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New - Sustainable Travel to School Strategy
School Travel Plans
Getting Started: A Guide for Bournemouth Schools
Safer Routes to School

New - Sustainable Travel to School Strategy

Bournemouth Council is working to respond to the requirements of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, which places a general duty on local authorities to promote the use of sustainable transport on the home to school journey.

The Government has published guidance on the powers and duties relating to sustainable travel to school and the provision of travel arrangements to school for children and young people (Home to School Travel and Transport Guidance; DfES 2007). The Council's intention is to develop a detailed strategy for Sustainable Travel to School based on these guidelines, in order to achieve its duties. This will set out what the Council considers necessary in order to promote, develop, monitor and implement policies for meeting the needs and demands for travel to education establishments, within the Borough, in as sustainable a way as practicable.

Work has started to assess and review in the following four main areas and this will initially be used to inform the strategy expected to meet this duty:

• Assessment of travel and transport needs of students
• Audit of the travel infrastructure
• Development of a strategy for enabling sustainable travel
• Promotion of sustainable travel

A draft strategy will be published on the Council's website and comments invited from interested parties. Following this consultative period it is proposed that the final strategy, which will integrate with other related policy documents, will be published in September 2008. In order to respond to changing circumstances such as funding streams, new legislation, demographic influences, the strategy will of necessity be a dynamic document and consequently reviewed regularly.

The Council has been successful in assisting schools with preparation of school-specific School Travel Plans, with 85% of LEA schools having plans meeting national standards. This, along with existing policies for provision of home to school transport, programme's of "Safe Routes to School" projects and initiatives to provide younger children with appropriate walking and cycling skills is aimed at enabling and encouraging safe and sustainable travel choices by more individuals. In turn this contributes to our wider objectives of reducing trips by car and improving child health.

It must be recognised however that growth in car ownership and reliance upon car use, combined with parental preference for schools other than the local option, are significant challenges to achieving these aims. A successful outcome will strongly depend upon the practical contribution of the school community itself.

Your views will be welcomed about the approach we should take in influencing home to school travel by car. Comments can be emailed to highways.

Or, write to us at:
Road Safety
Planning & Transport
St. Stephen's Road
Town Hall Annexe
Bournemouth BH2 6EA

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School Travel Plans

Bournemouth Borough Council is committed to helping every school in Bournemouth complete a School Travel Plan (STP) by 2010.

Did you know?

• The number of children travelling to school by car over the past 20 years has doubled (Dept for Transport).
• The school run accounts for one in five cars on the road in urban areas at 8:45 a.m.
• Nationally 20% of Secondary School Children travel to school by car. In Bournemouth 25% travel by car.
• Nationally 41% of Primary School Children travel to school by car. In Bournemouth 50% travel by car.
• 62% of car trips are for less than 2 miles (3.2km).
• Childhood obesity has more than doubled since the 1980s.
• Children walking to school use more calories than two hours of PE.
• Nationally 41% of secondary school children walk to school. In Bournemouth only 32% walk.
• Nationally 52% of primary school children walk to school. In Bournemouth only 44% walk.

Sources: National Travel Survey 2006 & January 2008 School Census Data Bournemouth.

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'Getting Started: A Guide for Bournemouth Schools'

What is a School Travel Plan?

A School Travel Plan is a document which aims to:

• reduce accidents and dangers on the journey to school
• reduce the number of car trips to the school
• cut congestion at the school gates
• increase the numbers of pupils / parents walking and cycling
• help improve facilities for walkers and cyclists
• encourage car sharing by parents and school staff where possible
• help improve bus services
• give children the opportunity to have a say in decisions which affect them
• build links within the whole community
• make the area around the school safer and more enjoyable for everyone
• be a document written by the school

More information is available in the 'School Travel Plans, Getting Started: A Guide for Bournemouth Schools' (PDF Document 738Kb).

How many schools are involved and have School Travel Plans already?

Bournemouth Schools with completed School Travel Plans.

Schools that completed an approved School Travel Plan in 2003/04.

Primary

1. Bethany CE Junior School
2. Corpus Christi RC Primary School
3. Heathlands Primary School
4. Kings Park Primary School
5. Kingsleigh Primary School
6. Malmesbury Park Primary School
7. Moordown St Johns CE Primary School
8. Pokesdown Primary School
9. Queens Park Junior School
10. St James’ CE Primary School
11. St Luke’s CE Primary School
12. St Mark’s CE Primary School
13. Stourfield Junior School
14. The Epiphany Primary School
15. Townsend Primary School
16. Winton Primary

Secondary

17. Kings High School

Schools that completed an approved School Travel Plan in 2004/05.

Primary

18. Christ the King RC Primary School
19. Kinson Primary

Secondary

20. Oakmead College of Technology
21. Portchester Boys

Schools that completed an approved School Travel Plan in 2005/06.

Primary

22. St Clements & St John’s CE Infants

Secondary

23. Glenmoor Girls
24. Winton Boys

Schools that completed an approved School Travel Plan in 2006/07.

Primary

25. Muscliff Primary
26. Elmrise Primary
27. Queens Park Infants
28. Stourfield Infants
29. Hill View Primary

Schools that completed an approved School Travel Plan in 2007/08.

Primary

30. St Michael’s CE Primary
31. St Walburga’s RC Primary

Secondary

32. Avonbourne
33. Bournemouth School for Girls
34. St Peter’s RC Comprehensive

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Safer Routes to School

The Safer Routes to School initiative aims to promote safer, more environmentally sustainable and healthier ways of getting to and from school with particular emphasis on walking and cycling. To achieve this, we need to improve conditions (both in safety and the environment) on the main walking and cycling routes to school. Schemes can include physical measure such as safer crossing points and may involve work within the school grounds.

Projects involve the investigation of school travel patterns usually carried out with the commitment to a School Travel Plan. This often identifies engineering and educational measures to improve safety and reduce car use on the route between home and school. These measures can be considered as part of a Safer Routes project and may include:

• pedestrian crossings,
• improved pavements,
• Better signage & road markings around the school,
• 20 mph zones, traffic calming, parking restrictions,
• cycle routes and cycle parking,
• road safety education, training and publicity,
• health information,
• personal security advice

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