School Travel Plan
Travel Plan
About our school:
At Ascot Heath Infant School we take up to 210 pupils from 4-7 years old. Because of the young age of our children all school journeys are accompanied. Many of our parents or guardians come to school with pushchairs and younger siblings/children.
Our school shares a site with Ascot Heath Junior School which has 240 pupils. The school site is in a dead-end lane opposite a small residential cul-de-sac, Rhododendron Close. Our infant school is located at the far end of the site where it becomes the dead-end. There is only one entry and egress point into Rhododendron Walk and this leads to a lot of congestion at school drop off and collection times. There are yellow lines, yellow zig-zag lines and a 'no parking' sign in Rhododendron Walk in the vicinity of the school access gates. These are regularly ignored by people bringing or collecting children from the schools.
The footpath in Rhododendron Walk is very narrow. It only extends to the entrance gate of the school site. It is obstructed by two very large oak trees that are protected by a preservation order. The location and roots of these trees have resulted in an uneven footpath, only wide enough for a single pushchair to pass by. This causes children or parents to walk in the road to allow two way traffic to get around the tree.
Once inside the school grounds the footpath again narrows to pass in front of the classrooms. The footpath was installed prior to the re-location of the infant school on the site and it is too narrow for the number of children and parents using it each day. Once again this footpath is too narrow to allow parents with pushchairs to pass each other. This has resulted in parents and children using the driveway as a matter of course to get to the playgrounds.
Parents are not permitted to drive onto the school grounds. There are a limited number of parking spaces on site for the teachers and staff of the two schools. Within the site a one way system operates and sleeping policemen have been provided. In addition large gates have been provided which are closed at school collection times to discourage parents from driving into the site.
The schools share a Crossing Patrol Officer, Mrs Hathaway. She is stationed at the junction of Rhododendron Walk, New Road and Fernbank Road. This is a narrow three way junction marked with a mini roundabout painted on the road surface. Local residents and parents frequently park on either side of the roads making them even narrower. Fernbank Road and New Road also form part of a bus route and the roads are regularly used by large lorries and vans from a courier company located at the mini roundabout. There have been many comments from parents that Mrs Hathaway deserves a medal for bravery since many vehicles do not slow down for the crossing, do not always stop and regularly mount the pavement.
Activities that the school already carries out to encourage safer travelling to school
The travel plan group identified that the activities listed below have been carried out to promote safer ways of coming to school. These activities will be continued in the future.
- Links established with Bracknell Forest Council
- Participation in the 'walk to school weeks' run by the council since spring term 2003
- Termly requests for parents to park and drive with consideration and care around the school in the school newsletter, The Infant Express.
- Information on parking arrangements for the school are given in the handbook for new parents and at the new parents meeting at the school
- Regular letters home to parents pointing out the dangers of inconsiderate parking and driving especially around the school
- Education of the pupils - dressing up outfits and props for road safety role play; annual visits by the Police; visits by road safety groups
- Supply of reflectors to new children
- Participation in the 'Healthy Schools Awards' - the silver award was obtained in 2005 and the team will now work towards obtaining the gold award
- New onsite signage to indicate the location of the infant school and its entrance
- In liaison with the junior school regular requests for more frequent visits by the police force and traffic wardens
- A travel consultation questionnaire was sent to parents in September 2005 to obtain their views.
Actions by external agencies
The following actions have been taken by agencies outside the school and have made the journey to school safer:
- Painting legally enforceable zig-zag lines outside the school and the positioning of the no parking signs
- Pavement widening along the length of Fernbank Road
- Serious pruning of the hedge at the corner junction of New road and Fernbank Road making the footpath significantly wider.
Actions to be carried out in the future to promote safer travel to school
The consultation with the parents identified several areas where further action could be taken to make the journey to school safer. It is proposed that action will be taken in respect of the following matters:
Contact BFBC Safe Routes to Schools Officer
The survey completed by the parents indicated that there were many areas along the routes of travel that they considered hazardous. The information on the six most frequently mentioned hazards will be forwarded to the Safe Routes to School Officer at Bracknell Forest Council. The six most frequently identified hazards are contained in the table below.
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The number of cars dropping off in Rhododendron Walk, doors being opened into pedestrians |
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Pavement in Rhododendron Walk too narrow |
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Parking on yellow lines in Rhododendron Walk |
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Pavement too narrow by the New Rd/Kennel Ride roundabout, blind corner in Kennel Ride |
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Pavement too narrow by the Royal Hunt pub on New Road/ Fernbank Rd roundabout, cars mount pavement, do not always stop for lollypop lady |
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Crossing Rhododendron Walk near the junction with Rhododendron Close |
The next page shows the Programme of Actions for the School Travel Plan (STP)