STARS Spotlight – Shepherd Primary, Hertfordshire.
Find out how this school became nominated for the Modeshift STARS National School Travel Awards
Behaviour Change seen at the school
Shepherd school have worked with a carrot and stick approach to encourage active travel to school. They have worked with the District Council to put in place a Public Space Protection Order to stop parents parking outside the school during drop off and pick up times. This has made the environment outside the school safer and more pleasant for children walking, scooting and cycling. There are also penalties for those who do decide to drive and park outside the school. Cycling has increased from 2.8% to 13.25%, scooting 8% to 16.34%, park and stride 12.4% to 25.61% and parents know it is not acceptable to park at the school and there are financial penalties I have visited the school and there were no parents dropping off pupils. I had to check that I hadn’t visited on an inset day.
Top 3 Achievements
- The school recognises that partnership working increases the chances of success. As part of this the school have worked with the District Council to look at how to improve the area outside the school to increase active travel. As a result of the partnership a Public Space Protection Order has been put in place and parents will be fined if they park within a certain distance of the school. It has been very effective and has changed behaviour and attitude. There has been a big increase in park and stride, so for those parents that live too far they now will park away from the school and walk the last part of the journey and for those who live close, walk to school leaving their cars at home.
- Another effective activity has been taking part in the Big Pedal. It has really helped promote cycling, scooting and walking to school, with a great uptake and rewards for taking part. Children really wanted to be part of this exciting challenge and across the years 80% plus children in each year travelled actively to school during the week.
- This was followed by a big push for Walk to School Week with Trainer Tuesday and Funky Footwear Friday to raise the profile of the week. The school have incorporated events into everyday school life over a number of years to install behaviour change and pupils look forward to these events and challenges.
Why the local authority has nominated this school
Shepherd have understood the value of partnership working to achieve the best outcomes. They have worked with us as a local authority and the District Council to be more effective in changing attitudes to active travel to school. They have made the most of National Initiatives such as The Big Pedal and Walk to School Week and put their own spin on these to maximise their effectiveness. They have worked hard to achieve modal shift and are always keen to try new ideas and ways of working.
Would you like to know more? Modeshift STARS is supported by the Department for Transport and is FREE for schools to use. Why not visit our accreditation page and get the information on how to start your STARS Journey? Visit https://www.modeshiftstars.org/accreditation/ to find out more.
