Travel to School Questionnaire
Key Statistics
Surveys were returned by almost 60% of families whose children attend Monks Risborough CE Primary School.Travel to and from school
At present 29% of our children walk to school, 65% come by car and 6% by other means.
But more parents chose walking (53% of replies) and cycling(14%) when asked their preferred method of travel. Fewer (20%) chose car travel.
Walking is more common in the lower school with over 60% of all walkers coming from Years 1, 2 and 3. Year 5 currently has the highest proportion of car users (20% of all those traveling by car are in this year). Cycling and bus use is highest in years 4 to 6.
The journey is school is also part of the journey to work for 27% of parents.
The biggest barriers to walking to school are distance (for nearly 50% of pupils), getting to work and time. The weather also played a part for some of us.
By far the biggest benefit of walking or cycling to school was seen as exercise (73% of replies).
The reponses to the question "if you don't already walk or cycle to school, what prevents you" were as follows (multiple answers permitted):
Distance 47%
Work 30%
Time 30%
Weather 27%
Other children 15%
Safety 12%
Other 9% Back to top
Key Concerns
Over half the parents who replied to the survey are concerned about the safety of their children on the way to school. Of particular concern is:the risk to children and adults when crossing the road at Peters Lane;
inconsiderate or illegal parking along Peters Lane causing a hazard to pedestrians;
narrow width and poor condition of pavements on the busy Aylesbury Road;
our children's lack of road safety awareness.
Nearly a third of families had experienced "near miss" incidents on their journey to school. Virtually all of these occurred in Peters Lane and most were due to cars reversing or turning without looking. Back to top
Key Initiatives
From the survey results the most popular measures to improve safety around the school include:introduction of voluntary or non-voluntary parking restrictions on Peters Lane;
making Peters Lane a voluntary one-way system during pick up and drop off times;
improving the safety of Aylesbury Road;
launching a park and walk scheme; and
setting up a crossing patrol in Peters Lane.
There was a lot of interest from parents in road safety training (over three quarters of you) and cycle training for children. There was also support for an Awards for Walking scheme. Back to top
What Happens Next
Using information gathered from the survey the School Travel Action Group will compile a School Travel Plan including actions to implement safety improvements. Meanwhile Monks Risborough School took part in National Walk to School Week in May. Events during this week included the launch of the walking awards scheme "Go for Gold", the performance of a play about road safety called "The Walk" plus a competition for the children. Back to topSchool Travel Action Group
The Travel Action Group was asked to look at the issues surrounding school travel and produce an action plan to address any problems. These are the results of the travel to school survey which was undertaken in January 2004. The group has the support of the Headteacher and the Governing Body and our members are Jill Rae (Group Co-ordinator), Alison Blue, Chris Knox, Karen Ross, and Angeline Vere.If you have any queries on comments on the travel survey results please contact Chris Knox on 01844 347893, or e-mail chris@knoxhome.freeserve.co.uk.
June 2004 Back to top