2010 - 11

PLAN CONTENTS Page

INTRODUCTION 2

AIMS OF THE TRAVEL PLAN 2

SCHOOL DESCRIPTION 3

ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL 3

LOCATION OF OUR SCHOOL 4

HOW PEOPLE TRAVEL TO SCHOOL 4

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK 4

MAIN TRAFFIC PROBLEMS 5

WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS 6

IDEAS FOR IMPROVING TRAFFIC PROBLEMS 6

INITIATIVES AND ACTIONS 7

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INTRODUCTION

The St Madoes Primary School Travel Plan was initiated in 2004 to support the Scottish
Governments objective of improving the health and safety of pupils travelling to and from
schools in Scotland.

The staff, parents and pupils have agreed to its ongoing maintenance as part of the
collaborative work between the School and the Parent Council members. The plan will
highlight safer routes to school and encourage more pupils to walk safely to school.

As a health promoting school we wish to encourage health and well-being for all the
school community.

AIMS OF THE TRAVEL PLAN

• To encourage pupils to walk or cycle to school.

• To improve the safety of our journeys to and from school.
• To have less traffic near the school.
• To improve the environment.
• To help stop congestion around the school.
• To help pupils, parents and staff to keep healthy.
• To raise awareness of healthy, eco friendly possibilities.

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SCHOOL DESCRIPTION

St Madoes Primary School is a 6 class primary with a present roll of 132 that is rising
annually. There is also a morning and afternoon nursery class of 20 in each session.

It is situated in a rural village approximately 5 miles east of Perth, close to a busy dual
carriageway - the A90. This is the main route to Dundee in an easterly direction, with
Perth (and then south to Edinburgh) in the other direction.

The catchment area includes Kinfauns, St Madoes, Glencarse, Leetown, Cottown,

Inchyra, Tofthill, Chapelhill and Glendoick.

The school can be approached by turning off the Errol Road onto Pitfour and then into
Sidlaw Terrace. Errol Road is a very busy road on which traffic tends to speed. Pitfour
has a very sharp right-angled bend that can cause problems for traffic and cyclists.

ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL

The majority of families live in St Madoes and enter the school through a front or back
gate. All our buildings are contained within our school grounds so no child needs to leave
the grounds during the day unless going home for lunch. The entrance at Sidlaw Terrace
gives pedestrian access through the main gate to the playground. School transport parks
at this entrance to let children off onto the pavement where they can gain safe access to
the school. There are yellow zigzag lines to prevent parents parking near the school gate.
These are not always adhered to and this causes problems of safety for the children and
annoyance to the residents.

The second entrance is through the gate in the schools perimeter fence that allows
children to come onto the path across the playground and into the school. This saves a
long walk round for children who live at this side of the village.

The majority of staff do not live in St Madoes and so have to travel to school by car.

There is limited car parking beside the school for staff cars only. Sometimes this gets
very full. Occasionally some parents/carers use the staff car park for turning or dropping
off children. This is not permitted, as it is dangerous to come up and turn around in the
confined space.

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LOCATION OF OUR SCHOOL

HOW PEOPLE TRAVEL TO SCHOOL

A travel questionnaire was issued to all families when the plan was initiated. This was
updated in January 2009 to find out how pupils travelled to school. Responses were
received from 79 pupils.

These highlighted the following points:

• 47% of children live within half a mile of the school (80% within one mile)
• 68% always walked or cycled to school (56% walk, 12% cycle)
• 32% were given a lift (bus, taxi or car)
• 83% indicated that their preference is to walk or cycle

The main reasons for not walking or cycling included the weather (this is noted in the
MAIN TRAFFIC PROBLEMS section) and the dangerous / busy roads that have to be
crossed.

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK

The school also supports the “walk to school week” initiative in May. Statistics are
recorded for the weeks before and after the initiative, in order to gauge any improvement.

This is an annual focus for pupils and parents to try and encourage walking to school.

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MAIN TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

In the winter the roads outside the front of the school can get very congested and
sometimes dangerous with the amount of parents dropping off and picking up children at
the beginning and end of school and Nursery sessions.

When the weather is rainy, icy or snowy the problem can get really bad and some parents
are actually causing danger by coming so close to the school and then turning their cars
while children are coming out and crossing Sidlaw Terrace.

On occasions the school has had to phone the police to come and spot check the
dangerous practices which include:

• cars parking on corners so that drivers cannot see properly at the junction of Sidlaw
Terrace and Pitfour

• double (and sometimes triple) parking in Pitfour - making it difficult for other drivers
to negotiate, and crossing the road dangerous for pupils.

• speeding on the B958 Errol Road. This means parents will not allow their children
to cross this road unaccompanied.

• parents using the staff car park to turn. This is not allowed.

Parents are frequently reminded about traffic issues in Newsletters from the Head
Teacher, however it is recognised that the problem is greatly reduced in the summer
months as more children walk or cycle to school.

Staff issues with congestion are usually confined to those occasions when they arrive
near to start of school or leave just at end of school day. However as the school grows in
size, there are more staff and less spaces in the car park, which can cause problems.

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WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS?

• We advise parents where to park away from the school, using the public car park
• We encourage pupils to walk to school by discussing it in class and with parents
and the Parent Council.
• We hold a Walk to School 3 week survey annually and publish the results.
• We have had a large bicycle shelter installed for pupils.
• We have had a “No Turning” sign put up in Sidlaw Terrace by council engineers.
• We have had “ 20’s Plenty” signs put up in Pitfour by council engineers.
• We have had a path built across the grass from the back gate by council engineers.
• We have provided cycle training delivered annually by Active Schools Coordinator
for the P4s and P5s along with bicycle safety checks.
• We have provided a formal Cycling Proficiency programme for P7s when parent
volunteers have been able to support the initiative.
• We have consulted the Parent Council and the Pupil Council about road safety.
• We have involved the Junior Road Safety Officers in telling the whole school about
road safety.
• We have a School Travel Plan group comprising teachers, parents and pupils.
• We take children out on school walks around the village to increase their
confidence about walking in the village.

IDEAS FOR IMPROVING TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

• The Parent Council will issue a letter to all parents backing up the Head Teacher’s
Newsletter and reminding them of dangers of parking near to school gate and
causing congestion.
• The Parent Council will write to the local Councillor to share concerns and ask for
advice.
• The school will continue to liaise closely with the Sustainable Transport Assistant,
Traffic and Road Safety at Perth and Kinross Council
• Our Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSO) will speak to all children at assemblies
about road safety. They will also change the road safety displays and encourage
children to be safe and be seen on the roads.
• JRSOs will tell the pupils about competitions to encourage safe cycling and other
road safety.
• The school will organise the Active School Coordinator to hold bicycle check
workshops for P4 and P5s.
• The school and Parent Council will organise Cycling Proficiency classes for P7s.
Parent volunteers will train the pupils and Rachel Ewins the Road Safety Officer will
test the P7 children on their proficiency
• The school will apply for the School Travel Plans Challenge Fund annually and
purchase useful road safety items for the pupils.
• Pupils will design a banner to be displayed on school gate to warn parents about
parking too close to school gates.
• Find out about using the Community Centre as an overflow car park for parents
who could then let their children walk the rest of the way to school.
• Suggest to parents that they follow a one way system on Pitfour during pick up and
drop off times to relieve congestion.

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St Madoes Primary School Action Plan 2010 -11

INITIATIVES AND ACTIONS

Timescale and
Initiative Action Target
Evaluation
Update travel survey Give out to pupils / parents and Reduce number of cars being driven to March 2011
collate results school. (annually thereafter)

Walk to school weeks School to publicise Increase fitness by walking to school April /May 2011

Design car sticker for Seat Belt 3 competitions for 3 age ranges Highlight dangers of no wearing a seat Oct - Nov2010
Safety(JRSO) belt
Curriculum – Health and Well-being / Visit from Road Safety officer and Raise children’ s awareness of health March 2011
Road Safety Community Police and road safety issues

Cycle Training P4s and P5s Active Schools Coordinator Increase pupils cycling skills and road TBA
Christine Cook to facilitate safety awareness

Bicycle Safety Check Active Schools Coordinator to Ensure bikes are safe and increase April 2011
facilitate pupils safety awareness

Scottish Cycle Training Scheme P7s Train parent volunteers to deliver P7s increased cycling skills and road April/May 2011
cycle training. Do bike safety safety awareness
checks. Rachel Ewins, Road
Safety Officer to test pupils

Road Safety “Shows” P1 – P3 Magic Show Increase pupils’ understanding of Road TBC
P6 and P7 Road Safety Show Safety

Provide new Bike Shelter for 10 bikes at
other side of playground near other gate
Safe Taysiders
Requested from Council
P7s to attend this
To encourage more to cycle to school October 2011
as they do not have so far to go on
main roads
Enable pupils to cope with various June 2011
dangers in buildings and on roads

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