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Safer journeys to school

'Safer journeys to school' is a national initiative where local councils work intensively with specific schools to develop their school travel plan, and support them in reducing car use on the school run and creating safer walking, cycling and bus routes in to the school.

Peterborough has been running a safer journeys to school scheme since 1999. The project is currently financed by Peterborough City Council operations services and NHS Peterborough. Each school commits to working with the City Council for two years to develop its school travel plan. As part of this process schools:

Set up a working group to guide the school travel plan process
Carry out parent and pupil questionnaires to identify problem areas
Identify and introduce 'soft' and 'hard' measures to solve their problems
Include learning about travel and the journey to school in lesson time
Promote their new school journey initiatives
Monitor change in modes of travel

The Safer Journeys to School team guide the school through the school travel plan process, provide teaching resources and equipment, and support the school in setting up its soft measures, such as walking buses or walking and cycling incentive schemes.

Hard measures

The Safer Journeys to School team also work across the Council to provide the hard measures required and link in to complimentary services the Council offers, e.g. pedestrian training for Reception class children and the Safer Cycling scheme for Year 6 pupils.

Hard measures could include:

Improvements to cycle parking in school
Improvements to footpaths/cycle ways connecting to school
Safer crossing areas on busy roads
20mph zones around the school
Parking restrictions around the school

Once the initial two-year project is complete the school then carries out a survey every May, in order to monitor progress. The school can then internally review the school travel plan if necessary, to readdress areas of continued concern.

Since we began the safer journeys to school project we have worked with 43 schools. Currently three schools are accepted on to the project each year. Applications, which include a travel survey, must be submitted by the end of the autumn term. Applications are assessed against set criteria and successful schools begin the project at the end of the following spring term. To find out more about applying to the project this year contact the school travel plan co-ordinator.