WEST HATCH HIGH SCHOOL THE BEST THAT I CAN BE. School Travel Plan

Transcription

1 WEST HATCH HIGH SCHOOL THE BEST THAT I CAN BE School Travel Plan Policy reviewed June 2017

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Context... 3 Purpose... 3 Scope Introduction Existing Conditions Objectives and Commitment Travel Plan Coordinator Targets and Measures Monitoring and Review... 10

3 Context Our school has developed this travel plan to reduce car use and increase safe and sustainable travel for our pupils. Pupils will benefit from a healthier lifestyle and contribute positively to environmental improvement. It will be the responsibility of all stakeholders to make the travel plan work. Purpose 1. We aim to ensure delivery of sustainable travel opportunities for pupil, staff and visitors to the school, taking account of individual needs (ethical and medical), and ensuring we are following all legal requirements. 2. We aim to reflect our policy of reducing car use to and from school through the school curriculum and through wider engagement at parents evenings and school events. 3. We aim to ensure that travel to and from school is a safe and enjoyable experience. 4. We aim to introduce and promote practices within the school to reinforce these aims. Scope 1. We want to ensure that we are giving consistent messages about the need to reduce car use to and from school. 2. We want to give students the information they need to re-inforce this message to family and the wider community. 3. We want to ensure we engage fully with the local community to involve them in the decision making process.

4 1.0 Introduction 1.1 This Travel Plan has been prepared on behalf of West Hatch High School Academy Trust to accompany an outline planning application for the proposed expansion of the school. It is proposed to redevelop the site of the existing school to provide a new Sports Hall and English Block to cater for an additional 300 pupils by This Travel Plan has been prepared with regard to the school. The current number on roll is approximately 1,200 students and this is expected to increase by 60 pupils per year to a total of 1,500 as a result of the expansion. The school has approximately 197 members of staff currently. 1.3 This Travel Plan seeks to promote sustainable travel to and from the school. Travel Planning can produce a wide number of benefits including increased health and fitness, improvements in punctuality, and reducing congestion, pollution and risk of accidents. 1.4 The main contact on behalf of the school is Mrs. Lisa Barker School Business Manager. 1.5 Following this introduction, this Travel Plan is structured as follows: Section 2 describes existing conditions including site accessibility and identifies issues with regard to school travel; Section 3 outlines the objectives of the Travel Plan and includes details of the commitment of the school to achieving these objectives; Section 4 identifies the Travel Plan Coordinator and outlines their role; Section 5 includes targets for increased sustainable travel and outlines measures which will be implemented to attain these targets; and, Section 6 sets out the programme for monitoring and review of the Travel Plan. 2.0 Existing Conditions Site and Surrounding Area 2.1 The school occupies a residential setting adjoining green belt land, on the border of Essex and the outer London Borough of Redbridge. The school site accesses from the A113 High Road Chigwell, a route servicing access to East London from West Essex. The A113 is a busy rush hour road. 2.2 West Hatch is an Academy School and the majority of our pupils reside within 1.5 kilometres of the school. The school is very much a local and close-knit family school servicing the needs of a diverse community. School Operation 2.3 The following school timetable identifies school arrival and departure activities throughout a typical school day.

5 Breakfast club from 8.00am; Registration 8.45am; End of school 3.10pm; End of extended school day 5.00pm. 2.4 The various school activities that take place before and after school allow arrivals and departures to be spread over a longer period. Site Accessibility Accessibility by Bus 2.5 There is a public bus stop located directly outside the school gates. Buses do not enter school grounds, parking bays are allocated on the A A summary of the local bus services within the vicinity of the site are detailed in the table below: Service Number Destinations Approximate Frequency 804 Debden Broadway U Debden Chester Road/Castell Road Loughton Church Hill Homebase Loughton Station U 5-10 minutes No service on Saturday, Sunday, School or Public Holidays Buckhurst Hill Station U Chigwell West Hatch School 167 Loughton Station Buckhurst Hill Station Forecourt Chigwell Station Barkingside Fullwell Cross Gants Hill Ilford Station minutes Central Library 275 Walthamstow Central Station Walthamstow, The Bell (Hoe Street) Forest Road, St John s Road Highams Park Station Chingford Lane, Mill Lane Woodford Station, Jubilee Parade, Ashton Playing Fields, Manor Road, Barkingside 667 Ilford Station, Gants Hill, Barkingside, Fullwell Cross, Tomswood Hill, West Hatch W14 Roding Lane North Broadmead Road South Woodford Station Snaresbrook Station Wanstead Station Leytonstone High Road Station Leyton Mills minutes 10 minute walk to School No service on Saturday, Sunday, School or Public Holidays minutes 10 minute walk to School

6 2.7 The locations of the bus stops within close proximity of the site are shown below: Accessibility by Rail 2.8 The Central Line Woodford Hainault loop is accessed by pupils between the Roding Valley Chigwell Stations Accessibility by Cycle 2.9 The school does not currently have cycle sheds installed. There are no cycleways in the vicinity of the school. Cyclists as pedestrian are separated from vehicles at the main entrance, school policy is for cycles to be pushed in entering or leaving the site. Pedestrian Accessibility 2.10 A part-time signal crossing operates on the A113, directly outside the main school entrance. There are no other crossings near to the school on the A113. Pedestrians are separated from vehicles at the main entrance facing the crossing. Cars 2.11 Parental parking at school is only permitted for those parents or visitors who are coming in to the school for a particular reason, e.g. a pre-booked meeting. Parents are not permitted to use the school grounds to drop off or collect their children from school. Parking is generally restricted to staff and 6 th form students who have a pre-booked parking space.

7 School vehicle gates are shut at the end of the school day for a period of time to allow the safe egress of pupil and pedestrians from the site. Travel patterns 2.12 In order to establish the baseline position with regard to staff and student travel, travel surveys were undertaken in June A copy of the survey questionnaires is included as Appendix A A total of 634 questionnaires were returned in the student survey, which accounted for 55% of the total pupils currently enrolled at the school. The staff travel survey returned 105 responses which is a 53% return The method of travel to and from school is summarised in the following table: Student Travel Method Students Current Students Preference Walk 28.55% 21.29% Cycle 0.16% 3.79% Public Bus 8.68% 1.89% School Bus 23.66% 8.20% Park & Stride 3.47% 0.16% Train/Tube 4.73% 2.52% Care Share 4.73% 2.68% Car 28.39% 48.26% Staff Travel Method Staff Current Staff Preference Walk % Cycle % Bus 1.90% 0.95% Park & Stride 0 0% Train/Tube 2.86% 2.86% Care Share 4.76% 7.62% Car 91.43% 77.14% 2.15 It can be seen from the results that the percentage of students walking and travelling by car are comparable A significant number of students walk to and from school; however, only 0.16% cycle A significant number of students have a preference to travel to school by car Less staff would prefer to travel by car than currently do so.

8 Issues 2.19 It is clear from the results of the travel survey that a significant number of students are dropped off by car to school. This could lead to increased congestion and carbon emissions There is also an increased risk of accidents due to interaction between vehicles and pedestrians, especially with parents undertaking U-turns in the road outside school. 3.0 Objectives and Commitment 3.1 The overall aim of this Travel Plan is to promote travel by sustainable means and to improve the health of staff and students by encouraging active travel to and from school. In attempting to achieve this aim, the following objectives have been identified: To reduce the overall need to travel, particularly during peak periods; To promote awareness of transport issues and the impact of traffic on the local environment; To show a commitment to improving traffic conditions in the local area; To influence the level of private car journeys to and from the site in order to reduce air pollution and the consumption of fossil fuels; To reduce the number of single occupancy car journeys to and from the site; To increase the proportion of journeys to and from the site by sustainable modes of transport such as walking, cycling, public transport and car sharing; To improve safety for the school journey by reducing the number of vehicle drop-offs; To promote walking and cycling as a health benefit to staff, parents and students; and, To promote greater participation in transport related projects in the area. 3.2 A Travel Plan Coordinator will be appointed who will have responsibility for implementing the Travel Plan. The success of the plan will rely not only on the Travel Plan Coordinator but also on the support of staff and senior management. 3.3 West Hatch High School is committed to achieving these objectives, the Travel Plan will also be promoted by the Headteacher and supported by the Governors as a key benefit to the school. 4.0 Travel Plan Coordinator 4.1 The Travel Plan Coordinator will take overall responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the Travel Plan and implementation of measures. Lisa Barker, School Business Manager is the responsible person who will act as Travel Plan Coordinator. Her contact details are as follows: finance@westhatch.essex.sch.uk 4.2 A filing system will be established and maintained for recording all correspondence relating to the Travel Plan, the travel survey and the results of periodic monitoring and review. 4.3 In the interests of confidentiality, the Travel Plan Coordinator alone will hold the database and be responsible for the release of information. Information contained within the

9 database will be released to Essex County Council on request; in the interests of security, only postcode details will be supplied and data will be held in line with GDPR regulations. The Travel Plan Coordinator will be responsible for the administration of the Plan and implementation of the measures outlined in Section Targets and Measures Targets 5.1 The results of the staff and student travel surveys have been used as a baseline against which to set targets. These targets have been set with consideration to the following: Distance travelled; Expressed preference for alternative travel to car; and, Practicality of implementation. 5.2 The targets of this Travel Plan are set out below: Measures Increase the proportion of pupils cycling to and from school by 5%; Increase the proportion of students walking to and from school by 3%; Increase the number of car share journeys for staff by 1%. Reduce the levels of irresponsible driving and inappropriate parking by parents and students; and, Decrease the volume of pickup and drop off traffic on the High Road by means of the introduction of a turning circle within the school grounds 5.3 In order to achieve the targets a number of measures have been identified. These measures will be implemented by the Travel Plan Coordinator. The following is not an exhaustive list and other measures may be identified over time. Walking 5.4 Given the significant number of students that live in close proximity to the school it is considered that walking can provide a real, healthy and economical alternative to the car for the school run. In order to encourage more families to take this option the following actions will be taken: Promote the health benefits of walking; and, Participate in the Walk to School Week. Lift Sharing 5.5 A number of responses to the travel survey indicated that the school drop off was being done by cars enroute to another destination. It may be possible to reduce the number of these journeys by grouping them. In order to establish the feasibility of this, the following actions will be taken:

10 Engage members of Parents Voice to canvass parents and gauge interest Ask parents if they would be willing to participate; and, Set up a forum for participants to identify suitable lift share partners. Engage Lead staff from Staff Voice to promote a car sharing system for staff Public Transport 5.6 In order to increase awareness of the potential for public transport to replace car journeys, personal travel planning will be offered to each member of staff on induction. 5.7 The Zip Oyster card scheme will be promoted to all students in their enrolment packs. Driving and Parking 5.8 In order to reduce the levels of poor parking, congestion at peak times and irresponsible driving, the following actions will be taken: Senior staff on meet and greet duty at the school entrance to talk to parents driving in to the school site Police made aware of drivers making illegal U-turns and inappropriate parking and registrations published in school newsletter Road safety education included as part of PSEC in Key Stage 3 Permits and Driver Responsibility Agreements for 6th Form drivers A condition improvement bid will be submitted to the Education Funding Agency to provide the funds to install a turning circle within the school ground and provide space for the school buses to enter the school grounds. 6.0 Monitoring and Review 6.1 In order to ascertain the effectiveness of the Travel Plan in achieving the targets set out in Section 5, the Travel Plan will be subject to ongoing monitoring and review. Monitoring 6.2 The main objectives of the Travel Plan are to reduce the proportion of students who travel to school as the only passenger in cars and to increase awareness of the benefits of sustainable travel. 6.3 The main method of monitoring will be an annual travel survey which will be carried out to ascertain the modal split of journeys to and from the school. The survey will also include questions on how the measures included in the Travel Plan have been received and whether or not alternative measures should be considered. 6.4 Other monitoring measures will include the collection of both hard analytical data and soft data in the form of general feedback and correspondence. These measures will include:

11 Review Monitoring demand for additional cycle parking for both staff and students; Note comments received as part of the travel survey; and, Record comments received from management and staff relating to the operation and implications of the Travel Plan. 6.5 The Travel Plan Coordinator will use the data collected as part of the monitoring process to undertake a comprehensive review of the Travel Plan on an annual basis. The review will assess the success of the Travel Plan and identify the potential for future refinements. 6.6 A monitoring report will be prepared and submitted to the Governing Body following the first year of expansion. Subsequent monitoring reports will be submitted in the third and fifth years. Following that, any further requirement for monitoring will be agreed in discussion with Essex County Council.

12 Appendix A Fig 1. Pupil Survey Questionnaire

13 Fig. 2. Staff Survey Questionnaire