The mode of travel chosen for a child’s journey to school is
recognised as having an impact not only on their safety but their
health and personal development and of course the environment in
which they live. The Government has empowered local authorities to
assist schools in developing Safer Routes to Schools programmes and
School Travel Plans.
Contact: Tel 020 7332 1702 or
email plans@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Safer Routes to School and
School Travel Plans
The Safer Routes to School initiative aims to promote safer,
more environmentally sustainable and healthier ways of getting to
and from school. 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. These measures can be considered as
part of a Safer Routes project and in the City may include:
- Pedestrian crossings, improved footways
- Traffic calming
- Road safety education, training and publicity
- Health information
- Personal security advice
By developing a travel plan, a school is demonstrating a
commitment to promoting a safer, cleaner and more attractive school
environment. The travel plan process provides its pupils with
excellent curriculum activities in a wide range of subjects. With
their health, safety and environmental messages, school travel
plans can contribute significantly to other projects such as Health
for Schools, Safe Schools and Eco-Schools.
Contact: Tel 020 7332 1702 or
email plans@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Happy Feet
Happy Feet is a pedestrian campaign which is delivered to all
the City school children aged four to five years old. Additionally
the City offers the same service to City businesses that have a
crèche, which has also proved to be very popular. The training is
carried out over four sessions. Sessions one and three are based in
the classroom and two and four are practical on-road lessons.
- Session 1: With the use of resources the children take part in
role play, and practice crossing the road safely using different
types of crossings.
- Session 2: With the help of the City of London Police the
children are taken outside in small groups dressed in high
visibility jackets on a route around their school using the
different crossings available.
- Session 3: Back in the classroom the children recap what they
have learnt over the last two sessions with the help of visual
aids. Each child then has the chance to make a badge or fridge
magnet from a drawing they have done about road safety.
- Session 4: The final session is back out on road using the
crossings reminding the children how to cross the road
safely.
Junior Citizen
Junior Citizen is a very successful exercise which is carried
out over a two week period at London Zoo led jointly by Westminster
City Council and The City of London. Year 6 children from
Westminster and The City of London schools are invited to spend one
day at London Zoo taking part in eight scenarios. Each scenario is
based on real life dangers so that the children can develop new
skills and coping strategies to help them with their next step
towards secondary school, where independent travelling and other
challenges have to be met to get to their new school.
The exercise covers:
- Road Safety
- Fire Safety
- Water Safety
- London Transport (tubes & buses)
- Stranger Danger
- First Aid
- City Guardians
- Drug Awareness
The children are given marking sheets and taken in groups to the
first situation which lasts ten minutes; they are asked questions
and given information about the subject. Itis then their
responsibility to arrive at the next scene, ready to start on their
next subject. The Road Safety scenario varies from year to year. In
previous years a pedestrian crossing which is just outside the Zoo
entrance has been used; although the aim is to teach the children
how to cross the road safely even if they do not have a crossing to
use. The teams highlight the dangers of listening to IPods and
talking on mobile phones while using the highway.
Bikeability
This is a graded training course for all cyclists from
youngsters to adults. It encourages and promotes safe
confident riding on our City roads.
The Road Safety Team offers Stage 1 Bikeability free to all the
City schools for year 5 pupils. This consists of intensive
off-road practical sessions which teaches cycle control, safe
starting and stopping, correct positioning and signalling,
awareness of other road users and safe riding through
junctions when turning left or right.
In addition to the practical element the team also teaches the
Highway Code - road signs and markings, traffic lights and
roundabouts, wearing the best gear for riding and being seen, and
the importance of the lifesaver look.
The team provides all the equipment needed, including the cycles
& safety helmets. At the end of the course all the
children receive a free ‘goody bag’ full of cycle resources to help
them ride safely, including the Arrive Alive highway code for
children book, road safety activity booklet and high visibility
leg/arm bands.
The City of London Police Cycle Team offers Stage 2 Bikeability
for the year 6 pupils. The aim is to teach the children, who
took part in Stage 1, on-road cycling skills one year
later.
The Police Cycle Team prefers the children to use their own
cycles so they are riding the correct size cycle for their own
safety; they are also given helmets and high visibility jackets to
wear. All the children’s cycles are safety-checked by the
police officers before going on-road. The pupils are taken
out in small groups with accredited trainers and extra officers are
used throughout the route at busy junctions to help with
traffic.
For further information please contact PC Stuart Ford, City of
London Police. 020 7601 2222