Two weeks into the new term, some parents near Banbury are still in the dark about school transport arrangements for their children.

Several parents in Middle Barton have raised concerns after their children, who were due to receive free transport to Chipping Norton School, were unable to travel on the village school bus.

They have also raised safeguarding concerns with the school and council after an unmarked taxi was sent to collect their children.

One single mother from the village, who works full-time, said her son was confirmed for free transport by Oxfordshire County Council back in March.

However, a week before the start of term, she was told by the bus operator that he had been placed on a waiting list because there was no space.

She said the operator told her the council had provided a list of children to travel on the bus and another list of those to be waitlisted.

However, the council has clarified that eligible children are not placed on waiting lists, and that only apply to those using its spare-seats scheme.

The council said it had purchased seats from Pulhams for eligible pupils, but the operator subsequently advised there was insufficient space on the bus.

Oxfordshire County Council’s supported travel team then made alternative arrangements for eligible children who could not be accommodated.

The parent said at least six children in the village were affected and that she and other parents had to make emergency arrangements to get their children to school on the first day of term.

She said: “We were given no details about pick-up from school and, concerned at the lack of communication and the fact children in our village had been left on the street, I decided to take and pick up my son from the school myself.”

The following day, a taxi was arranged for the children, but the parent said initially no information was provided about collection times or locations.

She said an unmarked four-seater car arrived on the second day of term and two children were left standing on the street for half an hour waiting for another taxi to take them to school.

The children were reportedly “almost an hour late to school on their very first full proper day of secondary school”.

The parent later raised safeguarding concerns with Chipping Norton School about the unmarked taxi and lack of information.

She said when she asked the driver where they were from, they confirmed they worked for a local taxi company “but could not provide any names of students or the route number and had no identification to confirm who they worked for”.

According to the parent, the school told her it had reported its “highest level of concern” to the council about the taxi arrangements, following both the incident involving children being left on the street and the arrival of an unmarked vehicle to collect pupils.

The parent is now seeking an urgent explanation of how transport will be provided and has been juggling her full-time job to drive her son to and from school herself during the first two weeks of term.

She said: “Why were the other students allowed on the school bus with the rest of the village, while six year 7 students starting secondary for the first time have been made to take a taxi that has been flagged to the council by the school as a safeguarding risk?”

The parent described the situation as “discrimination”, arguing that children who were all eligible for free transport had been treated differently than other students.

Banbury MP Sean Woodcock has also called on the county council to take urgent action to resolve ongoing problems with school transport following complaints from parents, schools and local coach operators.

Mr Woodcock said: “Parents, schools and local coach operators should not be having to chase Oxfordshire County Council for basic information about whether children have a bus, where that bus is going, or who is responsible for resolving problems.

“The issues raised with me are not isolated problems. We are now hearing from parents, schools and transport providers about persistent failures in communication and basic organisation.

“Most importantly, this is about the safety and wellbeing of children. Schools need to know which pupils are travelling on which services, transport providers need the information they need to operate those services, and parents need confidence that their children can get to and from school safely.

“I have already raised these concerns with the County Council, but the problems are continuing. The council must urgently get a grip on this situation, improve communication with schools and transport providers, and provide parents with clear and reliable information.”

Oxfordshire County Council said the vast majority of home-to-school transport arrangements for eligible children were now in place and that concerns about the taxi and waiting times were being investigated.

An Oxfordshire County Council spokesperson said: “Across Oxfordshire, the vast majority of the 8,000 plus home to school transport arrangements for families of eligible children, including SEND pupils – who submitted their travel information applications before the deadline – are now in place.

“Less than one per cent of those who applied before the deadline are still waiting for travel arrangements to be put in place.

“Regarding the concerns raised about the taxi and length of waiting time, we thank parents for raising these matters with us; the issues are currently being investigated.”