School Transition
A Wokingham project in 2016 examining travel behaviours when starting school found that over a quarter (26.4%) of year 7 pupils want to travel to school differently, 11% of pupils would rather cycle to school.
Schools who take up actions from the list below help encourage less car travel to school at key transition periods:
Reception
- Providing parents with a personalised travel information pack at open evenings to highlight the different travel options available
- Car sharing promoted at open evenings e.g. parents can put a numbered sticker on a map and leave their contact details against a table in order to identify other parents living in local area who are willing to share lifts
- Road Safety workshop in autumn term to highlight Be Bright Be Seen
- My Journey invite nurseries/pre-schools to book Louis Taylor Road Rangers shows during a week’s tour annually and/or order storybooks to take home
Year 6
- Assemblies highlighting the social benefits (including independence) of walking, cycling and taking the bus
- Road Safety workshop in summer term to ‘bridge the gap’ and develop confidence in walking & cycling
- Led walking bus from feeder primary school to secondary school to increase confidence and demonstrate the social aspects of walking
- Led cycle ride from feeder primary school to secondary school to increase students’ and parents’ confidence led by My Journey team
- Competition e.g. what class can walk, cycle or scoot the most
- Sign up for Walk to School and Cycle to School initiatives offered by My Journey annually
Year 7
- Car sharing promoted at open evenings
- Personalised travel information pack
- Travel maps and information
- Ice breakers in forms to identify fellow students to walk or cycle with
- Walkers and/or cyclists breakfast
- A competition during autumn term between classes
- Cycle focus days (including bike checks and/or safer cycling assemblies delivered by My Journey team)
- Level 3 Bikeability training courses organised by My Journey team
Move On Up
All primary schools receive copies of this road safety magazine from My Journey for their Year 6 pupils for the transition to secondary school.
Packed with stories, quotes and quizzes, ‘Move On Up’ reaches this high-risk group with stacks of relevant information in a lively and engaging manner.
Bikes, Big Trucks & You
Bikes, Big Trucks & You is a partnership between Royal Mail and Berkshire local authorities addressing the significant increase in risk to child cyclists as they transition into secondary education, especially around HGVs. Local data reveals the significant upturn in collision risk among children aged 11 to 15 particularly associated with independent travel for school.
This project is offered to primary schools for Year 6 pupils to complement Bikeability Level 1/2 training. My Journey and Safer Roads Berkshire teams deliver the intervention, which involves both classroom and practical sessions out on the playground with an HGV brought by Royal Mail staff. On evaluation the project shows improved knowledge of the risks posed by cycling near to large goods vehicles and the decision making among children where to position themselves on the road; increasing the pupils’ knowledge on how large vehicles move and why this can cause risk to bicycles, awareness of route planning to prioritise safer locations/controlled crossings as well as improved attitudes towards helmets and high visibility clothing.
Amy Woods from Hawkedon said: “I just wanted to email and say thank you for the Big Truck Day. The children (and staff!) thoroughly enjoyed it and we felt it was incredibly beneficial to run especially before our children begin their Bikeability course. Please pass our thanks onto all your staff – they were great with the children and very knowledgeable!”