Tai Tapu School is very fortunate that the Ministry of Education provide a bus services to whanau that live 3.2kms from school. Our aim is to provide a safe bus service that ensures all students travel safely on the bus and arrive safely back to their whānau.

How the bus services works:

1. Parents make initial contact with the school Bus Controller to gain access to the service. There are clear guidelines around who is eligible for this service. www.education.govt.nz/school/property-and-transport/transport/sta-eligibility/

2. Parents identify with the Bus Controller the days their children will be traveling on the bus.

3. A list of all bus students is generated and updated regularly, bus route student lists are then generated daily.

4. The bus students meet in the school hall at 2:55pm each day

5. Bus Monitors and the Bus Controller check students off each afternoon, see them onto the bus and then follow up on any students who have not presented to the hall.

6. Any bus student who will not be returning home on their usual bus , the parent is obliged to personally make contact with Kathryn Fairbrass (School Admin) in the morning on the day concerned. In case of an emergency parents can TXT the Bus Controller. (Contact details below) Lists are updated daily to ensure we have accurate daily lists.

7. The bus controller follows up any bus student who has not presented on their given day, and there is no message from the parent with changes. Whanau are contacted directly.

8. This process should be completed by the earliest, 3:15pm and the latest, 3:30pm.

Bus Controller –  Contact details: Helen Schulte

Email: helen.schulte@taitapu.school.nz

School Phone – 03 3296796

School Admin – Kathryn Fairbrass Contact details:

Email – kathryn.fairbrass@taitapu.school.nz

School Phone – 03 3296796

Other important information

Caregiver Responsibility

What can caregivers do to keep bus students safe?

To help make a school bus trip safe, caregivers who are dropping off/picking up students at the bus stop should:

• When dropping students off at the bus, get out of the car and go with them to the bus stop

• When collecting students, get out of the car and meet them as they get off the bus, on the same side of the road that the bus has stopped on, and go with the student to the car.

• Caregivers should also spend time with students to help them understand how they can keep themselves safe and how they are expected to behave on the bus. 

• These practices will help to stop students running across the road to or from the bus into the path of passing traffic.

Safety and behaviour

• To ensure a safe environment for bus loading and unloading, caregivers should:

  • try to eliminate the need for children to cross the road

  • ensure children get to and from the bus stop safely

  • teach children not to run across the road.

Caregivers should encourage students to follow these safety and behaviour guidelines throughout their journey. 

Bus Routines

• All bus students know and understand the pickup and drop-off points.

• All bus students must wear a high-vis vest when waiting for the bus, traveling on the bus, and when they disembark from the bus.

• Caregivers agree to pick up and drop off their children at the designated stops.

• Any student wishing to travel on a bus for which they are not listed must bring a written note from home and have it countersigned by either the Bus Controller or at the School office, before 11.30 am on the day concerned, but preferably the day before.

• For any bus student who will not be returning home on their usual bus, the parent is obliged to personally make contact with Kathryn Fairbrass (School Admin) in the morning on the day concerned.

Bus Monitors

• Bus Monitors are students who are trusted and valued by the staff of Tai Tapu School. They have our full support.

• All bus students will know who their Bus Monitors are. If students have any issues at all, they can feel confident that the Bus Monitors will help them. They also have direct contact with the Bus Controller to help with any concerns.

• If bus students do not feel that you are able to talk to their Bus Monitor in the first instance, see the Bus Controller.

Student Behaviour

Student safety is of utmost importance

In order to ensure orderly behaviour, the following guidelines are expected to be observed by all students:

• No behaviour which distracts the driver is permitted

• All body parts are to remain inside the vehicle at all times

• Nothing is to be thrown from the openings of the vehicle

• Students are to remain seated throughout the journey

• No food or drink is to be consumed while on the bus

• Yelling / abusive language is totally unacceptable

• Any form of bullying is unacceptable

• Students are to politely follow requests or instructions given by the driver.

Bus Breakdown En Route

When a school bus breaks down en route and delay is likely to be significant (eg 10 minutes or more), the following steps will be taken:

• The Bus Driver will contact the school immediately.

• The Bus Driver will be expected to make arrangements to transport students to their destinations.

• As soon as practicable, the Bus driver will arrange a message to go to the bus controller at school and then they will communicate to parents.

• If the bus is very late in arriving in the morning, students should wait no longer than 20 minutes before proceeding home.

Early Departure of Buses

The School Principal will decide whether circumstances call for sending some or all students home early. The Bus Contractor and Bus Controller are expected to give the Principal advice or information relevant to the decision. When the decision to send one or more buses home early is made:

• The Bus Controller will consult with the Bus Contractor as to whether the contractor can provide an earlier service.

• The Principal will notify all students and staff affected, asking them to assemble at a convenient point (usually the Hall) under the supervision of a staff member.

• The school will phone a parent before they go home. If the school cannot contact home or parents are known to be away, arrangements are to be made for the student to go to the home with the listed emergency contact person until the parents can be contacted. A record will be kept by the office of any student who is not going to their own home.

• When the bus arrives at school and all students have made arrangements as above that have been recorded by the office, students are to proceed to the bus.

Accident

• Students are to remain seated and calm, awaiting instructions from the Bus Driver. Encourage others to do the same. Follow the instructions of the Bus Driver and assist where possible to maintain a calm and orderly atmosphere.

• If the Bus Driver is unable to give instructions, do the following:

• Everyone is to remain seated and calm.

• If you are asked to evacuate the bus, do so in a calm and orderly fashion, one row at a time, starting from the front.

• Make sure that you stay together as a group in the nominated place. Don’t wander off.