Stonesfield School Travel Plan

DFES number: 2353

Street name: High Street

Town: Stonesfield

Postcode: OX29 8PU

This is version: 1:0

Our School Travel Plan was approved by Oxfordshire County Council’s Travel Plans Team on: xx/xx/xx

(www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/travel2school)

Our School Travel Plan aims to reduce the use of cars for journeys to our school. Where possible, we as a school will aim to replace car journeys with walking, cycling and bus travel. Where car journeys can’t be avoided we will aim to car-share and park-and-walk. Key benefits of doing this will be:

o       A reduction in our school’s Carbon Footprint

o       More exercise for pupils, leading to better health and fitness

o       Less congestion near the school

o       Fewer cars on the road, improving road safety for all

o       Cleaner air around the school

This plan records how we currently travel to our school, the changes we will aim to achieve in the next couple of years, and specific actions we will undertake to get there.

Our location and catchment area:

Stonesfield is a rural village of 1600 people, with a range of socio-economic diversity. The school is not in the centre of the village but is situated on the east side. The village has expanded westwards, which means that the school is probably an extra five minutes walking distance for many parents.

The catchment area is basically the village, although approximately 20 pupils live outside.

Public transport links to and from Stonesfield are not strong. We have a rural bus service, but it is not relevant to school travel issues because most pupils live in the village. The village has a shortage of pavements and does not have street lighting, which contributes to it’s attractiveness as a rural Oxfordshire village, but can present problems to both walkers and cyclists. There are no other schools or significant local organisations in the vicinity of the school.

Our staff and pupils:

Stonesfield School is a community primary school and the age range is between 4 and 11. At the time of writing, there are 159 pupils on roll. We currently have 11 children with special needs. The needs are learning difficulties, and we do not have any children with physical disabilities at the present time. There are no travel issues arising from the children that have special needs.

We have 19 members of staff, of whom 8 are teachers. 6 of our teachers are full-time and 2 are part-time. We do have staff members living locally who walk to school. We also have a member of staff who cycles from Charlbury. However, a number of teachers live some distance from Stonesfield and need to transport work papers and there is therefore no significant potential in terms of modal shift. However, we will continue to encourage consideration of walking, cycling or car share for members of staff who wish to do so.

Related initiatives already taking place:

There are a number of initiatives taking place that support and encourage sustainable travel. We undertake Footsteps training and cycle training for Years 5 and 6. We also promote Park and Walk, as the High Street (where our main entrance is located) is too narrow for cars to drop and pick up children. We encourage parents to park near the Post Office (see photograph in Appendix A of the Plan) or in the car park of a local pub that is currently closed. This has the additional benefit of enabling parents who are driving to actually walk a short distance with their children to school.

We are currently working towards Healthy Schools and Eco Schools status. It is our aim to achieve bronze Eco School status and Healthy Schools status by the end of the year, if possible.

Journeys made to the site at the start and end of the school day:

The peak hours are from 8.40 to 9.05 in the mornings and between 3.00 and 3.30 in the afternoons.

Journeys made for before and after school clubs:

We do not have a breakfast club, but there are various extra-curricular clubs that take place every day with about 20 pupils attending each of them. The clubs do not present any significant travel issues as most children walk. We do not envisage that the Extended Schools Agenda will have a significant impact of travel issues in the future.

Journeys made from the school site to other locations during the day:

We use coaches to travel to locations that are a significant distance away, such as swimming. However, we do undertake local visits with the children on foot. Examples of this include looking at local housing and walking down to the river. We also arrange visits to a local farm to see farm animals and help the children understand more about sustainable issues.

Our latest travel survey - how our pupils currently travel to school. This survey was carried out in December 2007

Actual journey mode	Survey totals.		100%	of the school was surveyed					% of pupils using mode	Number pupils in whole school using this mode (estimate)
	4yrs-5	5yrs-6	6yrs-7	7yrs-8	8yrs-9	9yrs-11	0	Total
Walk/ roller blade/ scooter	10	16	14	18	16	22	0	96	64.0%	96
Cycle	2	0	1	1	2	1	0	7	4.7%	7
School bus	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0%	0
Other bus	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0%	0
Train	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0%	0
Car (shared + non-shared)	8	7	12	8	8	3	0	46	30.7%	46
Other	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0.7%	1
Number coming by car that car-share	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
Total number of pupils surveyed	20	23	27	28	26	26	0	150	100.0%	150

* Car share means that a pupil travels to school with another pupil who lives at a different address (it excludes travel with siblings).

Journeys to the school – our potential for change

Our latest travel survey - how our pupils want to travel to school. This survey was carried out in December 2007

Preferred journey mode	Survey totals.		100%	of the school was surveyed					% of pupils choosing mode	Number pupils in whole school choosing this mode (estimate)
	4yrs-5	5yrs-6	6yrs-7	7yrs-8	8yrs-9	9yrs-11	0	Total
Walk/ rollerblade/ scooter	12	5	2	3	5	19	0	46	30.7%	46
Cycle	2	13	17	23	18	7	0	80	53.3%	80
School bus	3	0	4	0	1	0	0	8	5.3%	8
Other bus	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	1.3%	2
Train	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0%	0
Car (shared + non-shared)	3	3	4	2	2	0	0	14	9.3%	14
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0%	0
Number coming by car that car-share	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	4
Total number of pupils surveyed	20	23	27	28	26	26	0	150	100.0%	150

* Car share means that a pupil travels to school with another pupil who lives at a different address (it excludes travel with siblings).

The graph below compares the potential for walking and cycling to our school with numbers actually walking or cycling.

Summary of our survey findings

We were surprised at the number of pupils who travel to school by car and yet live within walking distance. In particular, we note that many of the younger children are travelling by car, despite living within walking distance of the school. An example of this can be seen in the Foundation Stage, where approximately half the pupils are currently travelling to school by car. We were interested to see that a higher proportion of older pupils walk to school.

We were also surprised at the number of pupils who would like to cycle. Paradoxically, they cannot cycle alone until they are in Years 5 and 6, and there seems to be less interest in cycling by the time they reach this age. The prime time that pupils would like to cycle is when they are in Years 2, 3 and 4. At this age, they will only be able to cycle if a parent or guardian cycles with them.

In terms of the parental survey findings, we note that parents are concerned about shortage of time and life constraints. A number also mention concerns about the safety of children walking and/or cycling. Issues that came up include the lack of footways in the village and the speed of traffic. Interestingly, many parents who live locally seem to be interested in the walking bus option.

One issue within the next two years is that we will be expanding and taking more children out of catchment – we are going up to seven classes and will have the capacity for more children. This will arguably increase the number of children who are driven to school. Clearly this will need to be considered in terms of reviewing our targets after two years.

The consultation results are summarised in the Appendix section of this report.

On the way to our school:

The main issue for us is the minority of parents who drive, parking outside school and along the High street. As one of the outcomes from this Travel Plan, we would like the existing zig-zag lines extended and signage to discourage parking.

On our school site: opportunities and concerns

We have a cycle racks which are sufficient for our current demand, but are not covered. We would consider cycle/scooter storage as a possible way of spending our grant money. We are also interested in a parent’s shelter to encourage parents to walk to collect their children even when the weather is wet.

We would like an appraisal of options regarding the back entrance to our school – possibly having a gate there. The village is situated in the direction of the rear entrance, and it would be a shorter walk for the majority of our parents to enter the school from there.

We have also identified an issue around the need for separating children playing from the staff car parking area. There is limited play space for children on the school site.  Our current thinking is that some form of barrier is needed – possibly something like plantains – in order to encourage the children not to play too near to the vehicles.

Description of concern regarding walking, cycling and bus use (including location if applicable).	Group identifying concern and when it was identified	How would travel to our school change if this were addressed? How many more pupils might walk, cycle or travel by bus as a result?
Speed and volume of traffic in the village	Parents via survey	An estimated figure would be 10

Objective 1: To ensure that the whole school community is aware of the School Travel Plan and what it aims to achieve.

Target 1: To communicate the key messages of our School Travel Plan to all parents and pupils and other relevant parties within 3 months of its approval.

Action / initiative	Person responsible for overseeing	Start date	Completion or review date
Include Travel Plan in School Development Plan	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
Include as an agenda item at school governors meeting	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
All new parents will be given a copy of the Travel Plan in the admission pack and it will be flagged up in the school prospectus.	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
An evening will be dedicated to talking with parents about the benefits of  sustainable ways to travel to school	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
Provide a copy of the final Travel Plan to the local Parish Council	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009

Objective 2: To increase the number of pupils who walk to school on a regular basis and reduce the number of car journeys.

Target 2: To increase the number of pupils who regularly walk from 96 (64.0%) to 106 (79%) by July 2009.

Action / initiative	Person responsible for overseeing	Start date	Completion or review date
Continue to promote the two Park and Walk options at the Post Office square and at the village pub	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
Continue with the Footsteps training for our youngest children and publicise the value of the project to all parents and stakeholders.	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
Encourage the children to think about the world they will inherit as adults, and how they can contribute to reducing their carbon footprint, by planning environmental awareness into all areas of the curriculum.	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
Healthy schools – emphasise the exercise element of healthy modes of travel to school as part of an overall package of good diet and exercise. Good health and fitness will continue to be a major part of the curriculum Explore the option of making the rear entrance to the school site accessible to parents and children, as coming in that way will reduce the walking time for a majority of families in the village	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009

Objective 3: To increase the number of pupils who cycle to school and reduce the number of car journeys

Target 3: To increase the number of pupils who regularly cycle from 7 (4.7%) to 14 (9.4%) by July 2009

Action / initiative	Person responsible for overseeing	Start date	Completion or review date
Continue with cycle training for Years 5 and 6	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
Periodically provide a regular “bikers breakfast” for children who have cycled in that morning and publicise this beforehand	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
We will use the Government grant to install modern, all weather cycle storage. We will hold an opening ceremony, hopefully with a local celebrity.	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009
We will introduce cycle maintenance as a routine part of Cycling Proficiency training and to develop the Design and Technology curriculum to extend understanding of the amazing simplicity of the design and the need for regular servicing.	Head teacher	February 2008	February 2009

Following the approval of our School Travel Plan we will receive a central Government grant to support our it, to spend on the school site. Our school’s grant will be approximately £4545

o       Bearing in mind the factors identified above, what should this grant be put towards to support the aims of this School Travel Plan?

We will put the grant towards a parent shelter and/or cycle storage

We will review the action table on a regular basis and hold a formal review after one year.

Each autumn we will survey pupils regarding how they travel to school and update the data held on Schools Information Management System with any changes.

We commit to updating our School Travel Plan every two years, under the guidance of the Travel Plans Team at Oxfordshire County Council.

Any new developments in education and transport provision that directly effect travel to the school will be considered as they happen. We will review our School Travel Plan if this is thought to be necessary -  these might be extended schools initiatives, communities facilities powers etc.

Responsibility for these actions will be with the head teacher.

Our School Travel Plan has been signed below by the Headteacher and Chair of Governors, to indicate their support for the objectives and targets contained in this School Travel Plan. Our school will uphold these aims and objectives and is committed to carrying out the actions as stated.

Name of Headteacher:

Signature:                                                         Date:

Name of Chair of Governors:

Signature:                                                         Date:

Appendix 1 – analysis of questionnaires to parents

29 forms were returned by families with a total of 32 children. The age ranges of the children were as follows:

Year	Number
F	5
1	4
2	5
3	7
4	4
5	3
6	4

How the children usually travelled to school provided some interesting results. A number of parents gave multi choice answers –e.g. some days they walked with their children and other days they drove them by car.

21 children walked to school and 24 walked home. 7 children were driven to school and 6 were driven home.  2 children from the same family) had a park and walk system from the house of their grandparents. 1 child came to school by car share, and the respondent explained the reason for this:

“Living in Woodstock, car share is the only realistic option”.

None of the respondents chose cycling or bus. Several children were driven to school and walked home or walked to school/were driven home. A number of respondents mentioned that their children often used scooters during the walk to and from school.

What were the key factors influencing journey decisions? Parents of walkers mentioned exercise (23 respondents) and life skills (28 respondents) as positive factors. 23 parents recorded road safety concerns about walking and/or cycling, while 15 mentioned distance between home and school. The issue of distance was mentioned by drivers as well as walkers, suggesting that this is a key decision issue.

Parents were given a range of travel options, and asked for their views. Figure 2 shows the options and number of parents who would approve:

Walking to school (accompanied by you or allowing an older child to walk alone or with friends)	22
Walking as part of a walking bus (your child walking to School with a group of children under adult supervision)	18
Cycling (accompanied by you, or allowing an older child to Cycle alone or with friends	9
Cycling as part of a cycle train (your child cycling to school with a group of other children, under adult supervision	4
Travelling on a school bus	8
Travelling on a public bus	1
Car sharing with another family	8

Parents were asked if their children had a bike in good working order and a cycle helmet. 25 respondents confirmed that their child(ren) had both, 2 said that their child did not have a bicycle/cycle helmet and 1 child had a helmet but not a bicycle.

The following additional concerns about walking/cycling/bus use were recorded:

“Road safety, speed of other drivers”

“Traffic, safety”

“Walking in a group and losing concentration when crossing busy roads and areas where there are no paths”

“No pavement and parked cars on Church Street”

“No concerns. XXX walks with me, so able to supervise roads, etc”

“I walk to school when I don’t have to travel on to work. Walking my children to school is definitely my preferred option. I don’t feel comfortable letting them walk to school alone (even though we’re near enough) because of traffic danger and stranger danger”

“Road safety and speed of drivers”

“We do walk to school, but I have concerns about safety, due to the number of cars around school at this time. It would help if people thought about young pedestrians when they parked their cars”.

“Our road is dangerous to cross, due to speeding traffic. Other than this one location, I have no problem with XXX walking to school. It’s too hilly to cycle”

“As I have to push a buggy, it would be hard for my 4 year old to cycle safely (no pavement) as I cannot be “hands-free” to supervise”

Parents were asked if they had any other comments relating to journeys to school. The following responses were made:

“I feel it is important for children to walk/cycle to school where possible. I get very frustrated and have safety concerns about the amount of cars at and around school at drop-off and pick-up (especially those that belong to people living in the village!”

“We have to drive into the village, but we park on the edge of the village at the children’s grandparents and walk to school as often as we can”

“We have to cross a very dangerous part of road for a village. Could do with being supervised if children encouraged to walk with older children”

“There are too many cars dropping children off to school, making the roads far more dangerous for children to walk to school by themselves, when they are old enough to do so by themselves”

“As we are out of catchment and it is too far to walk or cycle I’ve left it blank”

“Walking bus sounds very interesting – would like to know more”

Appendix 2 – our photos

Parents are

  encouraged to park near the Post Office when dropping their children

Zig zag lines outside the main entrance of the school. The High Street

is very narrow and parents who drive are discouraged from driving up to the school

and dropping their children off.

Current onsite cycle storage is unsheltered

Approaching the school buildings from the rear

The rear entrance to the school site

The route to the car park for staff onsite

Evidence of your consultation with pupils, staff and governors, and any other groups

e.g. Meeting minutes from Governor or staff meetings where the Travel Plan has been on the agenda

e.g. Letters and newsletters sent to staff, governors and parents

e.g. questions used in pupil consultations