School travel plans

Coordinator's guide

Print version: School travel plans - Coordinator's guide (PDF, 547 KB, 50 pages)

• 3.1  Travel survey information
• 3.2  Example introduction newsletters
• 3.3  Example timeline
• 3.4  School summary recording sheet
• 3.5  Sample implementation strategies
• 3.6  Some strategies from schools overseas

3. Resources for the coordinator

3.1   Travel survey information

3.1.1   Overview of the survey process

Timing and frequency of all surveys

The initial surveying of all three groups (children, parents and staff) should occur early in the school travel plan development process, as this provides important base information for determining some of the plan’s content and targets. Ideally, the students should all be surveyed in the same week to ensure that any external factors affecting responses (eg the weather, road works, special events, time of the term) are the same for the entire population. Similarly, the parent and staff surveys should coincide with the student surveys so any bias due to external factors can be minimised. However, it may be necessary to provide parents with a wider window of opportunity for completing the survey.

The first of the follow-on surveys would generally occur one year after the plan has been initiated. Ideally, this survey would be undertaken in the same week as the initial survey, again helping to compensate for possible variations in travel patterns due to weather or other external factors.

It has been suggested that student surveys be conducted in the same week of every term to capture seasonal variability. This is a good idea, especially if there is support in the school to ensure it happens. In this case, it may be possible to consider including only one or two classes at each year level to establish the seasonal trends. This could then be extrapolated out to represent the whole school.

The student surveys

The student surveys are quite simple in their structure and content. Any difficulty stems from the wide range of ages they are expected to cover and the relative ability of very young children, in particular, to understand what information they are to provide.

Who should be surveyed?

Surveying the entire school population is the most desirable, as children of different ages travel to school by different means. It also gives good, statistically reliable information to supplement the parental surveys if their response rate is not so good. When undertaking surveys, it’s worthwhile noting the weather conditions on the days that surveying is undertaken, as this can significantly influence the mode of transport used.

How should the survey be conducted?

As noted previously, the most problematic aspect of the student survey is how to carry it out, particularly with younger children. There have been concerns that asking children to recall how they usually travel to and from school on a given day may be too much to ask of them. This may be true in some cases, but we feel reasonably confident that this problem can be overcome.

It may be worthwhile considering adding a column to the survey or a separate question that asks students to note down any before- or after-school activities they have on each day. This might act as a more concrete reminder for children that, say, on a Monday, they go to dance class and mum has to drive them, whereas on Tuesday they walk straight home. (Wording for the questions needs to be targeted at an age level of eight to 10 so most children understand it.)

For intermediate (years 7 and 8) and secondary students, it should be reasonably straightforward to explain what they are being asked to do, to remind them that on different days they may have activities that affect how they travel to or from school, and to have them complete a survey form for the entire week at one sitting.

For younger children, there are a range of possibilities:

• For eight to 10 year olds, it may be possible to have them complete the questionnaire themselves, either all in one sitting or each day, with the help of their teacher and possibly another adult (such as the school travel plan coordinator or parent).
• The survey could be completed during mat time, using the hands-up method, eg ‘How did you come to school on Monday? Hands up those who walked to school. Now, hands up, those who rode their bikes’. It could be done on a daily basis for the entire week, eg on Monday morning ask about Monday; on Tuesday morning ask about Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
• It could be assigned as a daily homework task to record how they travelled to and from school. Parents could then help them fill it out at home. While this may not result in a 100 percent response rate from each class, the rate would probably still be quite high.
• The year 7 and 8 students could undertake the survey as part of their unit on statistics, assisting all the classes to gather the information for the survey and analysing the data for the whole school. One idea that has worked well is to have the senior classes help the juniors fill out their travel surveys. This increases the student interaction, and the senior students enjoy the responsibility.

This probably does not cover all of the possible options for collecting the data from the students. However, it offers some ideas. The main point is to collect the same information in the same week from all of the students – and to provide whatever support is necessary to ensure that the information collected is as accurate and complete as possible.

3.1.2   The parent surveys

Who should be surveyed?

Every family unit or household with children attending the school should be included in the survey distribution. If every household receives a copy of the questionnaire, the response rate will be higher than if only a few are selected at the outset of the process.

How should the survey be conducted?

In primary schools, where school newsletters are generally distributed via the children, questionnaires can be distributed with the regular weekly or fortnightly newsletter. This ensures each household receives at least one copy of the questionnaire. Spare copies can be made available at the school office.

The initial announcements by the school (usually via the school newsletter) could helpfully alert parents that there will be a survey coming home for them to complete and return to the school.

Parents probably shouldn’t be given more than two weeks to complete the questionnaire, otherwise there is a propensity to put it aside and forget about it. For this reason, we suggest asking them to return it by the end of the following week – with a reminder just before it is due inserted in the school newsletter (if it’s distributed weekly, otherwise a separate notice might be useful).

Table 11: Possible timeframe for parent survey

Through the school newsletter (let’s say it goes out on Wednesday or Thursday)
Weeks 1 and 2	Announce (week 1) and then remind (week 2) that a survey will be happening as part of school travel plan development. Explain the survey’s purpose.
Week 3	Distribute the survey and note its due date as Friday of the following week.
Week 4	Place a reminder in newsletter that the completed survey is due in on Friday. Make spare copies available in the office.
Week 5	Stragglers received.

The same process can be use for the follow-on survey.

Staff surveys

Clearly, there will be far fewer staff surveys completed than either student or parent surveys. It should be possible to distribute the questionnaire at a weekly staff meeting, explain how to complete it and respond to any immediate questions about its content and purpose.

3.2   Example introduction newsletters

3.2.1   Greenhithe School Newsletter

3.2.2   Nelson primary schools

3.3   Example timeline

Table 12: Example timeline - Greenhithe Primary School

Date	Task	Responsible
11 February	Contact school. Meet principal and lead teacher.	•  Travel plan coordinator
23 February - staff & board 3 March - PTA	Present programme to staff, board of trustees, PTA and any other important group to market programme to.	•  Travel plan coordinator/ lead teacher
March	Parent and child questionnaires delivered to school.	•  Travel plan coordinator to deliver and collect •  School to distribute
March	Questionnaires collected.
April	Data input of questionnaires.
April	Analysis of questionnaires.	•  Research analyst officer
May	Feedback of results to the community, eg media, community groups.	•  Travel plan coordinator
May	School mapping classroom exercises.	•  Travel plan coordinator/ lead teacher
May	Distribution of residential questionnaire door to door, key community locations, local paper inserts.	•  Travel plan coordinator
Term 2	Open Day – 3D map. Showing of children’s work and inviting parents/residents to express their concerns.	•  Travel plan coordinator/ lead teacher •  Children •  Parents/residents evening
June	Input of results and analysis.	•  Travel plan coordinator •  Research analysis officer
June	Feedback of results to the community, eg media, community groups.	•  Travel plan coordinator
July	Establish monitoring group.	•  Travel plan coordinator/ school
July/August	Developing the school travel plan.	•  Monitoring group
August	Audit of draft plan.	•  Travel plan coordinator/ traffic services manager/ infrastructure manager
August	Feedback of results from plan.	•  Travel plan coordinator/ school
September	Launch of plan.	•  Travel plan coordinator/ school
2007-08	Implementation of engineering measures.	•  Traffic services manager
2007-08	Education/promotional measures.	•  Travel plan coordinator
Jan/Feb 2008	Meeting with school to assess progress.	•  Travel plan coordinator
2008	•  Evaluation and monitoring •  Distribution of second parent questionnaire •  Monitoring group meeting to assess aims and objectives of school travel plan •  Review and amend as necessary.	•  Travel plan coordinator/ school

3.4   School summary recording sheet

Table 13: School summary recording sheet

Print version: School summary recording sheet (PDF, some KB)

School summary
School name:	Street address:
Principal's name: Main contact: Other key staff:	Postal address: Phone: Fax: Other phone:
School roll: Student breakdown: Year 1: Year 2: Year 3: Year 4: Year 5: Year 6: Year 7: Year 8:	Special features:
Decile rating: Ethnicity breakdown:	Roll: stable/increasing/decreasing
Current road safety programmes: Road safety/travel policies: Yes/No
Special events, ie sports day, parent-teacher interviews (include dates):
Communication options, ie newsletters (weekly/fortnightly?) website?
Perceived issues:

3.5   Sample implementation strategies

Implementation strategies can include a combination of the following.

3.5.1   Engineering or road treatments

Engineering strategies are very important in the school travel plan model because they have a high potential to provide lasting positive impact. Consider all available measures to enhance pedestrian/ cyclist safety when developing engineering strategies. Possible engineering treatments can include:

• a range of pedestrian crossing or cycling facilities
• speed-reduction devices
• road markings
• improvements to facilities and signage.

Some environmental problems requiring engineering treatments may occur within the school grounds (eg developing a drop-off and pickup bay, providing multiple gateways to a school or making changes to the car parking area.) The school or the Ministry of Education are primarily responsible for finding the resources to address these issues.

3.5.2   Road safety education

RoadSense Ata Haere is a national professional development and support strategy for primary and intermediate schools, funded by Land Transport NZ. It is a joint partnership with the NZ Police, which builds on and supports the work of police education officers. The strategy aims to reduce death and injury to children on and around New Zealand roads. RoadSense includes a sustainable transport unit for teachers to deliver.

Police school road safety education programmes offer a comprehensive range of activities for students of all age levels that are linked to the New Zealand Curriculum Framework. Research indicates children learn best in real situations, which means that the most effective road safety education takes place out of the classroom and in the road environment. The police programmes include practical road safety education lessons in the road environment.

3.5.3   Enforcement activities

The enforcement strategies specified in the action plan will depend on the problems identified. Enforcement strategies are likely to be appropriate in situations where traffic speeds are consistently above limits, where cars are not stopping for pedestrians on pedestrian crossings, where there are parking infringements impinging on child safety, and where other unacceptable and unsafe driver behaviours have been identified. Most councils have parking officers who can enforce parking infringements. Police can carry out other enforcement strategies as part of their normal duties.

3.5.4   Public education

Road safety training can be integrated into personal, social and health programmes at all levels. It’s very important that children receive road safety training at an early age to ensure they learn street skills before attending secondary school. Parents can be educated about their travel choices. For example, they can be notified which buses to catch, who to car pool with and where walking school buses operate, and receive student-focused maps of safe walking routes. They can be informed about where to park if they are driving and reminded of the need to approach the school vicinity with caution. Families new to the school need to be made aware of these things too. Schools can adopt a healthy school ethos, with a commitment to walking and cycling advertised in the school’s website, prospectus and newsletters.

3.5.5   Rewards and awards

This is a great way to maintain interest in the school travel plan. Goals can be set and the school can monitor its own progress and achievements. The school can run internal events such as Walking Wednesday, where each Wednesday is designated as walk-to-school day. Inter-class competitions can be held where classes take a register each day of how children arrived at school. The results are then plotted on a chart for comparison with other classes. Using this information, a large, artistic colourful graph can be created illustrating children’s travel patterns. An example of this is the ‘grow a forest’ chart where paper trees are stuck on the chart representing children who travelled to school other than by car. The school can participate in national events (such as Walk to School Week and Cycle Week) and international events.

3.5.6   Policy

The school needs to formalise its policy on travel to and from school. Some schools, for example, have an unwritten policy that prohibits, or discourages, cycling to school. This may be evidenced by a lack of cycle facilities. Other schools may encourage car travel (and thereby discourage cycling and walking) by making large parking areas available right at the school gate.

School travel policies to support sustainable travel choices could include, for example, the following types of policies:

• All children living within 2 km of the school will be encouraged to walk to school and measures to assist them will be introduced.
• Children over 10 years of age will be permitted to cycle to school. (The police may have recommendations regarding proficiency requirements to ensure safety.)
• Measures to encourage cycling will be introduced and appropriate facilities will be provided on site.
• No onsite parking space for student drop-offs will be provided, and the local council will be approached to control parking within 500 m of the school gates.
• Staff will be encouraged to use alternative travel modes, where appropriate.
• Sustainable travel choices will be promoted as part of school activities, and this will be linked to curriculum activities.

3.6   Some strategies from overseas schools

3.6.1   Farnham Royal CE Combined School

Aim — to improve pedestrian safety in school vicinity

1. Registration numbers of cars found parked illegally or dangerously are published in the school newsletter.
2. Residents association has advised members to avoid driving down the school road at drop-off and pick-up time.
3. Increased parking warden time has been arranged with the council.

3.6.2   St Peters School

Aim — to double the number of staff and students using bikes and public transport, and increase the number of staff and students walking

1. Provide information to help parents organise carpooling.
2. Work towards a park and walk scheme.
3. Provide secure, sheltered bike parks.
4. Run cycle proficiency courses.
5. Improve pedestrian/cycle links around school.
6. Encourage walking/cycling by providing secure storage spaces for bikes.

3.6.3   John Stocker Middle School

Aim — to improve the physical environment for cyclists and pedestrians

1. Put in signalled pedestrian crossings linking up with cycle tracks.
2. Re-phase lights to prevent traffic queues, cars overtaking at lights, etc.
3. Bring in speed restrictions.
4. Move bus stop to prevent congestion.
5. Upgrade pavements, cycle paths.
6. Improve and light paths.
7. Recommend park and walk laybys for quick drop off and pick up.
8. Pilot a cycle programme, years 6 and up only, cycle permits compulsory.

3.6.4   Drakes Primary School

Aim — to promote a ‘safer/healthier ways to school’ ethos to encourage walking and cycling, and to develop exciting learning opportunities

1. Children kept travel charts and registers. The information was collated and computer software used to tabulate their findings.
2. Inter-class competitions were held, with rewards for travelling by foot, cycle or shared car journeys.
3. There was a road safety theme for an art competition.
4. There were annual bike days in school to learn about maintenance, safety and road procedure.

3.6.5   Warrnambool East Primary School

The five minute bell — children get extra incentive to walk or cycle

At 3.25 pm, a bell is sounded for walkers and cyclists only. At 3.30 pm, another bell rings for the rest of the school. This way, children are encouraged and rewarded for walking and cycling, and also manage to get clear of the school grounds before the majority of cars begin to leave, thus making their environment safer. This is one of a number of strategies being implemented by schools in Warrnambool under the Victorian TravelSmart School programme. More ideas can be found at www.travelsmart.vic.gov.au.

3.6.6   The IWALK Club

IWALK is an international organisation initiated in 1994 (New Zealand first joined in 1999) with the goal of increasing safe and sustainable journeys to school. The IWALK club is an initiative to connect children across the world via the internet. Schools can register their sustainable transport details on the site, including the number of children walking and distance walked, learn about walking initiatives in other countries and become part of international Walk to School Day each year. Their website is www.iwalktoschool.org.

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Page created: 22 August 2008