
Please note that parents are paying for the service and not the actual use, for example, should a child be unwell, on a school trip or suspended from travel due to a breach of the school travel behaviour code, there will be no refund.
The information you supply will be used by Coaches Excetera for administrative purposes only within the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. We shall not pass the information on to third parties
Refund Policy
In the event the pass is no longer required for travel, for example moving to a different area or long term sickness a refund may be claimed for the unused time left on the pass. This will be calculated on receipt of the returned Plus pass at our Office. We will calculate a refund based on the full daily and weekly ticket charges as if a discounted Plus Pass had not been purchased. There is a £15 administration processing charge. If the amount to be refunded is less than the administration charge, no refund will be given.
Delivery Policy
After the transaction, the pass is put in an envelope with the child's name, route number and School name. This is given to the relevant driver for the following morning so it can be handed out on the bus. It is child responsibility to ask the driver for his pass.
Any passes not given out are handed back in to the office by the drivers at the end of their duty. This is repeated until the pass is collected by the child.