A Pembrokeshire family says it is facing crippling petrol bills trying to keep three siblings in the same school, and may have to resort to sending the children to school on a part time basis.

All three of Lizzie Trees’ children attend Ysgol Glannau Gwaun in Fishguard, a 30-mile round trip from their home near Eglwyswrw.

Her eldest son has a place in the school, and is able to receive home to school transport, as it is deemed better able to cater for his severe dyslexia.

Wanting to keep her children in the same school, Mrs Tree has secured spaces for all three siblings at Ysgol Glannau Gwaun.

However, the other children are unable to access the free school transport that goes past her front door.

This has left the Tree family driving 300 miles a week to get their kids to and from school.

“Currently we are doing a 30 miles round trip morning and night to get our children to a good school,” said Mrs Tree. “The cost is crippling us.”

Mrs Tree says that their local school, Ysgol Eglwyswrw, was not able ‘to provide the required time and resources’ for her eldest son.

At the age of five the family decided to remove him from the school and he was home educated for three years.

“After three years of being home educated, he’s turned into a happy child again,” said Mrs Tree.

“He made the decision to enrol back into school and now, having been at Ysgol Glannau Gwaun since April, his learning, with the help he gets with his dyslexia, is amazing.”

However, Mrs Tree says that Pembrokeshire Council ‘is refusing to provide transport’ for her other two children to and from Ysgol Glannau Gwaun.

“Pembrokeshire County Council now would rather have three children only attend school three days a week, due to [us] not being able to afford fuel, than allow siblings to remain at the school together and provide the transport for all three onto the bus that comes past our door,” she said.

“Attendance is so important, yet they are being let down.”

A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council said that the authority was not under any obligation to provide transport.

“The customer has chosen not to send two of their children to the nearest suitable school and the local authority has no duty to provide school transport,” he said.

“The customer has been provided with a response and advised that if they wish to raise concerns in respect to The Learner Travel (Wales) Measure and the council’s related policy, they contact their member of the Senedd and their local county councillor.”

He said that parents and carers should check their child’s entitlement to school transport before they apply for a school.

Entitlement can be checked using the online tool at https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/school-transport/school-transport-eligibility.

“The determination of eligibility for school transport will be limited to the application being made for an individual child,” he added.

“Not on the basis of a sibling’s attendance at a particular school or his/her transport entitlement.”