PEMBROKESHIRE County Council has shared details on the safe operation of school transport ahead of the next month's return to school.

Parents are encouraged to walk or cycle their children to school where possible.

If car use is necessary, parents and carers are encouraged to park away from the school site and use active travel to travel the remaining distance.

For those planning on using school/college transport, all education transport routes will operate as normal and timetables will remain the same as before the Covid-19 situation.

Pupils/students should not travel if they are:

lexperiencing any Covid-19 symptoms – a new and continuous cough, high temperature or loss of taste and smell

lself-isolating as a result of Covid-19 symptoms or sharing a household with somebody with symptoms

lclinically extremely vulnerable

As part of the measures to keep pupils/students as safe as possible, school transport operators will be continuing their increased cleaning regimes on all vehicles.

Students should use the hand sanitisers provided and should avoid touching surfaces wherever possible. Secondary school pupils will be required to wear face coverings unless they are exempt.

Pembrokeshire County Council cabinet member for education, Cllr Guy Woodham, emphasised that the safety of pupils, students and transport staff has been at the heart of the process.

Cllr Woodham added: "Covid-19 has thrown up a series of unprecedented challenges to how we provide safe transport to and from schools and college.

"While social distancing may not be possible for pupils and students aboard education transport, the measures introduced following discussions between Council officers and school transport providers will help keep everyone as safe as possible.

"There will be mandatory wearing of face coverings for all secondary school pupils and college students and we would also urge primary school pupils to wear a face covering on all school transport too.

"With everyone continuing to practise good hand hygiene we will be in the best position possible to ensure learners are able to travel safely and ready to return to their classes."

Further information can be found at bit.ly/PCCschoolbus