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Be interesting to hear your arguments on this one
Well, if you think you're going to find me rabidly arguing that everyone should cycle everywhere all the time, I think you'll be disappointed.
Agree that panniers full of books and teaching clutter are a ball ache. So its really a 'no alternative infrastructure' problem isn't it? If it was cleaner, quicker, more direct, more frequent and did't cost a gazillion pounds, it would be better than a car of any fuel efficiency wouldn't it?
Are you sure? The private school my kids go to has been around since 1741...
TJ's head may soon explode 🙂
Seems to me this could all be turned around to a different perspective - that the school threatens to report to social services all parents who allow their children to be driven to school. On the grounds the parents are deliberately risking the long term health of the child (possibly leading to earlier than usual death from heart and/or weight problems). This would remove a huge amount of traffic, local schools would be driven to improve standards by parents who could no longer ship them miles across town thereby improving everyone's education and it would be safe for the kids to walk and cycle to school as the roads would be much emptier. Win win 😉
Won't happen though, car culture, fear and lazyness means anyone tryign to put a sensible policy like that into action would get fired pronto.
epicsteve - I assumed state school - just not your local one. 🙂
epicsteve - I assumed state school - just not your local one.
Just proves the danger of assumption then doesn't it.
My local state school is Balerno (which is one of the better state schools in Edinburgh) so there wouldn't have been any point sending them anywhere else in the state sector. Not that it was the local one when my kids started school though, as we didn't live in Balerno then.
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I'm torn on this one personally, just because of the ages - looking at the article, it says that they ride on the pavement, and only cross one major road, where there is a lollipop man, which doesn't seem too bad from a safety point of view, but I think possibly 5 is a bit young to be taken places by not much older siblings - I think I was at 7 before we started going to school alone (we would have been 7 and 9).
I think that is more of a thing than the cycling, which doesn't really seem to add any danger compared to them walking their on their own. I'm not really sure I'd be happy with them walking on their own, although obviously that depends a lot on the kids in question - I've known 8 year olds who I'd happily send down the corner shop (to pick up some fags and booze obviously), but some who are complete space cadets, who'd probably get lost and end up in S****horpe (or some other undesirable destination).
Joe
I would imagine also that if they do refer it to social services, nothing will happen. Just because something is referred to social services doesn't mean anything will happen. Just a school covering their arse. As a private school they are likely to have more of a cover your arse mentality, as they are probably more likely to get sued generally.
Joe