Staggered school hours in bid to cut jams

School start times are set to be staggered to prevent traffic jams caused by the "school run", the Government announced today.

Councils will be given power to rearrange school hours under new legislation published by Education Secretary Charles Clarke.

The School Transport Bill, presented to Parliament today, also gives local authorities the right to charge better-off pupils to use school buses.

A package of measures aims to persuade more parents to allow their children to walk or cycle to school in a bid to cut child obesity.

Headteachers have expressed concerns about plans to stagger start times, which they say could cause disruption for parents and teachers alike.

Heads' association leader David Hart has also pointed out this conflicts with government plans for 8am-6pm "wraparound childcare" in schools.

But Mr Clarke is determined to press ahead, stressing today that his plans would help cut congestion and pollution.

Up to 20 education authorities - some almost certainly in London - will be given the new powers-to test how effective they could be. Under the Bill, three schools in the same area could be told to start at 8.30, 8.40 and

8.50am instead of all at 8.45am.

Even a 10-minute stagger will make a huge difference to local traffic flows, government advisers say. Almost one in five cars on the road at 8.50am at present are on the "school run" - adding to jams by an estimated 15 per cent.

The Bill's provision to allow means-tested charging for school buses will also be controversial.

At present, they are free to all pupils who live more than three miles away. But the new rules would give all children the right to travel by bus, regardless of distance - with richer parents paying up to ?1 each way.

LEAs currently spend half a billion pounds each year, the Government says, to provide free transport for only 10 per cent of all pupils.

The Bill, the first change to school transport law in more than 60 years, would allow councils to introduce safe cycle routes, escorted walking groups and "park and stride" drop-off points.

US-style "yellow buses" which stop at every home could also be introduced.