Journey to School
The Government wants to reduce car use for journeys to and from school in order to reduce peak hour congestion, improve children’s health and ability to learn and to encourage children to travel by more sustainable modes of transport. In 2003 the Department and the then Department for Education and Skills therefore launched the Travelling to School project, setting out the requirement for all schools in England to develop a school travel plan by 2010. The aim is to reduce car use for journeys to and from school and to allow many more children to take regular exercise. More than 14,000 (56 per cent) schools already have an approved school travel plan and we are on target for all schools to have one by 2010.
A school travel plan is a package of measures tailored to the needs of individual schools and designed to reduce car dependency and improve safety for journeys to school. In order to encourage more cycling a school travel plan might include measures such as the provision of cycle training, lockers and secure cycle parking, and the setting up of cycle trains and other cycling incentive schemes.
By 2010 the Government will have committed more than £140 million to support the Travelling to School project. Funding has been given to local authorities to enable them to employ a network of around 250 school travel advisers to help schools develop and implement school travel plans and for small capital grants to help schools implement approved plans. Many schools have spent their small capital grants on secure cycle parking and lockers to encourage children to cycle.
The Education and Inspections Act 2006 has also introduced extensive provisions for encouraging sustainable travel to school. In particular, the Act places a general duty on local authorities in England to assess the school travel needs of all children and young people in their area and to publish a strategy to improve and promote sustainable modes of travel each year. If a child is entitled to receive free home to school transport, this does not have to be free travel by bus and local authorities may,with parental consent, pay a cycling allowance instead.
We expect the increased investment in Bikeability cycle training and improved safe routes to schools to have a direct and positive impact upon the Travelling to School Project.
