At St Clere's, we are constantly looking at ways to minimise congestion and improve pupil safety at the beginning and end of school.

Historically, while around one third (33.2%) of pupils use the dedicated school bus service, just over a quarter (25.1%) travel to and from school by car.

With school buses arriving between 8.00am and 8.30am, delivering between 375 - 400 children over the same time period that up to another 300 are arriving by car, congestion is inevitable and safety paramount.

In September 2018 just over 150 extra students than usual started at St Clere's, meaning that the need to resolve problems around this issue has become a higher priority than ever.

There are a number of ways to avoid the school gate traffic jam and we would encourage all of our parents to consider these options.

There is lots of useful information on this page plus, at the bottom of the page, there a link to our Travel Plan document. This is also available on our Policies and Key Information page.

Driving saves time?

• In busy traffic, a short car journey can take the same time as walking the same distance.
• do you have to queue at the entrance to school?
• do you leave home early at the end of school and end up waiting by the school gates for school to finish to make sure you get a car parking space?
• Time spent walking your child to school is quality time, giving you the opportunity to talk about school and reinforce Road Safety lessons.

Avoiding roadside pollution?

• In fact, air pollution is much (up to 9–12 times) higher inside cars compared to outside, and the benefits of walking far outweigh the risk of breathing in pollution.

Too tiring before a busy day at school?

• Research has shown that children who do some form of exercise, especially a walk before school, arrive fit, refreshed, ready to learn and do better in class.

Too far to walk?

• By driving closer to the school and then walking the last 10 minutes, your child (and you) will gain from the fitness benefits.

Safer in the car than walking?

• With so many cars driving through and past the school gates, parking, reversing and manoeuvring around school buses, non-essential traffic actually means the area around the school perimeter is less safe.
• Consider working with other parents to ask the local council to improve safety, by installing controlled crossings and introducing 20mph speed limits.
• Walking is a great way to get to school. It's quick and reliable, good for your health and good for the environment.

Walking is quick and reliable

• For short journeys, walking is quick and reliable, with very few interruptions. In busy areas it will usually take the same amount of time as taking the car.

Walking is good for your health

Brisk walking is a great way to clear your head, reduce stress and release those mood-boosting endorphins. It's the nearest thing to 'perfect' exercise in terms of a safe, all-round workout. And it doesn't cost a penny or need any special equipment.

• If you walk an extra 20 minutes a day, you'll burn more than 3kg of body fat a year.
• A single step uses up to 200 muscles, so you're not only doing a little cardio but toning your muscles too.
• Walking can halve your risk of coronary heart disease and help prevent some cancers.
• Walking can help to prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes.

Walking makes a greener planet

Did you know:

• you can breathe in more pollution inside your car than you would by walking the same route;
• the average 2-way school run emits 800g of carbon dioxide into the air – that's enough to inflate more than 60 balloons; and
• for every young person that walks 1 mile to school and back instead of being driven, we'll save 57kg of carbon per year.

Using the train

If you are a student aged 16+ years and you travel to school by train using c2c, there is a student dicount card offering 1/3 off travel costs c2c student discount card.

If you are a pupil aged between 5 and 15 years and you travel to school by train using c2c, there is a child smart card offering 50% off travel costs c2c child smartcard.

Useful Links:

St Clere's Travel Plan
Walk to School week 2019
Living Streets
The School Run
National Walking Month 2019
The Highway Code for pedestrians