Duns Primary School saves the world!

Friday, May 9 2008

Well – maybe not the whole world - but they are doing their bit to help the environment and their health, by putting together a school travel plan with the help of Scottish Borders Council (SBC).

The aims of the plans are to:

Raise awareness of the health benefits of active travel amongst pupils, parents and staff
Improve the safety of the children travelling to school
Determine any travel problems affecting families of school children
Encourage alternatives to the car
To improve the local environment for everyone, by reducing pollution, congestion and road danger especially in the area surrounding the school
To raise awareness amongst pupils, parents and staff of the wider environmental issues associated with increased car use
Demonstrate a commitment to the local community to improve the environment.

The school safety team – the head teacher, staff, parents and council officers – are involved in putting the plan together, in consultation with the pupils. Local councillors are also supporting the plan.

Part of the process was to establish how pupils currently get to school and how parents would prefer them to get to school in future. A survey in February achieved an 82 per cent response rate and the parents said that currently:

45% of children walk to school
22% get the bus
2% cycle
31% are driven.

However, when asked what parents would prefer their children to do, they said:

49% would opt for walking
29% would get the bus
6% would cycle
16% would be driven.

These results and the concerns of the parents will now be considered by the school safety team, with the help of Karen McGrath, SBC’s School Travel co-ordinator.

Councillor Catriona Bhatia, Executive Member for Education, said: “The survey results show that the majority of pupils walk to school, which is fantastic. However, it also shows there is potential to increase this percentage even more and the school safety team is actively promoting change in this area. I’d also like to congratulate the winner and runners-up of the competition to design the front cover of the school’s travel plan. The designs were all colourful and eyecatching.”

To support the School Travel Plan, pupils have been encouraged to participate in National Walk to School week on 12-16 May and the Walk Once a Week (WoW) campaign, which will take place throughout the summer term.

Councillor Len Wyse, Executive Member for Environmental Services, said: “I support this fully as anything that improves our environment and the health of our children is a good thing. I hope parents and pupils will enjoy helping us put this plan together and look at alternatives to the car.”

Headteacher Kathleen Easton said: “Although many of the parents and children already walk to school, the surveys show that there is potential for improvement. Walk to School Week and WoW will provide the perfect opportunity.”

Reference: News-22803, Contact the Author