Travel Plan 2008

School Travel Plan 2008

Western Church of England Primary School

Why have a travel plan?

This travel plan has been written in response to the development and expansion of the Western CE Primary School site.

The school is situated in the Fulflood area of Winchester and feeds its local community, with a large number of children walking to school. Since the construction of three new classrooms in 2002, the number of pupils has risen to 420, with a higher proportion travelling from out of catchment. The effect of this is a much higher volume of traffic using limited parking space in the surrounding residential area

Out of school hours Pick up/drop off time

This travel plan has been written after extensive consultation with the school and the wider community.

· Residents have completed questionnaires and received regular feedback. They have also been given the opportunity to be involved in the travel plan working group.

· There has been extensive consultation of parents through questionnaires. The status of the travel plan has been provided via newsletters and an opportunity for dialogue with the school.

· Pupils have been involved through questionnaires and the school council.

· Teachers have also been involved both through questionnaires and participation in the travel plan working group. The working group is made up of teaching staff, governors and local residents and the review process is undertaken by the Personnel and Community Committee. Current working party members are: Vicki Henderson (School Travel Plan co-ordinator / teacher), Tim Woodland (Parent Governor and Chair of Personnel Committee), Libby Wallis (Resident / LEA Governor) and Cllr Karen Barratt (LEA Governor).

· The governors have participated through full governing body and committee meetings and questionnaires. They are also represented on the travel plan steering group.

· There has been a thorough consultation with Hampshire County Council. Gary Hedges (HCC engineer), visited the site to view specific concerns.

Aims of the travel plan

To look carefully at the issues that are within our area and then to ensure that through the working group we achieve the following:-

· Ensure that children are kept safe on their journey to and from school and whilst on the school site.

· Devise a plan to help lessen the effect of school traffic on the local community

· Continue to work with parents to encourage their children to walk to school, and in conjunction with the Healthy Schools aims, to contribute towards pupils’ physical well being

· Work with parents to reduce the amount of traffic in the areas surrounding the school and as a consequence reduce the consumption of fossil fuels

· Liaise with Winchester City Council/Hampshire County Council in order to tie in the school’s issues with travel plans for the whole area

· To communicate with all stakeholders and ensure that they have the opportunity to communicate with the travel plan team.

School Catchment Area

The catchments area for Western Church of England Primary School is defined by the bold line below. Since the redevelopment of the school and the change in Admissions Policies, we have seen a marked increase in the numbers of pupils living and thus travelling from out of catchment.

Western Church of England Primary School (DCSF number 850/3176)

Browning Drive

Winchester

Hampshire

SO22 5AR

Location and Catchment

Western Church of England Primary School is a popular school situated in the Fulflood area of Winchester. The school caters for children aged 4-11 and has a capacity for 420 pupils. There are currently 417 pupils on roll. There are 3 children with SEN statements. One child lives very close to school and walks; the second is driven to school as he has difficulty in understanding the concept of road safety; the third child lives out of catchment and is driven most of the way, then walks the last part of the journey with his mother.

The school’s accommodation comprises nine original classroom bays opening onto corridors that provide a shared space and two classrooms housing the Reception children. Five years ago, the school underwent further expansion with the addition of three new classrooms (so that the school could become a two form entry primary), a Music/Drama room and an ICT suite. In September 2005, the provision of a new library, a DT / Group Room and a Meeting Room (used by staff as a professional working area) enhanced the facilities still further. Further refurbishment of classrooms took place during Easter 2007.

The school is situated in an urban locality, with very attractive and pleasant grounds. There are games pitches, three playgrounds, a grassed play area which includes a Fitness Trail and a nature trail. The school site has far reaching views out over Winchester and the surrounding countryside.

Most pupils transfer to The Westgate, which is a close neighbour.

A large number of the children who attend the school live within walking distance although from our surveys not all of these walk to school regularly. The main walking routes (marked on Location Map) are via Milverton Road, Fordington Avenue, Greenhill Road, Poets Way and Browning Drive. Pupils also enter into the back of the school via Chilbolton Avenue and Links Road. As stated earlier we have also noted that an increasing number come from out of catchment, and for various reasons travel to school by car. There are no school buses servicing the school, although minibuses from The Carroll Youth Centre and Hartley House pick up children at 3.30pm every day to attend after school clubs.

There is a mainline train station (Winchester) 15 minutes walk from the school.

The school employs over 40 regular staff plus visiting music and sport teachers.

Staffs are often on site from 7.30am - 7.00pm, although normal School hours are 9.00am - 3.30pm. The school also encourages many extra curricular activities which usually run from 3.30pm - 5.30pm.

External agencies use the school facilities three nights a week and the school is able to accommodate parking for these within the school car park.

School car park

Although public transport is readily available the survey below shows that only one pupil used this facility during the survey week (29.10.07 - 2.11.07).

Hands up survey (403 pupils)

The only access road to the school is via Byron Avenue. We regularly receive complaints from the local community about congestion and inconsiderate parking on Byron Avenue and surrounding roads (see Appendix 16-18 Residents Survey).

Consultation

A thorough consultation process has been conducted into the traffic issues affecting Western Church of England Primary School. This involved sending questionnaires to all pupils, parents/guardians, staff and local residents. Copies of the consultations, responses, newsletters, letters and dates of visits can be found in the appendices. Their findings have enabled us to formulate our main issues.

Pupil and Parent/Guardian survey

The survey was sent out in November 2006 to 307 families, and received 165 responses from the different year groups as shown below, which is a return of 53%.

A large proportion of those who responded already walk to school; it should be noted however that 46 of those who also responded travel to school by car.

Issues and Action Plan

The findings from the questionnaires together with further discussions on the points raised within them have helped us to look carefully at the issues affecting the school. The questionnaires did not raise concerns over the site’s capacity to deal with staff and visitors’ parking or for the facilities to allow minibuses to collect children after school for the clubs they attend. The site is also able to cope with the extra curricular activities that occur in the evenings.

The main issues highlighted as areas of concern are as follows:

· Poets Way which leads on to Browning Drive is the only access point to the main school entrance and as such is congested at the start of school and in the afternoon during pick up times.

· The back entrance to the school is situated on a public footpath but access to this footpath is mainly via Chilbolton Avenue which has no crossing at its lower point and is as such too busy to cross safely.

· The main entrance to the school is a point of danger as the car and pupil entrances are adjacent to one another.

· Inconsiderate use of the access roads and parking on the adjacent roads by parents/guardians driving to school leads to issues with the local residents.

· Owing to the lack of parking on the roads, cars often approach the school and either try and turn in the school entrance or reverse back from it, creating danger for pedestrians.

· The pupils need to be kept aware of the issues of safety when travelling to and from school.

In response to these issues the school working party has already sought help and guidance from a number of other agencies and people. In particular we have had a number of meetings with the Hampshire School Travel Team. One of our key meetings was with the Deputy Head of The Westgate School (the schools are immediately adjacent to one another) and the County Engineer to see if any combined planning could be of benefit to both Western and Westgate.

The action plan shown on the following pages provides a working document to take forward and continually update.

The School Travel Plan will be published on the school website. Parents and residents will be informed of this via newsletter. There will also be a hard copy in the school reception area and the school office.

Monitoring and Evaluating

As our travel plan is a living document, it will need reviewing and updating regularly. We will carry out a full travel survey and a full review of the whole document every two years to find out if anything has changed or requires action. The next full travel survey will be carried out in November 2009 by the School Champion and the Travel Plan Working Party and the next full review will be carried out in April 2009 by the Personnel and Community Committee.

There will be an interim review of the travel plan in April 2009 to monitor progress and achievements, and also to take into account any changes in education or transport provision that will alter the travel needs of our staff and pupils. This will be undertaken by the Personnel and Community Committee.

In addition to this, the school will participate in the annual submission of mode of travel data for all pupils as part of the school census, which we understand is compulsory for all schools with travel plans. The census data will be kept and used by us in subsequent reviews to measure progress against our targets.

Action Plan for Western Church of England Primary School

Aim: Improving safety on the school journey and on the school site

Objective: To improve safety on the school site by separating vehicles and pedestrians where possible

SMART Target

Measures/Initiatives and Completion Date

Tasks/Actions

Responsibility (Specify role)

Priority of Initiative(High, Medium or Low)

Timescale of Tasks/
Actions

Review with Working Group

To record 0 accidents related to travel/traffic on the school site April 2010

Erect second gate to block parking area closest to school by Sept 2008

Contact contractors for quotes

HT and Chair of Personnel

High

Sept 2008

Oct 2008

Erect fencing by paths next to inner car park by Sept 2008

Confirm contractor and erect fences

HT and Resources Committee

High

Jan/Feb 2008

March 2008

Link to Disability access Plan – erect notice on gate ref phoning the school office if help is needed in accessing the site by Sept 2008

Order and erect sign

HT and Governor responsible for Disability Access

High

Spring 2008

Oct 2008

Install disabled driver bay and marking, plus dropped kerb by bay by Sept 2008

Contact contractors for quotes

HT and Governor responsible for Disability Access

High

Summer 2008

Oct 2008

Objective: To improve the safety of pupils on the journey to and from school

To contribute towards Hampshire Council’s target of 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured to the average 1994-98 level by 2010

Provide in school education on road safety

during designated curriculum time. This will be based on educating the pupils on safe travelling to school Sept 2008.

SEN children will have targeted road safety training with Special Needs Assistant.

Contact HCC’s Road Safety Team so as to provide guidance on the contents of such curriculum education.

School Champion

Medium

Sept 2008

March 2009

Discuss with School Council as a

fixed monthly agenda item

Nov 2007

Annual whole School assembly theme The theme will be a presentation on road safety.

School champion to contact

HCC STP Team

April/May 2008

June 2008

Aim: Reducing car use and encouraging alternatives

Objective: Encourage more walking to school and promote the health benefits
SMART Target	Measures/Initiatives and Completion Date	Tasks/Actions	Responsibility (Specify role)	Priority of Initiative(High, Medium or Low)	Timescale of Tasks/ Actions	Review with Working Group
Increase the percentage of pupils walking from 32.8% as recorded in February 2007 to 38.5% in February 2009.	Participate in Walk to School week 19^th-23rd May 2008	Reflective Thinking Team to continue as in past	RTT	Medium	May 2008	Annually in July starting 2008
	Promote the health benefits of walking to all children by July 2009. Travel Plan summary leaflet to be included in prospectus information March 2008	RTT to continue with Action Plan	RTT	High	Dec 2008	Annually in September starting 2009
		School gains Healthy Schools Award status. Possibility of all children being issued with pedometers	RTT		Target date end of 2008
		Safety issues included in PSHE	RTT		Ongoing cycle each year

Aim: Raising travel awareness amongst our pupils and embedding school travel/road safety in the curriculum

Objective: To embed travel issues and road safety into the curriculum.

SMART Target

Measures/Initiatives and Completion Date

Tasks/Actions

Responsibility (Specify role)

Priority of Initiative(High, Medium or Low)

Timescale of Tasks/
Actions

Review with Working Group

To ensure that road safety is taught to all pupils and embedded in the school curriculum by the beginning of the new school year in 2009.

Provide in school education on road safety by Sept 2009.

For yrs R to yr 5 this will be based on educating the pupils.

Yr 6 will be based on cycle proficiency

Contact HCC’s Road Safety Team to provide lesson content.

Put on School Council

As a regular agenda item.

Themed annual whole School assembly

School Champion

HCC Travel Team

Medium

Sept 2008

Nov 2007

April/May 2008

July 2009

Aim: To communicate with the residents, parents/guardians and other interested parties/stake holders

Objective: To ensure that the school and wider community are aware of issues regarding travel to and from school
SMART Target	Measures/Initiatives and Completion Date	Tasks/Actions	Responsibility (Specify role)	Priority of Initiative(High, Medium or Low)	Timescale of Tasks/ Actions	Review with Working Group
	Consult and provide feedback regularly to parents and pupils via newsletters Start date February 2008. Although has been ongoing to date	Carry out regular School surveys	School champion and GB	Medium	Annually – July 2008	Annually – July 2008
		Use newsletters to communicate key information about school events eg Walk to School Week	HT / School Champion
		Put on school council agendas regularly.	HT
	To consult and provide feedback regularly with residents. July 2008	Provide residents each term with out of school function dates. Provide update on school travel plan	School champion/Personnel Committee	Medium	Each Term September, January, April	November 2008
		Open meeting with HCC Travel Team to lead discussion – more detail	School champion/Personnel Committee/HCC		April/May 2008

Key to abbreviations

GB Governing body

HCC Hampshire County Council

HT Head Teacher

PHSE Personnel Social Health Education

RTT Reflective Thinking Team

Appendices

Questionnaires were sent out to Parents/Guardians and pupils, all school staff and residents.

The responses received were as follows:

Parents / Guardians / pupils: Sent out 307

Returned 165

Percentage 53%

School staff: Sent out 43

Returned 34

Percentage 79%

Residents: Sent out 97

Returned 35

Percentage 36%

Appendix 1

School Travel Survey Pupil and Parent/Guardian Questionnaire

Question 1

How do you come to school on most days?

138 walk (83.6%); 1 bus (0.6%); 46 car (27.8%)

Question 2

Why do you come to school that way?

Other:

Walking healthy/good for environment

Too hilly to cycle

Too much to carry

Own walking bus

Question 3
How do you go home from school each day?

130 walk (78.7%)

Question 4

Why do you go home that way?

Other

Difficult to cross

Chilbolton Avenue

Healthier to walk
Drives because child attends after school club

Child too tired to walk



Question 5

How would you like to travel to and from school?

Reason

Healthier/like to walk/meet friends en route/do own walking bus

Like to ride bike

97 Walk (56%); 49 cycle (28.3%); 3 bus (1.7%); 21 car (12.1%); 3 train (1.7%)

      Question 6

     How far is your journey?

Question 7

If you do already walk or cycle, is there anything that would help make your

journey easier or safer? For example, cycle storage, improved footpaths, crossing

facilities or cycle training.