School Streets

School Streets

About this activity

A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic. The result is a safer, healthier and pleasant environment for everyone.  School Street schemes offer a proactive solution for school communities to tackle air pollution, poor health and in supporting road danger reduction.  A School Street scheme will encourage a healthier lifestyle and active travel to school for families and lead to a better environment for everyone.  Did you know that if your school has set up or is setting up a School Street, you can complete a range of STARS Activity Cards that align with the initiative?  Simply explore the resource links on this page and select the STARS Activity Cards that align best to your school’s work on School Streets, tell your story and keep working towards your STARS accreditation.  A reminder to check all steps of the School Streets Activity card when submitting your Stories. Any Activity Card uploaded must be supported with evidence relating to the specific activity undertaken.

Activity steps

1
Explore
Explore the School Streets website and your borough website to develop an understanding of the initiative.
2
Get Prepared
Get Prepared and involve your borough officer (BO), Healthy Streets Officer (HSO) or Road Safety Officer (RSO). This will provide the opportunity for you to fully explore the School Street scheme.
3
Set Targets.
Work alongside your Senior Leadership team to disseminate the key aspects of the School Streets initiative. Subsequently you can then begin to identify your school’s environmental targets and your School Streets Strategy/action plan.
4
Communicate and Consult
Communicate and Consult with parents and stakeholders in respect to the benefits of the Schools Streets scheme, which include reducing pollution, reducing road danger and passive travel in your immediate vicinity. It’s helpful to get local residents an
5
Make the Case.
Encourage your students to become the School Streets advocates at home and in the local community. Student surveys, traffic counts and data analysis can also support your Curriculum delivery in Maths and Science. Furthermore, it is a fantastic opportuni
6
Partnership
Ask the police and traffic wardens to come to your school regularly to support behaviour change with parents/carers.
7
Technical aspects
Technical aspects – liaise with your BO/HSO or RSO to establish the technical aspects of the School Streets Scheme.
8
Promotion
Promote the launch of the scheme by putting up posters, sending letters to parents and posting leaflets through doors. Tell the local newspaper or radio station what you are doing and why.
9
Success.
Become a School Streets School. Think about creating activities for families to celebrate the launch of the scheme. Thank everyone for playing their part, and continue to monitor and reflect on how it’s going.

Tags

  • Road safety
  • Consultation
  • Funding
  • Partnership

This activity counts towards:

  • Travel activity
  • Consultation
  • Funding
  • Partnerships

How it helps

  • Reduces the impact on your local environment
  • Promotes positive travel behaviours
  • Raises awareness of air quality
  • Reduces road traffic danger outside your school
  • Supports your TfL STARS accreditation

Resources

Useful links, templates and case studies to support this activity