Leith Primary School Travel Plan

Our School

The school is non-denominational, co-educational and covers stages Primary 1 to Primary 7. There are currently 8 classes of children in the school. There is a large hall at the rear of the building which doubles as a Gymnasium and Assembly Hall.

The Nursery Class is accommodated in the building behind the main school under the Gym Hall. There are 20 places in the morning and 20 in the afternoon.

The school is situated on the edge of Leith Links. A large area of this parkland has been recently fenced off to enable the school to make more use of the grass for games etc.

The school entrance is situated on St Andrew Place which is blocked off at the junction of Duncan Place.

The catchment area of the school is geographically large but includes large parts of Edinburgh with no housing eg Sewage works.

 

Our aim is to increase the number of children using sustainable and healthy modes of transport and reduce the number of parents who park too close to the school gates. It is considered that the level of congestion caused by unnecessary car use presents a significant risk to the health and safety of our pupils.

In light of the positive response, we would also aim to look at the feasibility of introducing a parent-run walking bus, and getting cycle training for P5 to P7 established as a basic default provision.

We have already had cycle racks installed in the school.

Our Travel Plan Objectives

Reduce car use by 10% in year one.
Reduce car use by a further 5% in year two.
50% reduction in parents parking immediately at the school gates.
Implement a ‘park & stride' programme for children normally dropped off at the school gates.
Introduce a parent run walking bus.
Cycle training for P5 to P7.
Improve access to the links area.
Prevent car use at the Eastern end of St Andrew Place.

Current Modes of Travel

A recent survey carried out by the Junior Road Safety Officers revealed that 64% of children already walk to school, which is great news. However there are also a number of children who arrive by car, although living less than half a mile away. It is probable that they are dropped off on route to the parent's place of work.

These parents should be encouraged to park a bit further from the school and walk with their children a short distance. This would allow the child a few minutes exercise in the morning to start the day refreshed and alert, and also help to reduce the dangerous congestion immediately around the school.

Who do you travel to school with?

The chart below shows that age is not a deterrent and that lots of children already walk to school. Younger children tend to be taken to school by parents but by Primary 4 some children are starting to walk to school with friends. In addition there are more children who walk to school with friends in P7 than get taken by their parents.

ACTION PLAN

The travel plan will be launched on the website in January 2008 and will be made available to parents as a downloadable document .

The Travel Working group will invite interested parents to participate in setting up a parent run walking bus.

Park and Stride will be promoted as an initiative to reduce parking and dropping off/picking up immediately outside the school gates. The Travel Plan working group will look at the locations most suited to this venture.

Parents will be reminded of the dangers of parking right outside the school and we may run a park smart campaign to raise awareness.

The School Travel Co-ordinator will investigate the possibilities of providing cycle training through the Active Schools Co-ordinators who will be taking over from the police in delivery of training after summer 2007.

Some of the existing cycle racks are loose. The School Travel Co-ordinator will liaise with Services for Communities staff to rectify this problem.

Taking part in the next Walk To School events in October 2007 and May 2008.

To investigate the possibility of a change in use of part of the road outside the playground on St Andrew Place. This would look at changes that would enable the removal of the fences outside the playground and link the playground to the area of Links.

Campaign to raise awareness of the dog fouling problem in the fenced off area of the links that is used by the school. Encourage dog walkers to use other parts of the links.

TARGETS	WHO IS RESPONSIBLE	TIMESCALE FOR COMPLETION
The travel plan will be launched on the website in January 2008 and will be made available to parents as a downloadable document .	Alasdair Friend	January 2008
The Travel Working group will invite interested parents to participate in setting up a parent run walking bus.	Travel Working Group together with the School Travel Co-ordinator	Not yet set
Park and Stride will be promoted as an initiative to reduce parking and dropping off/picking up immediately outside the school gates. The Travel Plan working group will look at the locations most suited to this venture.	Travel Working Group together with the School Travel Co-ordinator	Not agreed yet
Parents will be reminded of the dangers of parking right outside the school and we may run a park smart campaign to raise awareness.	Travel Working Group together with the School Travel Co-ordinator	Not agreed yet
The School Travel Co-ordinator will investigate the possibilities of providing cycle training through the Active Schools Co-ordinators who will be taking over from the police in delivery of training after summer 2007.	School Travel Co-ordinator	In Progress - agreement to be reached after the delivery of the cycle training equipment from cycling Scotland in December 2007
Some of the existing cycle racks are loose. The School Travel Co-ordinator will liaise with Services for Communities staff to rectify this problem.	School Travel Co-ordinator	June 2007 - this has been done
Taking part in the next Walk To School events in October 2007 and May 2008.	Travel Working Group together with the School Travel Co-ordinator
To investigate the possibility changing the use of part of St Andrew Place. To improve the land between the school gate and the Links.	Letters etc from children and parents.
Campaign to raise awareness of the dog fouling problem in the fenced off area of the links that is used by the school. Encourage dog walkers to use other parts of the links.	School children campaigning in the local area

  Download this document in Word format here .

 

Last Updated ( Monday, 10 March 2008 )