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STARS Spotlight – St Clere’s School, Thurrock

Find out how this school became nominated for STARS Secondary School of the Year at the National STARS Awards!

Behaviour Change seen at the school

We are a growing school with a growing student population. We are working with parents to avoid increased parking issues. We are working with the pupils to encourage the use of sustainable transport, such as using public transport for school trips, educating vulnerable pupils to travel independently and safely. We support and promote Walk to School week each year to get more pupils to walk to school.

Top 3 Achievements

1.Pedestrian skills training for the Nurture Group, Deaf and Visually Impaired pupils equips them to be more independent.

2.Anti-bullying policy for school transport and public transport. The incidences of bullying on the busses is in decline. Members of SLT monitor the behaviour on busses and out in the wider community so that pupils feel safe on the school buses.

3.Our curriculum includes the sustainable travel. Pupils study the effect of traffic on our air quality and learn about road safety. Local traffic police show pupils how they measure the speed of cars and the effect of police presence on the speed of cars driving past our school.

Why the local authority has nominated this school

Traditionally, the authority has had difficulty in engaging with Secondary Schools in regards to the sustainable travel agenda. Due to the growth in pupil admissions at St Clere’s School, they have become very active in addressing the issues which are of concern to students, staff, and local residents. The school has achieved a Silver accreditation, and are working hard to involve the whole school community, with independence training for those with listening and visual difficulties, creating a safer and more inclusive environment on school buses, which in turn will help increase a greater modal shift away from cars, and making pupils aware of technical concepts such as air quality and its impact on health of pupils and the community as well as the impact of traffic and speeding.