The following are examples of initiatives that schools can try. There are many more ideas on our website, see https://schooltravelplanning.com/initiatives.

WOW Travel Tracker from Living Streets (Travel W1, W2, W6, W7, Promotion PR1, PR2, PR6, PR7, PR13, Curriculum CU9, Consultation P3, S2, SM1)
WOW is a pupil-led initiative where children self-report how they get to school every day using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker. If they travel sustainably (walk/wheel, cycle, or scoot) once a week for a month, they get rewarded with a badge. It’s that easy!

It’s simple to run and children love taking part. Each year, the collectable WOW badges are designed by pupils in the annual badge design competition. On average, WOW schools see a 30% reduction in car journeys taken to the school gate and a 23% increase in walking rates.

WOW Travel Tracker is available directly from Living Streets and there are many ways to fund WOW. Some schools choose to use their PE and Sport Premium funding. WOW will only take up a small fraction of your funding (around £2 per pupils for a whole year) but will bring big results!

Banners (Promotion PR19)

We are encouraging everyone to think about walking, cycling, scooting, or catching the bus or train to school. If driving is the only option. Please park further away from school and walking instead of driving all the way.

If you want to borrow one of the banners to display at your school, please email schooltravelplanning@buckinghamshire.gov.uk with your school’s name, address, and School Travel Plan Coordinators name. We do have limited numbers and banners will need to be returned to us after 4 weeks so they can be available for other schools to use. If you have borrowed one, please can you move it around the school site, so it doesn’t become blind to passers-by. Alternatively, please return it in your school’s green bag, remembering to include your school’s name, address, and School Travel Plan Coordinator’s name so we know where it has come from.

Primary school banner

Secondary school banner

Parking Problems?

Unfortunately, the Council is receiving more and more complaints from local communities about inconsiderate parking around our schools. Please highlight in your correspondence to families the dangers of parking unsafely around the school gates and encourage parents or guardians to park carefully and considerately (should they need to bring a car to school) but even better, to park safely away from the school gates and walk the last section of the journey. Why not borrow one of our parking banners, and along with the parking promise stickers run your own parking campaign?

Please contact me on schooltravelplanning@buckinghamshire.gov.uk for more information.

Child Pedestrian Training Footsteps (Road Safety & Training – Travel R5) Footsteps is a practical pedestrian skills training programme for children aged 4-7 years old, which helps to develop awareness of roads and helps them live safely with traffic. Children are taken into the local area with a volunteer Tutor to observe the traffic and discuss road safety. There are three stages, stage one (red), stage two (amber) and stage three (green). Each build on the last stage, covering the basic “Green Cross Code” then adding other aspects of road safety. Children receive a certificate at each stage to recognise their progress and achievements.

This is a learning journey; it may take a long time before children can cope on their own. As part of the new programme, we are keen to encourage parents to continue with this training when they are walking their child to the shops or to the local park and help their children learn the skills to become safer, more confident pedestrians. The new package will include a Parent’s Guide for Children. This colourful guide gives parents and carers ideas to help them teach their children to become more confident in road safety, one of the most important life skills a child needs to learn!

We are currently trialling Footsteps in a few schools. Please contact Corinne Randall at Corinne.Randall@buckinghamshire.gov.uk if your school would like to take part.

Bikeability Cycle Training (Road Safety & Training- Travel R 1, Promotion-Supporting PR 1,3,9) Bikeability is today’s cycle training programme. It’s about gaining practical skills and understanding how to cycle on today’s roads. Bikeability gives everyone the skills and confidence for all kinds of cycling.

The following link is to a suite of tools to help your school maximise the impact of Bikeability for all: Tools for Schools – Presentations and leaflets | Bikeability.

Schools are invited to apply for Bikeability Cycle funding for Level 1, 2 and 3 training due to take place during the Summer 2023 term. The funding window is now open. All schools will be sent an email which will include the link to the Bikeability funding application form. Full Bikeability terms and conditions can be seen at the following link: – https://schoolsweb.buckscc.gov.uk/travel-and-transport/school-travelplanning/cycletraining-for-schools/

For more information, please contact Georgina Longley at Georgina.longley@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

Examples of Initiatives

Tylers Green Jam-packed Road Safety Week Tylers Green Middle School had been busy last term. They had a jam-packed Road Safety Week running road safety lessons throughout the school, hiding decorated pebbles around the village promoting road safety and even writing their own Road Safety Song ‘Street Smart’. The children used their knowledge of staying safe to write some rhyming couplets that were put together by Miss Baker and recorded by their Music Teacher, Mrs Wood. They hope to release the song early in the New Year and can’t wait to share it! The school also encouraging safe and toughtful parking through School council and promoting anti-idling and car sharing through their own posters.

All this helped them with their school travel plan and they gained Bronze and the school are well on their way to get Silver now.

Roundwood Primary School

The JRSOs at Roundwood Primary School have been learning about the community speed awareness campaign that is running in the village of Gawcott. The JRSOs spent time with one of the coordinators learning about the reason for campaign being set up, and the impact it was having. They learnt that traffic through the village had increased due to the East/West Railway and HS2 diversions and construction vehicles. The JRSOs really enjoyed having a go with the speed gun and realised how tricky it was to not only record the speed but try to record the number plates too. They were interested to hear that the reasons that drivers often gave for speeding was because they were late. One of the JRSOs made the comment that ‘people need to leave earlier then..’ Thankfully, due to the high-viz jackets the JRSOs were wearing and their position on the side of the road, they found that most of the drivers were driving well within the speed limit.

After the event, the JRSOs put together an assembly to share with the school about what they did and had learnt. They were allowed to have the speed gun in school to show to the rest of the school too.

School Crossing Patrollers

Buckinghamshire’s 60 School Crossing Patrollers are out in all weathers, twice a day cheerfully helping school children and adults across roads to and from their local schools However, they are experiencing rising cases of abuse and threatening behaviour from a minority of drivers who are potentially putting lives at risk.

This term we are reminding drivers of their legal obligations to stop for the lollipop. The 1988 Road Traffic Act clearly states that as soon as a patroller raises their sign, even if they have not stepped into the road, drivers must be prepared to stop. Once the School Crossing Patroller is in the road displaying the sign, drivers must stop, and not proceed until the School Crossing Patroller and all those crossing have cleared the road. Drivers flouting the law could face a £1,000 fine, three penalty points and even disqualification. Banners are available to borrow, for schools that have patrollers.

Please help to support our patrollers and if there is an incident please contact: Corinne Randall Aylesbury Vale and Wycombe (West) or Georgina Longley Chiltern & South Bucks and Wycombe (East).

Contacts

Please contact the School Travel Planning Team if you have any queries:

Emma James — Emma.James@buckinghamshire.gov.uk                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      School Travel Plan Advisor

Corinne Randall— Corinne.Randall@buckinghamshire.gov.uk                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Footsteps Training and School Crossing Patroller Supervisor – Aylesbury Vale & Wycombe (West)

Georgina Longley— Georgina.Longley@buckinghamshire.gov.uk Bikeability                                                                                                                                                                                                                Training and School Crossing Patroller Supervisor – Chiltern & South Bucks & Wycombe (East)

You may also find information on our website useful www.schooltravelplanning.com or you can email schooltravelplanning@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Partner News

The following pages provide some additional information from some of our partners relating to school travel. This includes Bucks Radio, Road Safety GB, and Thame Valley Police.

Promote your School Travel Plan (Promotion- Supporting PR 3)

Don’t forget if you are doing anything in your school and want to get noticed in Buckinghamshire you can promote your School Travel Plan to Bucks Radio through https://www.bucks.radio/ news@bucks.radio

Bucks Radio is the new sound of Buckinghamshire, aiming to bring local radio back to the county. Launched by local broadcasters Nathan Cooper and Richard Carr in February 2021. We’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received so far and are looking forward to becoming a part of Buckinghamshire life. Between them, our team have been working, and broadcasting, in the area for over 40 years, so we understand what matters to you. Right now, we’re broadcasting online, via smart speakers and app, meaning you can take us with you wherever you go. We have the latest news, weather, and travel, and loads of community information, including our free What’s on Guide and features like Charity Friday.

We are especially keen to report on and promote any events and activities or positive news stories from schools across Buckinghamshire…. Also visit… when we are able! For more details check out our website: www.bucks.radio

Safe Drive Stay Alive

Thank you to all the schools that attended Safe Drive Stay Alive (SDSA) this year, we really appreciate your support especially after our enforced absence due to covid. There were 26 performances through the Thames Valley & Hampshire and over 23,000 young people attended shows this year.

Planning is already underway for November 2023, so do watch out for the booking site opening after Easter or for more information contact: Liz Johnson @ email: Elizabeth.johnson1@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

The Honest Truth

The Road Safety Team are promoting a young driver campaign called The Honest Truth and we have free digital posters and flyers that you can use to reinforce the messages received at SDSA. The posters cover speeding, seatbelts, drink/drug drive, fatigue, peer pressure, mobile phones & distraction.

We have a number of free digital guides for young drivers and parents plus a guide to riding a scooter, moped or 125cc bike. If you would further information on any of the resources above or links and QR codes for your website or social media, then please do contact:

Liz Johnson @ email: Elizabeth.johnson1@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Mobile Phone campaign

February / March starts the National campaign against driving whilst distracted and the Road Safety Team will be promoting the ‘Driver Distraction’ campaign with a focus on mobile phones. The message is that any distraction will take attention away from the driving task, meaning that drivers using the phone, even hands free, are four times more likely to crash.

The team are encouraging all passengers to challenge their drivers if distracted. Do your part in keeping yourself and other road users safe by getting the driver to concentrate on the road, not be tempted to use their mobile phone or other devices.

The campaign messaging will be promoted on bus back advertising and running on social media: Facebook Travel Safe Bucks and Twitter @TravelSafeBucks

It also focuses on pedestrians: when crossing the road, remember “Eyes Up”, “EarPods out” so that you can look and listen for any vehicles when crossing the road and keep looking and listening until you have safely reached the other side of the road.

Clean Air Champions (Asthma and Lung UK)

Every year air pollution is linked with up to 36,000 early deaths in the UK. Short periods of high air pollution can trigger asthma attacks for people with asthma or cause difficulty breathing and coughing. In the long-term, air pollution can cause serious health conditions or worsen existing ones, like asthma or heart disease. Cars and other vehicles cause huge amounts of air pollution – emitting toxic gases and dangerous dust. Breathing this is can seriously damage our lungs and health. That’s why making as many journeys as we can by walking, cycling, scootering, and public transport can make a difference.

Clean Air Champions is all about capturing and amplifying the voices of young change-makers all over the UK, as well as them inspiring positive change in their local community.

Pupils become Champions by completing 3 activities: one to raise awareness, one to spread the word and one to fundraise to support those communities worst affected by air pollution. Pupils can choose what their activities are, and participating schools also receive a free accompanying educational resource pack to boost their pupils’ learning.

It’s all focussed on Clean Air Day in June so schools could do activities just on the day or throughout the month of June. There’s lots more info on our website here too – Clean Air Champions (aluk.org.uk) – and you can be flexible with the dates and run the scheme anytime, if June didn’t suit all schools. This summer with the scheme, if schools raise £250 or more, Asthma and Lung UK will send out some free air pollution monitors to your school as well.

For more information or you have any questions about the scheme,

https://action.asthmaandlung.org.uk/page/103556/data/1

Email community@asthmaandlung.org.uk

Trucks and Child Safety (TACS) Trucks and Child Safety (TACS) is a road safety training programme run by the DHL business and funded by the DHL UK Foundation. Working with schools and community organisations, the TACS team teach children aged 7 to 11 years how to keep themselves safe around large vehicles. The team of trained demonstrators are all DBS checked and are fully committed to teaching children about road safety. Face to face demonstrations and classroom sessions are free of charge and offer a learning platform for young people to improve their safety awareness of this important issue.

More Information can be found at: TACS for Teachers – DHL UK Foundation