Travel Plan

The aim of a School Travel Plan is to reduce the number of cars that come to school at the beginning and end of each day, dropping children off or picking them up.  We all know how busy Towncourt Lane is at those times, how difficult it is to find a parking space, how other necessary (and sometimes vital) traffic can be obstructed by our cars and how the lives of our children are sometimes put at risk by inconsiderate drivers.  We hope that, by putting our Travel Plan into action, we can begin to solve some of these problems.

What are the benefits of not driving to and from school?

There are several:

• Reduced traffic and congestion.
• The emergency services and delivery vehicles will be able to go about their business unimpeded
• The school will cause less inconvenience to its neighbours
• Healthy exercise each day makes children more ready to learn and reduces the risk of becoming overweight
• It is cheaper to walk than to drive
• It reduces the amount of damaging fumes released into our atmosphere
• It is more sociable and friendly to walk with a group of friends than to drive in your own car

What alternatives are there for me if I decide not to drive to school?

 Again, there are several you could consider.  You could:

Join the  Walk on Wednesdays Scheme (WoW)

Not everyone can walk to school every day, but the WoW Scheme provides the children with the opportunity to do so once a week and be rewarded for their efforts.  If you register your child for WoW and if they walk to school on four Wednesdays in a month, they receive a different coloured badge each month.  These badges are very attractive and the children love to collect them.  WoW proved to be very popular last year.  (If you can’t walk on Wednesdays, but can another day, that’s fine – simply tell your classteacher).  A registration form to join this scheme is at the end of this fact sheet.

Park and Stride

We know that many of you live too far away to walk the whole way to school each day, but you might be able to drive part of the way, park and then walk the rest. 

Scoot to school

We have a scooter park for a limited number of scooters in the grounds, outside the Year One classrooms.  If your child scoots to school, you will be able to park the scooter there for the day and then scoot home again.  You will have to provide your own secure chain to lock the scooter up safely for the day as the school cannot be responsible for any loss or damage and children will not be allowed to scoot in the playground at any time – too many toddlers around!  All scooters will have to be named.  Please note that places in scooter park can not be reserved or saved.

Use public transport.

The 208, R7 and R3 busses stop near the school.  For routes and timetables see www.londonbusroutes.net or www.metrobus.co.uk. 

We hope you will be able to support us in this initiative and that one of the above alternatives will suit your needs.  It really is healthier for the children to walk at least part of the way to school and our neighbours will certainly appreciate your efforts.  And, most importantly of all, reduced traffic will make it safer for all our children when they (and you!) are trying to cross the road