ALLOWING parents to help assess potential walking routes to school would do “wonders for transparency”, a Rosyth councillor has said.

In January, the Press highlighted fears of parents in the town who say there is no safe way for their children to get to and from Inverkeithing High School on foot.

Rosyth councillor Andrew Verrecchia said: “I am hugely supportive of parents being involved in the process. In my opinion, it would do absolute wonders for transparency. There is a huge disconnection out there because the public does not trust the education department – and they may have a point quite frankly.”

A hugely controversial change in catchment areas means that Kings Road and Camdean primary school pupils will be going to Inverkeithing from August.

Previously, kids from these schools went to high school in Dunfermline. Park Road pupils have always gone to Inverkeithing.

Fife Council maintain that crossing a busy slip road onto the M90 is a safe route for children to get to and from the high school but a review could overturn that.

And councillors on the scrutiny committee recommended that parent council reps should be allowed to attend when officers are deciding whether walking routes are suitable for pupils.

The proposal, which says that local elected members should also be allowed to attend, is expected to come before the education and children’s services committee on March 19.

Fellow Rosyth councillor Tony Orton is a member of the scrutiny committee and said: “It’s the children and parents that are affected, so it’s right that they are involved in assessments. At the committee, I recommended that if you have to cross slip roads to get to school then the route should automatically get banned, but it didn’t carry. All of the Rosyth councillors walked that route to Inverkeithing and we deemed it unsuitable.”

Cllr Verrecchia said: “Education is a very emotive subject because we want our children to have the opportunities we had. It’s right that councillors are able to attend because I do not think that the education service really seems to be accountable to elected members.”

The scrutiny committee also emphasised that it was not the council’s responsibility to get children to school, with that duty falling to parents and carers.

Cllr Verrecchia acknowledged: “There is a responsibility on parents but we need to remember that in this case, this was a decision that was put on Rosyth to go to Inverkeithing, it was not something that was requested or wanted. Here, the council needs to take a bit more responsibility.”

The new policy would mean that routes where children who don’t live far enough away from school to qualify for free transport, but have no appropriate way to walk there, could be reassessed. If approved it will be implemented immediately for new and existing walking routes and the council say that Rosyth to Inverkeithing will be a priority.