The Local Governing Committee(LGC) have, alongside school leaders, been looking at the issues surrounding Safer Routes to School. It is clearly recognised that there are concerns around the level of traffic on Darlington Road, with parents having raised safety concerns.
The school have set up a Safer Routes to School committee to represent the full range of views of parents and carers and to look at issues around sustainable and safe travel, parking and the wider environmental impact of how we choose to travel to school.
Please see the 5 minute walking map Walking Bubble Map Bathwick
Safer Routes to School
We are very pleased to announce that we have been awarded the ‘very good’ accreditation by the local authority for our safer routes to school initiative and our school travel plan.
This is a significant achievement by our SRTS working party led by school governors, parents and Mrs Elliott.
These are some of the initiatives we have put in place to get to ‘very good’ accreditation.
- Safer routes to school working party set up and regular meetings each term
- Consultation with local council over local scheme such as liveable neighbourhoods
- Purchase of banners and signs to highlight idling and safer parking
- Walk or wheel to school weeks
- Scooter and bike storage on site
- Parent, staff and pupil surveys
- Regular updates in newsletters and on the website
- 10 minute Walking zone advertised on website
- Walking trips for pupils in local area rather than using transport
- Involvement of governors within working party and discussions during governor meetings
- Involvement of local councillor in working party and governor meetings linked to SRTS.
- Scooter training
- Special assemblies linked to road safety and walking to school.
- Road safety training from Gloucester road safety team for the whole school.
- Increased awareness within PSHCE curriculum
- Meetings with local PCSOs around parking outside school
- Cycle purchase scheme for staff
- Bikeability cycle training (level 1 and 2) for Y6 children
- Park and stride scheme during walk to school weeks
- Be bright , Be seen initiative in school for winter months.
- Sustrans workshops for Y5/6 children.
- Wiltshire Air Ambulance visit.
- Y6 children selling reflectors in walk to school week
Walk to School Week 2025
Our school is taking part in Walk to School Week (19-23 May). The nationwide event is organised by walking charity Living Streets and designed to help pupils experience first-hand the importance of walking to school. Children will be well on their way to reaching their recommended minimum 60 minutes of physical activity per day before even reaching the school gates! Not only will it set them up for a positive day in the classroom, but it will also help create healthy habits for life.
This year’s challenge, The Great Space Walk, encourages children to travel actively to school every day of the week. Meeting various colourful intergalactic friends along the way, pupils will learn about the important reasons to walk or wheel and its benefits for individuals, communities and the planet! Each pupil will be challenged to travel sustainably (walk, wheel, scoot, cycle or Park and Stride) to school for one week (or more) and to log their journeys.
We would ask, if possible, to make arrangements so that your child/children can travel actively to school on week commencing 19th May, helping our school reduce congestion and pollution around the school gates. Walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling all count!
If you need to drive or take public transport, you could always sign up for our ‘park and stride’ scheme on the Monday 19th,Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st May. You will be able to drop your child off by the entrance to the Holburne museum and we will then all walk to school together. If you would like to try this, then please do sign up using the forms link shared by email which also contains further details of times.
Survey Results
Parents were surveyed to find out how families travel to school and why they choose that mode of transport. These are the main headlines from both the parent and pupil surveys:
- 72% of pupils/families walk to school.
- 6% of pupils usually cycle however 34% of pupils
said they would like to cycle to school. - 84% of parent responses said that they would like
to walk to school more often.
Comments about safety when travelling to school included wanting:
- Fewer cars on Darlington Road
- Better parking
- A pedestrian crossing on Warminster Road
28% of the parents who responded to the survey said they felt unsafe travelling to school. This is a concerning statistic and is something that the working party would like to work towards improving through ensuring greater awareness of safer travel in both pupils and parents.
If you would like to join the working party, then please do contact Mrs Elliott.
Modeshift Stars
We are delighted to have achieved a Modeshift Stars Very Good certificate.
