Background
All those parents who pick up and drop off their children by car create chaotic and often even unsafe situations around your school every day. And it is increasingly apparent during road-safety lessons in the upper grades that many pupils walk and cycle less, or do not even have a bicycle. Even though walking or cycling to school more often is so much fun. It is also educational and healthy, and makes the school environment safer.
One in three children never cycles to school
Parents and pupils know this too, but there are often all kinds of – in parents’ eyes – good reasons for taking the car anyway. No less than 33% of children never cycle to school. That is quite remarkable in a cycling country like the Netherlands! There are clear gains to be made here. As a school, you can help change the behaviour of parents and pupils. You and your colleagues are probably already encouraging parents and pupils to walk and cycle to school more often. How can you do this in an easy and effective way that takes up as little of your time as possible? After all, you are already busy enough.
Neighbourhood safari
Pupils themselves often know very well what could be improved and made safer on their walking and cycling routes to school. The Neighbourhood Safari involves pupils in making the school environment more movement-friendly in a fun and playful way. This was done, for example, by De Troubadour primary school in Eindhoven. You can download the ‘neighbourhood safari kids’ here.
Here is what else you can do
You have a good picture of the current situation: you know where the pupils live, which routes they take and, above all, how they come to school. The problem areas experienced along the routes and in the school environment are also clear. The Neighbourhood Square Safari proved very useful in this regard. There is a clear drop-off and pick-up policy that – partly with the help of the example materials and the car bingo – is known to all parents. What next?
Time for action
Organise a cycling challenge, or an action week with plenty of attention focused on walking and cycling more often. For example, with rewards, points to collect, cycling ambassadors, special road-safety lessons, a temporary school street, etc. Examples include: Groene Voetstappen and Schoolbrengweek. The Month of the Safe School Environment always starts at the beginning of each new school year. The HiBike game was developed for Groningen, making cycling to school great fun! Request our free action pack by emailing Stephanie Bathoorn at [email protected]. It will help you quickly and easily organise a fun action week. Also visit our provider page for interesting organisations.
Bicycles available and safe
In addition to road-safety lessons at school, regularly pay attention to safe cycling. For example, organise a bicycle check together with VVN, local Fietsersbond volunteers or the Repair Café. Do children not have a bicycle? Refer parents who cannot afford one to Stichting Leergeld or Samen voor alle kinderen. The local municipality may be able to help with additional applications.
Facilities in order
If you want more pupils to come by bicycle instead of by car, it is also important to look at the bicycle parking facilities in the schoolyard. Is there enough space for children to park their bicycles safely and preferably under cover? Is there a Kiss&Bike zone where parents who come by bicycle can drop off their children quickly and safely? You will often need the municipality’s cooperation for these adjustments.
Safe school environment
Sometimes it is not enough simply to encourage parents and children to come by bicycle or on foot more often. Infrastructure or other changes may then be needed to make the school environment safer and more movement-friendly. These are changes for which you need the municipality’s cooperation. Consider creating a school street – either temporarily or permanently –, improving the marking of the school zone, installing traffic-calming measures, providing good lighting or creating safe school routes.
On the Movement-Friendly School Environment website, you can find extensive information under the theme Schools. There are also various downloads.