We've got about £4.5k to spend but can't think on what it should go. It has to be capital expenditure on something(s) that will promote sustainable travel to school. Obviously bike racks/sheds but that'll not take £4.5k Parents have been asked but no responses to date so I thought I would ask STW (where else?!)

It's a village school. Most children live in the village and many walk already. One cycles daily all year round, more in the summer. Many get taken by car, mostly less than half a mile, some dropped by parents on the way to work. We've got a big canopy type shelter outside that parents on foot can shelter under when it's wet.

Any ideas?

Some brochures telling the parents their kids will end up fat if they keep driving them to school.

maps of safe routes.

cycle training.

cycle training.

Has to be capital unfortunately otherwise that would be good.

It's a first school btw, Reception – Y4

How about spending some of it setting up a walking bus. Our kids' school did that. The local authority refused to provide crossing patrols for the 2 roads many kids had to cross, incluing one busy main road, and I think the LEA would not allow the school to organise a 'bus' without them, so several parents, including Mrs PaulMc, trained as volunteer patrol persons and take turns to walk with the 'bus' with a lollipop and coat/hat etc. They made the TV news as the first of its kind in the North West. Kids will need hi-vis vests, brolleys are useful when its pi***ing down, parent volunteers will need training and CRB checks. That should use some of your budget.

It's a load of old bollox!

A village school with £4.5k to spend?
Bloody disgrace.
You are not going to change how parents get their kids to school.

Our business manager has spent 2 meetings with some admin. bloke sent from the county to talk about all of this.

No smilies.

What about a cycling proficiency overlay for the playground, with stuff like t-junctions, a roundabout or whatever? And a skills loop, North Shore optional.

Alternatively you chuck it at a fleet of bikes

FoxyChick – Member

It's a load of old bollox!

A village school with £4.5k to spend?
Bloody disgrace.
You are not going to change how parents get their kids to school.

Our business manager has spent 2 meetings with some admin. bloke sent from the county to talk about all of this.

No smilies.

😯

Build some 'shore in the playground. They'll have to bring their bikes along to ride it.

obviously part of the spending cutbacks I've heard about, why not get a small van, then the boor barsteward who has to cycle can get picked up, it'll stop them feeling left out.

Get a huge number of small plastic cocks – and hand them to the parents each time they drive less than half a mile …..

North Shore optional.

Actually we're just about to build some mini North shore stuff as part of a community project on the school grounds, and a climbing boulder!

Alternatively you chuck it at a fleet of bikes

We did wonder about this but were concerned about maintenance and liability issues (isn't everyone)

A village school with £4.5k to spend?
Bloody disgrace.

What's a disgrace? Too little money/too much or money being spent in the wrong place?

With Foxychick here. 4.5k could be put to a lot better use than that in plenty of other schools- imo that's just wasting money by spending for the sake of it.
Surely there's hundreds of inner city schools that could make better use of it.

you need a Park Master Tool Kit to look after the kids bikes. We will happily look after this and keep it in fwo.

What about funding decent bikes for the kids and a bike for the parents, encourage the family to cycle.

Obviously bike racks/sheds but that'll not take £4.5k

Are you sure about this – have you got any quotes. They are more expensive than you think.

No quotes, we've looked at some brochures. Sure, there are some pretty fancy sheds about and some of the v secure ones must cost but we don't think we need that level of security.

Not sure I understand Foxy and Vinney. I think all schools are treated equally with this – in other words the inner city schools get the same (or more if it's a secondary). If you mean that we shouldn't have the money so that other, inner city schools can have more then I think I would have to disagree. We appreciate it's a difficult problem to solve, that's why I'm looking for creative ideas. Rural traffic doesn't seem any safer than in towns. A boy was killed not 100yds from the school a few years ago and a recent survey by the police found the average speed 42mph with a max of 49 in just a couple of hours (in a 30 limit).

Why is your funder being so insistent on capital spending?

A sustained programme of Bikeability training (for kids *and* parents) would be fantastic. Getting kids to ride to school is mostly about skills and habits, not about equipment.

If it absolutely has to be capital spending, and if north shore is already being provided, then have you got any disabled children at the school? Some accessible bikes (think three wheels and/or hand-powered) could be bought. Or what about working with the council to look at the routes to school? Could any money be spent on cycle paths near the school?

Where are you? I work on a youth project called Bike Club. If you're near the towns where we're doing stuff, then we've got local development officers who can probably help you come up with good ideas.

We've got some money too, that we're happy to spend on non-capital stuff. But you don't sound short of funds!

There's more about us, and the places we're working, on our Bike Club site

Clive

Coke and hookers

The kids will thank you

Don't think so, Bob. Sugary drinks are frowned upon in many schools. And I don't believe many primary schools play rugby.

Bike trailer,to take the kids and bikes to the local forest etc.

tank traps 1/2 mile radius stop people driving kids to school

Buy some bikes n kit and storage – loan them out to kids who do not have?
Then start a biking club to train and enthuse them all about cycling.

Many folk do actually HAVE to drive their kids to school as its straight off to work for them after dropping off, probably even more necessary as its a rural school. My wife drops our 2 off then goes straight to work 8 miles away then picks them up on the way back.

Not all car users are pampered parents that can't be arsed walking, though i agree some are. Biking to school has its own problems in that its usually rush hour so loads of traffic, the paths are packed with parents/kids as well not ideal for young kids only 5-9 yrs old really is it?

I hear what you mean, bigbloke. I don't think anyone is realistically suggesting that ALL driving parents are being lazy, but there are many that could easily get their kids to school by other means.

And the point you make about "it's usually rush hour so loads of traffic": that's interesting. Roads near schools are packed with cars precisely *because* of all the parents who have chosen to drive. Your car is making the road seem dangerous for other people's kids, just like their car is doing the same for yours. For each family that lives a mile away and leaves the car at home, the roads get a bit safer.

This is why the work that Bike It do is so good – trying to kick-start a cultural change in schools so parents have the confidence to let their kids ride. Some training and supervision and good old 'safety in numbers' and suddenly, riding to school is a lot more viable.

Bike storage would eat up most of that 4.5k once insallation is factored in. However, I'm impressed that someone is looking for a more creative way to spend this money. All too often, I see this sort of thing wasted as people who don't really care about it are just paying lip service to it and p1551ng the money into the wind.

You could drop a quick survey around the staff and pupils as to why more don't cycle (even if parents are driving past on their way to work, nothing to stop the kids from cycling there). We did something like this recently and ended up with a drying cabinet for wet kit.

Thanks for all the comments and useful replies (and the silly ones).

Naturally I expected a cycling bias but I like the walking bus suggestion. It just illustrates how difficult it is to make a cultural change and I suspect that has nothing to do with money being spent.

I'll let you know how we get on.

Paul,
Does your local Authority have a safer routes to school officer or some similar title? If not, let me know your e-mail address and I'll give you the number of someone I know who does just that, she might have some good ideas for you.

If the aim is to try and get more kids cycling to school, how about spending some of the cash on helmets and lights?

I would second the walking bus idea, you will get more of the kids doing it because the parents will see it as much safer than cycling (a lot of schools are anti cycling and will not promote it for safety reasons)

As to people like foxychick, you will not get an answer, they are the type of people who moan when Council's etc try to promote any sustainable transport system, but will also be the first to moan when they get stuck in traffic on the commute home every day and will not offer you any solution to the problem that every intelligent person knows exists!!! I should know, as a Transport Planner I have been fighting a losing battle for 14 years!!!

CliveA, i agree, however the rush hour is mainly people travelling to work through our village because they can't be arsed going on the bypass around us as there is usually a traffic jam as it ends in a large roundabout which grinds to a halt as it is a bottleneck, this has a knock on effect on the road through our village and causes jams all the way back to us , utter madness.

I wish they would restrict traffic speed to 20mph along the outside of the school as they have done in the "urban" school 5 miles away. I'd love my kids and more kids to bike, walk or as an alternative scoot (those push along things). To be fair though our school has invested in a nice big attractive bike shelter. Also recently they launched an incentive to walk to school via a token given if walking and those with the most tokens were rewarded if my memory serves me.