School joins Safer Streets initiative
A headteacher is encouraging her pupils and their parents to walk, cycle or scoot to and from school as it becomes the borough’s second primary to take part in the School Streets initiative.
Two roads in the immediate vicinity of Pippins Primary School and Pre-School , in Colnbrook, will be closed for an hour at the beginning and end of the school day. The closures will allow children to travel to and from school more safely as well as encouraging active travel.
Tracy Ball, Pippins Primary School headteacher, has been working with the council’s sustainable transport Better by team to implement the changes. The school has regularly had parents recounting near misses between children and cars, which she hopes will stop with the School Streets initiative.
Mrs Ball said: “I hope parents and carers will take the opportunity to walk, cycle or scooter to school not only giving them time to talk with the children but to get active as well.
“I think it will also give me the time to be the headteacher in the morning and welcome the children to school and talk to parents rather than keeping an eye out for what vehicles are doing and whether there is going to be an accident.
“We also hope the messages we get from the school’s neighbours who complain of cars parking inappropriately will stop as well.”
A barrier manned by trained marshalls will be placed at the entrance to Raymond Close keeping it and The Hawthorns car free for an hour each morning and afternoon, only during term time.
Residents of both roads will be able to come and go as they please and will have been issued permits to allow access.
Schools Streets at Pippins began this week as children were permitted to return to school after the coronavirus lockdown. The additional space was anticipated to assist with the continued social distancing required.
Navroop Mehat, headteacher at Wexham Court Primary, Church Lane, Wexham, has first hand experience of the benefits of the School Streets scheme having taken part in the first trial in the borough late last year.
She said: “Since the road closure, the morning drop off is delightful. We all love being on the gates, the parents and children feel safe. In fact, they run up the road to get into school. It is just so lovely. My time is now spent, welcoming the pupils into school and responding to any parents, as it should be.
“During the pick up at the end of the day, we have an organised system, where children and families can safely distance and walk home. They use the actual road to do this, which means they do not need to mix with anybody who is queuing. Our families and children feel safe! They have said this so many times. It is calm, parents and pupils are calm, because they now walk to school rather than a drive by with children jumping out into road with moving cars.”
Cllr Rob Anderson, cabinet member for sustainable transport and the environment, said: “This was a really exciting pilot last year and now we have more schools taking part which is great news.
“The Schools Streets initiative is about making the roads safer for children as they get to school and for those children getting more active at the same time. This not only has positive effect on their health and wellbeing but has been proven to benefit their concentration, and therefore learning, in the classroom.”
In addition, the reduction of traffic around could improve the quality of air around the schools taking part in the initiative.
Two roads in the immediate vicinity of Pippins Primary School and Pre-School , in Colnbrook, will be closed for an hour at the beginning and end of the school day. The closures will allow children to travel to and from school more safely as well as encouraging active travel.
Tracy Ball, Pippins Primary School headteacher, has been working with the council’s sustainable transport Better by team to implement the changes. The school has regularly had parents recounting near misses between children and cars, which she hopes will stop with the School Streets initiative.
Mrs Ball said: “I hope parents and carers will take the opportunity to walk, cycle or scooter to school not only giving them time to talk with the children but to get active as well.
“I think it will also give me the time to be the headteacher in the morning and welcome the children to school and talk to parents rather than keeping an eye out for what vehicles are doing and whether there is going to be an accident.
“We also hope the messages we get from the school’s neighbours who complain of cars parking inappropriately will stop as well.”
A barrier manned by trained marshalls will be placed at the entrance to Raymond Close keeping it and The Hawthorns car free for an hour each morning and afternoon, only during term time.
Residents of both roads will be able to come and go as they please and will have been issued permits to allow access.
Schools Streets at Pippins began this week as children were permitted to return to school after the coronavirus lockdown. The additional space was anticipated to assist with the continued social distancing required.
Navroop Mehat, headteacher at Wexham Court Primary, Church Lane, Wexham, has first hand experience of the benefits of the School Streets scheme having taken part in the first trial in the borough late last year.
She said: “Since the road closure, the morning drop off is delightful. We all love being on the gates, the parents and children feel safe. In fact, they run up the road to get into school. It is just so lovely. My time is now spent, welcoming the pupils into school and responding to any parents, as it should be.
“During the pick up at the end of the day, we have an organised system, where children and families can safely distance and walk home. They use the actual road to do this, which means they do not need to mix with anybody who is queuing. Our families and children feel safe! They have said this so many times. It is calm, parents and pupils are calm, because they now walk to school rather than a drive by with children jumping out into road with moving cars.”
Cllr Rob Anderson, cabinet member for sustainable transport and the environment, said: “This was a really exciting pilot last year and now we have more schools taking part which is great news.
“The Schools Streets initiative is about making the roads safer for children as they get to school and for those children getting more active at the same time. This not only has positive effect on their health and wellbeing but has been proven to benefit their concentration, and therefore learning, in the classroom.”
In addition, the reduction of traffic around could improve the quality of air around the schools taking part in the initiative.
