Francis Baily Primary School - School Streets Scheme Feedback Survey

Activity closed. Results published.

What is a School Streets Scheme?

It is a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times in term time only, on streets outside a school. The scheme is a community-based approach, which aims to:

• Cut down on traffic and parking pressures outside schools
• Encourage walking and cycling to school
• Make the streets outside schools safer at the start and end of the day
• Improve air quality and create a more pleasant environment for everyone

These schemes put children and families first, to keep them safe and healthy by encouraging walking, push scooting, and cycling. We work with school staff, parents, carers and pupils to encourage the use of alternative ways of getting to school, e.g. Park and Stride, Walking Buddys, so that school communities can help to tackle air pollution, poor health and road danger reduction.

You can find more information about School Streets Schemes and watch a short video here.

Background to the Francis Bailey School Scheme

School staff, parents, and pupils in years 5 and 6 took part in an Active Travel survey to help us identify what stops people walking, scooting, or cycling to school, and what would help them to do so.

Here is what they said:

Parents (224 responses):

• Entrance via the A4 needs to be opened at 8.30 and if collecting from the afterschool club.
• Vehicles speed on the A4, 20mph would make it safer.
• During wet weather and in the winter, it's easier to drive.
• Now the connecting field through Kennet is closed the journey is much longer.
• Need a School Crossing Patroller.
• Concerns about the pedestrian crossing along the A4.
• Home and work commitments are different for everyone.

Staff (59 responses):

• no personal storage lockers
• too much to carry
• no staff cycle storage
• live too far away

Pupils (103 responses):

• We need cycle storage at the front of the school.
• I want to gain more independence, feel more responsible and practise before going to secondary school.
• Because I am not ready in the morning, I make my parents late and that means we end up driving to school instead of walking.

What we can do in partnership with the school (depending on available budget and staffing resources)

• Regularly monitor the A4, Bath Road outside the school during school drop off and pick up times.
• Install equipment to monitor the speed, volume and type of the vehicles using the A4, Bath Road.
• Raise awareness of driver speeds and presence of children crossing.
• Install a parent shelter on the playground near the A4, Bath Road to protect parents waiting for their children on wet days.
• Provide support for a voluntary School Crossing Patrol.
• Review the A4, Bath Road pedestrian crossing west of the school near to the roundabout.
• Provide cycle storage at the front of the school.
• Develop a Walking buddy programme with Year 5 and 6.

What we can't do

• Open the gates on the A4, Bath Road 8.30am. The playground is used by pupils attending the breakfast club at this time and it would not be safe to open up the space to others, while pupils are still on school grounds. The school have however agreed to extend afterschool club collection via the A4, Bath Road to 4.30pm.
• Open the connecting field through Kennet as it would not be safe to open up the space to others, while pupils are still on school grounds.

What the School Streets Scheme will look like

Access to the school via Skillman Drive will be restricted for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. No-one can enter or exit unless their vehicle is registered with the Councils Parking Team or they have a valid Blue Badge. If you have any questions about registering your vehicle, please read our Frequently Asked Questions document. You can find information about applying for a Blue Badge online or by emailing Parking@westberks.gov.uk

All School Streets Schemes are implemented through the use of an Experimental Traffic Management/Regulation Order (ETO). This means that as the local highway authority, we have powers to enforce "moving traffic offences", e.g. ignoring road restrictions. It may be necessary to introduce traffic cameras to monitor traffic outside the school and issue a penalty Charge Notice (PCN) or fine to those entering the restricted areas during the school the school drop-off and pick-up times, applicable Monday to Friday during school term-time only. It operates for approximately 45-60 mins. If drivers are issued a PCN because they passed a School Streets sign and entered a restricted area at a restricted time, they can reduce the cost of the fine by completing an online educational course that will help them understand what School Streets signs mean. 

You can view the ETO for this scheme online [99KB] .

For more information, please read our Frequently Asked Questions document.

The Scheme will be introduced around the roads to Francis Baily Primary School for the start of term September 2023.

Map showing the position of the signs installed in July 2023.

Street map with the affected area highlighted.

Why we want your views

The School Street scheme will be reviewed six to nine months after it's been installed, so it's important that we understand your experiences, how the scheme is affecting you, whether it is working and any suggestions for further improvements you think would be helpful.

For more information, please read our Frequently Asked Questions document

How to take part

Our online feedback survey closed on Sunday, 3 March 2024.

If you have any questions about the Scheme or the survey, please email activetravel@westberks.gov.uk

View our dedicated active travel page here.

What happens next

We'll analyse and consider all the feedback we receive and make a decision as to whether we need to make changes to the scheme or make it permanent as it is.

You can view our recommendation report, to be considered by our Executive Member for Highways, Housing and Sustainable Travel at the Individual Executive Member Decisions Committee on Thursday, 30 May 2024, here.