SMARTways : School Travel Plans

Please select on of the following areas:

• What is a Travel Plan?
• Why do we need Travel Plans?
• What are the Benefits of a Travel Plan?
• What are the key elements of a Travel Plan?
• Preparing a Plan
• The Role of North Lanarkshire Council
• What is the link with Safer Routes to School?
• How Do I Get Started?

What is a Travel Plan?

A Travel Plan is a document that:

• Sets out a number of practical steps for improving children's safety on the school journey
  and for reducing the number of car trips made to school
• Is a whole school initiative and should demonstrate support from children, staff, parents, governors and the wider community
• Aims to enable parents and children to choose walking, cycling and public transport with confidence and seeks to cut congestion at the school gate
• Looks in detail at children's needs on the school journey and attempts to address them by finding the right solutions for each individual school
• Does not have to concentrate on transport alone, but can also address health, safety, environment, education and social equity issues
• Has clearly stated aims, objectives and targets which are achievable, measurable and are supported by the whole school community
• May be a very simple statement of school policy or a comprehensive document which deals with all aspects of the school journey

Travel Plans are a key component of Safer Routes to School projects and will act as a guide for action at identified project schools. Whilst Safer Routes to School project schools are selected on the basis of need, a successful Travel Plan supported by the whole school community, demonstrates a commitment to improve safety and reduce congestion.

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Why do we need Travel Plans?

Too many parents are driving their children to school unnecessarily. Nationally, in 1986 children (5-16) made 60% of their school journeys on foot and only 16% by car. By 1996 less than 50% walked to school and 29% travelled by car. Public transport use has declined and cycling represents less than 1% of all school journeys. As a result almost one in five car trips in the morning peak are taking children to school.

It is true that for some parents there is no alternative to the car, with long distances to travel and no suitable public transport available, but many are driving their children to school over short distances, where walking and cycling are real options.

There are many reasons for this increased use of the car:

Growing dependence on the car can have a range of damaging side effects:

• Increase in peak period traffic congestion
• Increase in atmospheric pollution around schools
• Fewer opportunities for children to develop road and personal safety skills
• Lack of exercise with resulting impact on general health and well-being
• Reduction in children's independence and social interaction
• Establishing travel habits early in life which are difficult to change

A Travel Plan is an opportunity for schools to identify and promote practical alternatives that meet the varied needs of the school community, which will encourage parents to consider different ways of taking their children to school.

It is recognised that schools are under pressure to concentrate on core teaching activities and raise educational standards, and as a result many schools may consider a Travel Plan to be a low priority.

However, since a Travel Plan should be a whole school initiative, involving the wider school community, it need not place an increased burden upon the head teacher or teaching staff. A successful Travel Plan will not only enhance the reputation of the school but will also bring some of the following benefits:

For the School:

For the Students:

For Parents and Staff:

It should also be noted that Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) are increasingly addressing and commenting on school travel issues as part of their regular inspections. A school, which is addressing these issues by means of a Travel Plan, demonstrates its commitment to bring about positive change.

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What are the key elements of a Travel Plan?

The key elements of a Travel Plan, which can help to ensure its success, are:

• School champion/s:

A successful Travel Plan usually depends on the energy, enthusiasm and commitment of one or two people who champion the project. They normally take the lead, co-ordinate the initiative and make the necessary arrangements. They can be a teacher, a parent, or a governor.

• School involvement:

It is important that children, staff, parents, governors and the wider community are involved in the development of the Travel Plan to reflect the needs of all concerned. Ideally they should all be represented on a working group which will make decisions and take the project forward.

• Detailed research:

Setting aims, objectives and targets is an important element of any Travel Plan. They should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time specific (SMART) and great care should be taken in choosing these targets to ensure that key objectives are met.

• Effective consultation:

Parents, staff, students and local people must be kept informed of progress, and their views should be constantly sought. The working group could use newsletters, surveys, annual reports, letters, local papers and leaflets to both give and receive information.

• Review of relevant school policies:

The working group and school governors should consider current school policies and their impact upon travel patterns, safety and the environment. It is possible that significant improvements can be made by simple changes to existing policies.

• School-specific action plan:

The most effective Travel Plans will usually involve a mixture of measures and initiatives, specific to the individual school. Not all measures will be immediately achievable and therefore the working group should prepare an action plan of priorities.

• Effective partnerships with other agencies:

The involvement and co-operation of a range of agencies and individuals is often crucial to the success of a Travel Plan. Proposals for change may depend on support from the local authority, police, bus and train operators, health authority, business community and local user groups.

• Realistic time-scale and programme:

To maintain the impetus, it is important to implement some measures as soon as possible, but be realistic. There is a continuing need for monitoring to determine if the objectives are being met. Any programme / action plan should be built around the school year.

Preparing a Plan

The guidance below suggests one way of preparing a Travel Plan. The headings are provided as a framework and can be adopted as paragraph / chapter titles within individual plans.

Introduction

Policy & Objectives

Survey Results

Initiatives

Monitoring / Evaluation

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North Lanarkshire Council is the Roads Authority for all the non-trunk roads in the North Lanarkshire area, therefore it is responsible for a wide range of services to schools, many of which can support the preparation and implementation of a Travel Plan.

These include:

• Road Safety – providing road safety education resources, training and publicity, together with an effective School Crossing Patrol service.
• Passenger Transport – working in partnership with rail and bus operators to improve public transport services and facilities throughout the Council. It also organises home to school transport for entitled pupils, on behalf of the Education Department.
• Traffic Management – providing local road safety and traffic management measures such as pedestrian facilities, signing and lining within the constraints of a limited budget.

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What is the link with Safer Routes to School?

The Safer Routes to School initiative that began in North Lanarkshire Council in April 1999 and aims to provide safer routes to every school in North Lanarkshire, to enable pupils to make all or a substantial part of their journey on foot or by bicycle (where appropriate).

Safer Routes to Schools set demanding objectives:

• To increase the number of pupils walking and cycling to school in safety, through a combination of education, training and publicity measures and through improvements to the built environment (where appropriate), seeking to address both real and perceived concerns for the vulnerability of young people.
• To reduce traffic congestion and associated pollution, throughout the Council, in order to enhance and improve the quality of life for all that live, work or travel in North Lanarkshire.
• To promote the role of alternative modes of travel (walking, cycling and public transport) in preference to the car, for all, or a substantial part of all journeys, emphasising the health benefits of sustainable forms of transport.
• To identify individual schools that wish to participate in the Safer Routes to School initiative and to encourage them to prepare, produce and implement School Travel Plans in conjunction with relevant and appropriate partners.

The Safer routes to School initiative cannot and does not exist in isolation from Travel Plans and school travel planning.

A Travel Plan is the key component of any Safer Routes project, since it sets out a plan of action for an individual school. However, there is already considerable interest and demand for Safer Routes projects across North Lanarkshire, which is expected to grow as the initiative expands. As a result, Safer Routes to School project schools are selected on the basis of need, using data supplied and collated by the school and the local authority. The criteria used include:

• The potential for modal shift from the car to walking, cycling or public transport
• The road accident record at the school and within the area
• The level of support, interest and commitment demonstrated by the school

Any school wishing to take part in a Safer Routes to School project should consider, as its first step, developing a Travel Plan. Not only does this demonstrate that a school is committed to improving children's safety, but a successful Plan (which has involved the wider school community to find solutions) will provide a framework for any potential Safer Routes to School project.

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How Do I Get Started?

The documentation that North Lanarkshire Council has adopted for Primary & Secondary Travel Plans can be found at DETR's website or is available free of charge by writing to:

DETR,
Freepost Lititure,
PO Box 236,
Wetherby.
LS23 7NB

or by telephoning 0870 1226236 and asking for the
School Travel Strategies and Plans document and Resources Pack.

Details of the Government's intitative are laid out in a furher two documents:

• Travelling to School: an action plan
• Travelling to School: a good practice guide

Please read the documents, then contact North Lanarkshire Council's
School Travel Plan Co-ordinator
to discuss your ideas on 01698 302089