John Rymell, 020 7364 6918, 07956 541010
who is ready to sit with you and advise and support you through the process.
Contact him for all support, guidance and funding.
john.rymell@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Resources
For survey sheets, consultation documents and loads of other useful information click here.
Maintaining School Travel Plans
Your STP contains a 12 month action plan. At the end of this period you submit a review meeting DCSF guidance essentials.
Funding will only be available for schools with current, maintained plans.
Your STP lasts 3 years. At the end of those three years, regardless of when the last review was actually submitted, your STP expires and you need to submit a new STP with new consultation in order to retain your funding stream.
Contact the STP Team now to arrange a visit to help you through the process!
If you are a parent, pupil, any member of staff or even a local resident or business, and would you like to help your school or get involved with their School Travel Plan, or have comments or suggestions, contact the School Travel Plan Co-Ordinator or Head Teacher at the school.
Have a look at other schools' Travel Plans (Existing Travel Plans on the left) to see what a travel plan looks like. The Other Boroughs' STPs section also contains some exemplary School Travel Plans for you to have a look at. Look at the Resources list for definitions of a School Travel Plan, what one should contain, templates and guidance, curriculum resources and other useful information.
Transport for London in partnership with the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families) has set a deadline of April 2009 for every school to have an approved School Travel Plan. Tower Hamlets wants to make sure every school in the borough beats this deadline by a year, and have put more physical and human resources in place to support schools in achieving this deadline.
School Travel Plan
A school travel plan is a document which sets out a number of practical ways to reduce the number of car trips made to school and to encourage more walking and cycling to and from school and to improve safety during the school journey.
The travel plan aims to raise awareness among pupils and parents of the harmful effects of increasing car use on children's health, safety and the environment we live in.
When a school develops a school travel plan it is demonstrating a commitment to promoting a safer and cleaner environment for children.
The development of a school travel plan may also mean a school is eligible for funding from the Department of Transport and possibly other sources towards the cost of some of its travel proposals.
The school travel plan may also cover proposals for any engineering and educational measures needed to improve safety and to reduce the use of cars on the school run.
Measures that may need to be carried out are the installation of pedestrian crossings, marked school zones, cycle routes and cycle parking, parking restrictions, the improvement of pavements, traffic reduction, school grounds and the provision of road safety education, training and personal security advice.
But the main schemes involve 'soft measures' in behavioural change so that we all adopt better, greener and healthier ways of travelling more regularly.
The school travel plan may also include a number of other travel initiatives like safer routes to school, school zones, walking bus and park and stride all which put particular emphasis on walking and cycling as the most healthy and environmentally friendly ways for a child to get to and from school.
Walking
If you live close to the school you should encourage your children to walk to school to keep them fit and healthy.
You will need to provide your children with bright, reflective clothing, supportive shoes and a back pack.
If you have young children you can either walk with them or get together with other parents and take it in turns to accompany them to school. Alternatively you could allow your children to participate in one of the walking bus initiatives.
A walking bus allows groups of children to walk to school to keep them fit and healthy and by doing so reduces traffic and congestion outside schools. It also encourages children to arrive at school on time.
You can work with your school to get a walking bus up and running. However, there is nothing stopping you from talking to other parents who live nearby and arrange to set off together from a spot near your homes at the same time every day. Then if for any reason you cannot accompany your children to school on time one day you know there will be other parents who can look after your own children on the journey to school.
Cycling
Some schools such as St Elizabeth Primary School are at the forefront of making provision for cycling to school, by providing regular cycle training, large secure and sheltered cycle parking and treating their cyclists as VIPs. If you have older children you could encourage them to cycle to school providing safe cycle routes are available. Before your children start cycling to school you will need to provide them with:
Clothing – provide your child with bright fluorescent and reflective clothing, supportive shoes and a back pack
Bike - it's better to buy the right size bike rather than get one which is too big that the child can ‘grow into’. An oversized bike could be dangerous and is likely to discourage your child from cycling. It's advisable to choose a bike without a crossbar which is safer if your child accidentally falls
Bell - it's now illegal to sell a bike without a bell
Lights - You never know when it will become so dark that you will need lights - always carry lights when they're required.
Helmet - buy a well fitting cycle helmet. You should only buy a helmet if it carries a CE mark and one of the safety standards (e.g. BS683:1989, AS.2063, ANSI, IZZ 90.4 SNELL, B90 or B95). Make sure that the helmet is put on the right way round
Training - consider enrolling your child on a cycle training course to develop their cycling skills and help them to become more confident. The council runs training sessions through youth groups and in schools. Ask the school to provide cycle training through the council's cycling officer (see below).
Pavement Cycling - Remember that it is illegal to cycle on the pavement whatever age you are. The only exception is where signs indicate that it is for shared use.
Quiet Roads - So many people who drive cars or use buses are frightened to cycle because they think that the main roads they use are the only ones available! There are cycle routes all over Tower Hamlets that avoid the main roads. If you want a free map with extra useful information about cycling in the borough call our Travel Awareness Officer (Sam Margolis, on 020 7364 6707 roadsafety@towerhamlets.gov.uk.)
Cycle training
You need to be careful when cycling in Tower Hamlets and a certain amount of cycling ability is needed to ensure that you are safe on the roads.
To ensure your safety you can take an approved cycle training course.
The council offers a limited number of places on cycle training courses for adults. Free cycle training is also offered to children over the age of nine through local schools.
Cycle training helps you to:
develop observation and manoeuvrability skills
learn the importance of cycle maintenance and hazard awareness
find out about the Highway code
get information and advice on wearing protective helmets and being clearly visible on the road.
If you are interested in finding out more about about road safety have a look at the website of The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Further information
For further information about walking or cycling to school, please contact:
John Rymell
Tel: 020 7364 6918
minicom: 020 7364 6885
E-mail: schooltravelplans@towerhamlets.gov.uk
For any further information about cycle training please contact:
Ashraf Ali
Tel: 020 7364 6707
minicom: 020 7364 6793
E-mail: roadsafety@towerhamlets.gov.uk