Priory School (DfE )

Transcription

1 Priory School (DfE ) SCHOOL TRAVEL PLAN 2014

2 INTRODUCTION Priory School is required to update their School Travel Plan (STP), which was originally prepared in September The original Travel Plan was prepared to support the planning application to support the expansion of the school. This application was approved by Slough Borough Council (SBC) on 2 nd April What is a School Travel Plan? A Travel Plan is a package of measures tailored to a particular site that identifies traffic, transport and travel related problems or issues. It helps deliver solutions in a co-ordinated strategy with an emphasis on reducing reliance on private car use and supporting sustainable travel and reducing the overall need to travel where possible for a school. It is a dynamic process that will develop over time and with changing circumstances. Priory School Travel Plan The original Travel Plan for the site was prepared in September 2012 by Dermot McCaffery Consultants. This Travel Plan builds on the work undertaken as part of this document and also the Staff Travel Survey undertaken by SBC in November Priory School is actively engaged with the SBC Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) and as such are working with SBC s School Travel Advisor to deliver a range of measures and initiatives at Priory School. School Expansion The Priory School role currently has 831 pupils in nursery, reception and six year groups. The role is planning on increasing to 1020 pupils by As a result of this increase, the school has now completed its expansion programme, which includes additional classrooms, toilet facilities, dining spaces and new staff facilities. The car parking areas have been expanded, with an additional 25 car parking spaces as well as a reorganisation of pedestrian and vehicle access points. Parents are now able to enter from the southern end of the school frontage, which improves traffic flow in Orchard Avenue. The number of cycle stands has increased and new scooter stands have been installed. Aims of the Travel Plan The main aim of the STP is to reduce the impact of the school, and in particular the proposed expansion and associated additional staff and pupils, on the local and wider environment by actively trying to reduce the vehicles trips associated with the school wherever possible. Structure of this Report The remainder of this report is structured as follows: Chapter 2 presents the site accessibility and characteristics; Chapter 3 summarises the results of the pupil travel survey undertaken in 2012; Chapter 4 details the objectives and targets of the STP; Chapter 5 presents the measures/actions that will be implemented as part of the Travel Plan; Chapter 6 presents Travel Plan Co-ordinator and Management Support; and Chapter 7 details how the Travel Plan will be managed and monitored. SITE CHARECTERISTICS AND ACCESSIBILITY

3 Site Location Priory School is located off Orchard Avenue in Burnham. Orchard Avenue forms a junction onto Burnham Lane which is the local distributor road. The location of the site can be seen in map below. There are approximately 831 pupils and around 133 staff that are based at the site. Orchard Avenue only has one way out as it is a dead end (at its southern end). The newly adopted one-way drop off system, along with newly raised curbs has significantly reduced congestion in and around Orchard Avenue. The school location is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 School Location Plan

4 Catchment Area The catchment area for Priory School is shown in Figure 2. This shows where most of the children that attend the school live. Appendix A gives a breakdown of what roads come under the catchment area. Figure 2 Priory School Catchment Area

5 The School Day During term time the school day for pupils is staggered with Key Stage One and Key Stage Two starting and finishing at different times as presented in Table 1. Key Stage One Key Stage Two Morning Evening Morning Evening 8.55am 3.15pm 8.30am 3.30pm Table 1 School Day Pupils and Staff Numbers The current number of pupils and staff at the schools is: Role Number Pupils 831 Staff 133 Table 2 Pupil and Staff Numbers Access to Public Transport The entrance to the school is located approximately a four minute walk from the bus stops on Burnham Lane. These bus services have good frequencies during peak times. The route and frequencies of the local bus services can be found in Table 3. Route Number Buses per hour Peak Off-Peak Route 1B 2 1 Slough Slough Trading Estate - Britwell Slough Priory Estate - Burnham Table 3 Bus Routes The nearest train station is Burnham Station (0.5 miles away) and Slough Station (3.3 miles away). There are frequent trains from London to Burnham and London to Slough that leave every ten minutes. The key public transport links to the school are presented in Figure 3.

6 Figure 3 Local Public Transport Facilities

7 Pedestrian and Cycle Access Figure 4 presents the pedestrian and cycle access points into the school. There are three entrances to the school, two on Orchard Avenue and one via Our Lady Peace Catholic Primary School. There are two key pedestrian crossing points near the school, one southeast of the school and the other between Burnham Lane and Lower Britwell Road. There are also cycle lanes on Burnham Lane. To encourage more staff members and pupils to walk and cycle to school, Priory School now have 30 cycle stands as well as new Scooterpods, which were purchased by SBC as part of LSTF. Cycle stands and Scooterpods are located on both sides of the school site. Figure 4 Pedestrian and Cycle Access

8 Car Sharing The majority of pupil car sharing trips is with siblings. Some staff do car share but many have after school commitments, which makes it difficult to coordinate. The school has started formally promoting car sharing especially among staff. Vehicular Site Access All vehicular access to Priory School is from Orchard Avenue. There are two entrances into the school; one is the staff car park entrance and the other is a visitor entrance. Access to the staff car park is restricted by a barrier. Car Park Capacity There are two car parks at Priory School: a staff and visitor car park. The staff car park has 40 spaces whilst the visitor car park has 68 spaces. There are currently 133 members of staff and those that drive, but cannot park in the staff car park, do park in the visitor car park. Current Travel Activities Priory School participated in the following travel initiatives during 2013/14: Bike Ability Training Living Streets WOW (Walk Once a Week) Scheme to promote active travel to and from school, including monthly prizes to encourage uptake. Giant Walking Bus Road Safety Assemblies Bike Train Bike It Competitions and Assemblies In addition, Priory School will be adding to this list of initiatives by offering: International Walk to School Week Walking Bus Regular Road Safety quizzes in weekly newsletter Bike to School Days Bike It Breakfasts BUG Group A copy of our own Walk and Cycle to School Map to all new pupils

9 TRAVEL SURVEY Pupils Travel Data The table below summarises results from a pupil travel survey undertaken in 2011, together with comparison data from a similar survey completed in Mode 2011 RESULTS 2014 RESULTS Number of Pupils Percentage Number of Pupils Percentage Walk % % Park and Stride % Cycle 1 0.1% % Scooted Bus (Type Unknown) 1 0.1% Bus (Public) 2 0.3% School Bus % Train 1 0.1% % Bus/Train/Other Public Transport Car Share % 9 1.3% Car/Van % % Taxi 0 0.0% Other 0 0.0% 4 0.6% TOTAL % % Table 4 Pupil Travel Survey 2011 / 2014 Comparisons The most common form of travel to school in 2011 was single occupancy car travel, with 385 pupils selecting this option, representing 50.6 percent of pupils. In the 2014 survey, the percentage for single occupancy car travel is down to just over 27%. Walking is now the school s most common form of travel, representing 37.5% of those pupils surveyed in Scooting and Park and Stride are newly canvased forms of travel, equating to 6.7% and 23.5% retrospectively. Cycle travel has also increased significantly from 0.1% in 2011 to 3.3% in 2014.

10 Postcode Plotting Figures 5 and 6 present the postcodes of the pupils homes that attend Priory School. The maps shows very clearly that a high percentage of pupils live within a one kilometre radius of the school, with the second highest percentage living within a two kilometre radius. Many children can walk, cycle or scoot to school within a one kilometre radius, therefore, emphasis on cycling or walking is being targeted. Figure 5 Pupil Home Postcode Plot: Nursery, Reception, KS1 Pupil s Home Locations Priory School Nursery Reception Year 1 Year 2 Figure 6 Pupil Home Postcode Plot: KS2 Pupil s Home Locations Priory School Maps provided by Google Maps 2014 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

11 Staff Travel Survey Data This section of the report summarises the results of the staff travel survey undertaken in Autumn Term The full results of the staff travel survey are provided in Appendix B. 94 staff returned survey forms (previously 58 in 2012). Main Mode of Travel All staff members were asked to state their main mode of the travel to school. Main mode of travel is defined as consisting of more than 50 percent of the journey time. The most common form of travel is by car single occupancy and the reasons for this are 59% due to distance and 41% for convenience. Other factors which impacted on this were hours of work and also whether individuals had further onward journeys and commitments after work. Childcare arrangements and also difficult journeys by public transport were also cited as reasons for travelling by car. We have made some significant advances since 2012 in encouraging sustainable travel and reducing congestion in and around the school. See below. Main Mode of Transport 2012 Car (single occupancy) 62% 58% Car Share 9% 6% Walk 22% 29% Cycle 5% 4% Train 1% 3% Bus 0% 0% Taxi/Other 0% 0% The results to the question What would encourage you to walk, cycle or use public transport? are below: Financial incentive 39% Travel with staff member 11% Cycle or walking club 13% Not able to due to childcare drop/collection 8% Distance is too far away 26% Bike provided 3% Yes to interested in a car share 7% No to interested in a car share 93% In response to this, we may investigate whether a small financial incentive is possible and also the possibility of introducing a staff cycling or walking club which runs at regular intervals.

12 OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS This section of the report outlines the overall objectives of the STP. Objectives are the high level aims of the Travel Plan and provide direction and focus. A STP is a dynamic process and the objectives/targets can be used to monitor any potential change. Where change is not apparent the STP s targets and measures should be reviewed and replaced with more realistic/appropriate alternatives. School Travel Plan Objectives The aim of the STP as presented in Chapter 1 is to reduce the impact of the school on the local and wider environment by actively trying to reduce the number of private car trips associated with the school. There are many benefits that come with a STP not only for the local and wider environment but also for the pupils, staff, parents and the local community. The objectives of the STP are to: 1. To promote awareness of transport issues and the impact of traffic on the local environment; 2. To enable all staff and parents to have informed choices about their travel options; 3. To show a commitment to mitigating and limiting any traffic impact by reducing the level of single occupancy vehicles coming to the school; and 4. To ensure the school is accessible to the widest possible range of people, especially those with disabilities. Targets Targets will be used to assess the effectiveness of the initiatives implemented and to focus attention on what needs to be achieved. Progress against the following targets will be reviewed on an annual basis: To continue to reduce the percentage proportion of staff journeys by single occupancy cars. To continue to reduce the number of pupils travelling to the school by car. To actively encourage an increase in the number of pupils cycling to school. To inspire an increased number of pupils to walk to school.

13 MEASURES AND ACTION PLAN Action Plan In order to achieve the targets and meet the objectives set out in this plan, a number of measures and actions have been identified. These actions/ measures will be implemented by the Travel Plan Co-ordinator. The STP will be fully implemented as soon as possible. The proposed measures/actions cover five main areas: 1. To promote walking to school for pupils and staff; 2. To promote cycling to school, and as part of leisure activities for both pupils and staff; 3. To promote car sharing to the school for staff and where practical pupils; and 4. To promote the use of public transport (mainly buses) or taxi s for staff when travelling outside of the school for work purposes. The Action Plan will be updated on a regular basis at meetings and in discussions about the STP.

14 Action Plan - Walking Target Actions Resource Application Timescale To increase the number of pupils walking by 5 percent to school over five years from and To reduce the number of pupils travelling to the school by car by 10 percent over five years from Parents, pupils and staff will be made aware of the health benefits of walking. The Travel Plan Co-ordinator will promote Walk to School Week for one week (second to last week of May) to encourage everyone to take part in the event. Continue to implement the WOW (Walk once a Week) scheme. The Travel Plan Co-ordinator will promote the scheme which was implemented in February Information to be placed on notice boards, in school newsletters and taught as part of the school s curriculum. Resources will be available from SBC. Resources from Living Streets to be provided by SBC as part of the LSTF Current / Ongoing Walk to School scheme is run on a weekly basis for all year groups and not limited to the annual Walk to School Week in May. Re Launch Assembly takes place during September each year for the benefit of new starters. The school provides walking maps for pupils to help them walk to school as well as educate them with map reading. A copy of the map has been provided to all pupils, new starters and has been displayed in the school. Walking (and cycle) maps school specific maps to be developed with Living Streets as part of the LSTF. Completed Summer Term 2013 The SBC Road Safety Officer will continue to present assemblies to pupils about safe travel. The Travel Plan Coordinator will liaise with the SBC Road Safety Officer (Keith Beasley) to ensure assemblies take place at the school at least once a term. Assemblies to be arranged on a termly basis.

15 Action Plan Cycling Targets Action/ Measures Resource Application Timescale To increase the number of pupils cycling by 5 percent to school over five years from and On-site cycle parking will be provided for staff and pupils. The existing provision of 15 cycle stands will increase to 40. Parents, pupils and staff will be made aware of health benefits of cycling. Has been provided as part of the expansion of the school. Information to be placed on notice boards, in school newsletters and taught as part of the school s curriculum. Completed Autumn Term 2013 In Place To reduce the number of pupils travelling to the school by car by 10 percent over five years from The use of cycle parking will be monitored. Investigate / introduce Bike It programme for pupils, especially those in Years 5 and 6. To be undertaken on a weekly basis by the BUG Group and Bike It Officer. Once building works are complete the SBC Bike It Officer will undertake a range of activities and events at the school all aimed at encouraging cycling. Ongoing In Place The school will provide cycle maps for pupils to help them cycle to school. Cycle (and walking) school specific maps to be developed with Living Streets as part of the LSTF. Completed Bikeability cycle training will be provided to a range of pupils. The school will continue to provide SBC funded Bikeability training to pupils. Ongoing.

16 Action Plan Car Sharing Targets Action/ Measures Resource Application Timescale To reduce the number of pupils travelling to the school by car by 10 percent over five years from and The Travel Plan Co-ordinator invites all new staff to join the staff car sharing programme through the annual staff survey. Car Sharing information is available through the School s website. The Travel Plan Coordinator to then put small groups of staff members who live close to each other in contact so car sharing teams can be formed. Ongoing To reduce the proportion of staff journeys by single occupancy cars by 15 percent over five years from The Travel Plan Co-ordinator invites all parents to join the car sharing programme through providing a form on registration of their child and posting information on the School s website. Car share form is provided to all parents. Parents who are interested in car sharing return the completed form to the Travel Plan Coordinator. Ongoing

17 Action Plan for Buses The site is within walking distance of two bus services that cover areas within the catchment area of the school. Bus routes and timetable information will be on display within the school. A map showing the location of bus stops will also be on display. The information will also be on the school website; and Staff will receive information about bus routes in their Travel Pack. Action Plan for Taxis Taxis have an important role in providing for staff and parents/ pupils trips which other modes of transport may not be available. The Travel Plan Co-ordinator will ensure that the contact details for local taxi operators are available through the School Reception. Action Plan for Walking Bus Service Priory School is actively promoting Park and Stride from Burnham Park. This gives parents an easily accessible meeting point to assist in reducing local congestion. The Walking Bus initiative is run three times a year and activity highlighted and advertised to pupils, parents and staff.

18 TRAVEL PLAN CO-ORDINATOR AND MANAGEMENT SUPPORT Senior Management The Travel Plan is managed by the Headteacher, Jacqueline Laver and on a day to day basis the Travel Plan co-ordinator Kathryn James. Travel Plan Co-ordinators and Resources Kathryn James is the Travel Plan co-ordinator. It is the Travel Plan Co-ordinators role to compile a review every year and produce a monitoring report outlining the results of the review. Pupil Involvement and Commitment It is crucial to have pupil involvement and commitment as it is stated in many of the aims in the Travel Plan are to get the children to travel more sustainably to school. Bike It Officer The Sustrans Bike It Officer for SBC is Victoria Willis and she is working with Lindsey Hicks, Bike It Officer at Priory School, to deliver Bike Ability training and Bike It awareness.

19 MONITERING AND REPORTING A strategy shall be developed for the regular monitoring of the progress of the STP against objectives and targets and highlight any deficiencies in/changes required to the Travel Plan or any additional measures required. In line with requirements of SBC the STP will be reviewed on an annual basis with the document rewritten every three years. Details of the monitoring and review process are provided below: A hands up survey was undertaken in March The results were published in the School s Newsletter. The next hands up survey will be undertaken in March 2015; The annual Travel Plan review was undertaken in May 2014; The rewrite of the full Travel Plan will be completed by or before May 2016; and The person responsible for ensuring the annual monitoring is completed will be the Travel Plan Coordinator (Kathryn James). Funding In order to ensure that the Travel Plan measures are effectively implemented sufficient funding will be required. The vast majority of initiatives will be free to implement as they will utilise resources available from SBC and more specifically the LSTF. The only costs associated with these measures will be the staff time to implement them.

20 APPENDIX A CATCHMENT AREA Listed below, please find in alphabetical order (A-Z), the list of residential zones that fall within the catchment area of Priory School, Slough. Altwood Close Iona Crescent Tennyson Way Anslow Place Thirlmere Avenue Averil Court Kelpatrick Road Tudor Gardens Kingsley Path Balmoral Close Kinnaird Close Ullswater Close Bartelotts Road Bath Road (even numbers Lammas Road Walpole Road from 324 up to HLN) Berkeley Mews Lawrence Way Westlands Avenue Blumfield Crescent Leaholme Gardens Westlands Close Brook Crescent Littlebrook Avenue Windermere Way Burford Gardens Lower Britwell Road Wordsworth Road Burnham Lane Buttermere Avenue Cardinals Walk Clare Road Compton Court Coniston Crescent Crosthwaite Way Crummock Close Derwent Drive Ennerdale Crescent Lowestoft Drive Maybury Close Mead Way Orchard Avenue Parkview Chase Petty Cross Phipps Road Portland Close Priory Heights Priory Road Goldsworth Way Greenfern Avenue Ramsey Court Royston Way Haymill Road Hollyhead Mews Huntercome Lane North (even numbers only) Hunter Court Hurst Road Sandringham Court Spur (The) St James Place St Michaels Court Stanhope Road Station Road (Cippenham) Suffolk Close

21 APPENDIX B STAFF TRAVEL SURVEY This section presents the results of the staff travel survey. A total of 94 responses were received which were made up of the following staff members: 84 staff members who work full time; and 10 staff members who work part time. This represents a response rate of 71% (45% in 2012). Full analysis of the survey results is presented below: General Travel Habits Main Mode of Travel All staff members were asked to state their main mode of the travel to school. Main mode of travel is defined as consisting of more than 50 percent of the journey time. The results of this question are presented in Figure B1. Mode of Travel Car (single occupancy) Car share Walk Cycle Train Bus Walk Other Figure B1 - Main Mode of Transport As stated previously, The most common form of travel is by car single occupancy and the reasons for this are 59% due to distance and 41% for convenience. Other factors which impacted on this were hours of work and also whether individuals had further onward journeys and commitments after work. Childcare arrangements and also difficult journeys by public transport were also cited as reasons for travelling by car.

22 Time of Arrival and Departure from Priory School All staff members were asked to state what time they usually arrive and leave school each day. The results of this question are presented in Table B1 and table B2. Time of Arrival Staff % After Table B1 - Arrival to Priory School The most common arrival time to school by staff is between 7.30 and 8.00 am. This has changed since the last survey which was from 8.00 to 8.15am. As you can see from the table 43% of staff arrive between 8.00 and 9.00am and the bulk of these staff are teaching assistants whose working day starts at 8.30am. There are also 9% of staff who start after 9.00am and this is either due to the nature of their job being part-time. Time of Departure Staff % After Table B2 - Departure from Priory School The two most common departure times that staff members leave are between 3.30pm and after 4.30pm. After 4.30 mainly consists of teaching and office staff.

23 Incentives to change to a more sustainable mode of travel What would encourage you to walk, cycle or use public transport? Financial incentive Travel with staff member Cycle or walking club Not able to due to childcare drop/collection Distance is too far away Ability to Car Share / Initiatives to Encourage Car Sharing Whilst every effort will be made where appropriate to encourage car sharing the result of the staff survey showed that 93% of staff who completed the survey are not interested in car sharing for various reasons such as : Childcare arrangements Independence Flexibility 6% of staff already car share and a significant number of staff walk so our efforts will be focussed on changing the mode to sustainable travel rather than car sharing.

24 Encouraging Sustainable Travel - Encourage Walking / Cycling Priory now have spaces for 40 bicycles and also have increased the focus on Bikeability with cycling proficiency and other walking and cycling initiatives. For we aim to consolidate this with pupils and also introduce similar initiatives for staff with a walking or/and cycling club by the Summer Term 2015 as 24% of staff cited that they may be encouraged to change their mode of travel by travelling with a staff member of taking part in a walking or cycling club. Encouraging Sustainable Travel - Encourage Public Transport Staff members were asked to state what travel measures would encourage them to use public transport. A summary of the measures that they listed are presented below; Travel allowance; Reliable transport that is more convenient and quicker; Cheaper public transport; A direct route from home to school; and Free of charge. Only one member of staff takes public transport to work which reflects in these results of finding measures to encourage public transport. Most members of staff stated that it is not feasible for them to use public transport as it is usually unreliable, expensive or there is no direct route from school to their house. Whilst others felt they may take public transport if they were provided a travel allowance or if transport was free of charge or just generally cheaper. Difficulties in changing mode of travel can be : Distance is too far; Staff members have childcare responsibilities; Prefer to travel alone due to a hectic lifestyle; Happy to car share with colleagues that have similar hours; Walking to work is easy and stress free, however, teachers have to take lots of marking home. Therefore walking can sometimes be difficult. May cycle if school had showers.

25 Proposed Travel Actions Based on the results presented above a number of potential Travel Plan actions for staff that could be taken forward by Priory Primary School. Staff Travel Actions As part of the staff travel survey it would appear that members of staff are most willing to change their travel habits from single occupancy car travel to walking or cycling more frequently. It was highlighted that most members of staff were not willing to change their habits as they stated that they have heavy school books to take home and other commitments before and after school. However, to achieve an increase from the current car share baseline, which is extremely low and infrequent, the following actions should be considered: Establish a formal car share scheme to match potential car share partners (this may be internally within Priory School or with the help from Slough Borough Council); Provision of priority parking spaces for car sharers; and Potential incentives for car sharers, such as a monthly prize draw. The general working hours stated by staff do appear to be conducive to car sharing. However to make the scheme successful, working hours might have to be altered slightly. This would be dependent on the requirements of Priory Primary School. There is also potential to encourage cycling and walking, to and from Priory School as 60 members of staff live within a two kilometre radius of the school, therefore travel incentives are a main priority to get these staff members to walk and cycle as they do not live too far away. However, at present only 4% of staff state that their main mode of travel to work is by cycle but there has been an increase from 22% to 29% walking. Members of staff suggested that having benefits and incentives would encourage them to cycle. The following could be undertaken to further increase the likelihood of cycling: Liaison with Slough Borough Council to discuss the provision of cycle training / cycle maintenance lessons to staff; Liaison with local retailers in Slough to secure discounts on cycle equipment for staff; and - Improve cycle safety and storage this has been done.