The Secretary of State for Transport has confirmed that the Government has no plans to make changes to the Transport Act Section 19 and 22 permit schemes for schools. This means that individuals, including teachers, can continue to drive minibuses without any specialist training, and schools operating minibuses are exempt from  Operator’s License requirements.
 
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary for NASUWT, said:
 
“There is no end to the list of responsibilities this Government will pile upon teachers. It is dangerous to ask a teacher to drive a minibus when they only have a driver’s license. It is doubly dangerous to ask them to drive long distances after they have already completed their working day at school.
 
“In 1993, a minibus from Hagley Roman Catholic High School crashed into another vehicle on the hard shoulder of the M40 near Warwick. Twelve pupils and their teacher died; only two pupils survived. Thirty years on, the reason for the crash is still unresolved: the teacher at the wheel had been working all day, driving all evening, and did not have a minibus operator’s license. They should never have been put in such a position. Unbelievably, teachers are still expected to carry this burden.
 
“If the Secretary of State for Transport wishes to prevent further tragedies and to keep teachers and pupils safe on the road, he will scrap Section 19 and 22 exemptions for schools as a matter of urgency. They were only ever meant to be a stop gap. 
 
“NASUWT will continue to campaign for safe and secure transport for teachers and pupils, and for teachers to be allowed to concentrate on teaching – not driving.”
 
 
Note to Editors
 
A press release on NASUWT’s minibus exemptions for schools campaign, launched in November 2023, can be found here.