Adult escorts for school buses have come a step closer after £200,000 was earmarked by county councillors

But the cash will only be spent if a report says escorts are necessary. And there was a political row over not giving the schools the money directly.

A report commissioned on the safety of school transport will be published in a few months, following the death of Reece Straight, 12, of St Osyth, while trying to jump aboard a school bus.

At Essex County Council's education committee meeting, Ted Crunden (Lib Dem, Parsons Heath) said the tragedy would have occurred whether or not an escort had been on the bus.

But he felt providing escorts would help avoid further incidents.

Graham Fox (Lab, Rochford South) said: "At the very least we need some kind of security. They're our children, our responsibility and we have to make sure they are safe. To ignore this would be to let down our children in a very big way."

The £200,000 set aside to fund the scheme is part of an additional £16 million on top of the council's education budget, which also includes grants for needy children to buy uniforms up by £100,000 and the same amount again for both The Prince's Trust and the Connexion Service.

The Tories wanted this £500,000 to go direct to schools but Labour, the Liberal Democrats and an Independent carried the vote to keep the money centrally.

Iris Pummell (Con, Wickford), who chaired the meeting, felt the decision meant schools would lose out.

"Holding the money back is not the way forward. It should be given to schools now to help their budgets," she said after the meeting.

"If the report says escorts are needed, I am quite sure the money will be found from somewhere to provide them. This way schools will lose between £3 and £4 per pupil."

About £11.5 million will be spent on supporting schools, education programmes and pupils receiving home tuition.

Of the remainder £4.28 million is to be given directly to schools - representing an increase of six per cent per secondary school pupil and ten per cent per primary pupil.

Early years learning will get a £300,000 boost, providing free education to more three-year-olds and expanding areas which are currently under-provided for.

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