More than 5,000 homeless Greater Manchester families find themselves in temporary accommodation, leading to children facing a nightmare getting to school.

That's according to experts who have singled out one rule which they say gives homeless parents a difficult choice when it comes to getting their little ones into the classroom.

When a family presents itself to a council as homeless, they can be placed in temporary accommodation for months, or years in some cases, which is miles from their original home and children's school.

The law says schoolchildren can get free bus travel if they're moved more than two miles (primary age) or three miles (secondary age) from home and there isn't another suitable school closer.

But in Greater Manchester, schools are usually always within a two-or-three mile radius from home. Parents have to choose trying to find the money for buses they never needed to when they lived within walking distance of school, or move their child to a new setting – if there is a place to begin with.

That's according to Vicky Leigh, who works on the frontline supporting some of Harpurhey's poorest families at Manchester Communication Academy.

"We have worked with almost 200 families over the past two years who have been affected by poor standards of accommodation and/or at risk of homelessness," she said.

"Many families are presented with Section 21 no fault evictions and are ending up placed into temporary accommodation which could be a significant distance from school.

"We currently have some families who have been placed into other Greater Manchester boroughs including Rochdale and Oldham and therefore travelling up to ten miles to school in the morning, having to catch a number of different buses.

"This presents a significant cost, unaffordable to many families.

"If it wasn't for schools stepping in and supporting with travel costs, these children, who are already experiencing the trauma of being evicted and moved from the area they've grown up in, wouldn't be able to get to school.

"School can be the one thing that remains a constant and provides the support and stability children families need at such a difficult time in their life."

Ms Leigh added 'if all children who were placed into temporary accommodation were provided with free bus or tram travel immediately' it 'would make such a difference for many families'.

It's a suggestion one mum, who spent five months in temporary accommodation last year, said would be a godsend.

When her home in Harpurhey flooded last May, she became homeless. She was able to find temporary accommodation through Manchester council — but it was in Salford Crescent.

That meant her 13-year-old daughter went from walking five minutes to school to needing two buses, which took an hour. Mum, who asked to stay anonymous, couldn't afford the £10 weekly bus ticket.

Her daughter stayed in school because Manchester Communication Academy staff paid for her buses.

"My bills are extortionate," mum explained. "I need to pay those and keep food in for the kids. The last thing on my mind is the bus fare. I used to live just across the road from school, so it was a five-minute walk for my daughter.

"Once we had the flood we got moved to Salford, I would not have the money to even meet my mum at the shopping centre. [My daughter] would have to take two buses from Salford and that would be 45 minutes with traffic to go in and out of town. She was only 13, so that was scary sending her to school on her own in an area we did not know."

A spokesperson for the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: "Education is the foundation that sets our young people up to fulfil their potential, and it's vital that we support them in those critical years.

"We are doing a lot to make travel easier and more affordable for everyone in Greater Manchester, including children and young adults. That includes £1 single bus fares, free travel for 16-18-year-olds, an extension of free travel for care leavers and, from next month, half price bus travel for 18-21-year-olds.

"Transport for Greater Manchester is currently undertaking a broader review of concessions, considering all the requests for support that we get from a range of groups across the city-region, and the Mayor has asked them to ensure this is included."

~

Free from clickbait, Stockport Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

To get our top stories in your inbox each week, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.

Please consider following Stockport Nub News on Facebook or X