Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

Original poster

Parking around school

106 replies

Tommy · 19/01/2006 10:34

Any experience out there of organised school parking? Our school is a big primary, near to city centre with only street parking around it. Parents are always getting into trouble for blocking drives, parking on restricted areas etc and situation is, IMO, potentially dangerous for the children.
I have been set the task of trying to find some solutions (from governing board - I am a Foundation Gov)so I thought I'd see if anyone else has done anything similar - eg any assistance from local council re parking in restricted areas for drop off or pick ups?
Personally, I think more people should walk/use public transport or walking bus but I am a SAHM who lives 10 mins walk away so I appreciate that it's not quite so easy for others.
Any ideas or suggestions gratefully received

OP posts:
Bozza · 19/01/2006 11:23

Oh btw DS not keen on the rain but as you rightly say I am evil. When it snowed the other week he made a right song and dance about it - "it's snowed on me". Honestly, I told him kids are supposed to like snow.

Marina · 19/01/2006 11:28

It's gusty winds that upset mine and I can see their point. Dd is small enough to get blown over
The way global warming is taking us we are probably condemning our descendants to a life in UV-filtered, air-conditioned, domes in the desert/icy tundra that the UK will no doubt become, so I am letting my kids experience as much weather as they can, while they can

Bozza · 19/01/2006 11:39

Marina. My DD is still in a pushchair so she is sheltered a bit from the winds, especially because I usually use the big one for walking round to school. But once the weather improves I am going to work on ditching it - especially for home times.

foxinsocks · 19/01/2006 11:54

Kelly I must admit, both dd and ds often turn up to school with soaking wet trousers/tights but if it's really bad, their teacher will fetch them some dry clothes from lost property! Both mine are really very very clumsy but I reckon if they don't practice at least attempting to try and stay dry on their way to school, they'll never do it!

fennel · 19/01/2006 11:58

with wellies and a decent coat my dds never arrive at school wet. have never experienced weather too bad for us to walk the half mile or so to school.

mine don't mind walking in the rain, i thought children were supposed to enjoy jumping in puddles in wellies.

muma3 · 19/01/2006 12:00

yellow keep clear signs arent actually forcable untill october 06 so you cant get ticket
sorry just thought that i would mention that
yes i know they are there for a reason lol

Tortington · 19/01/2006 12:02

please don't forget that many parents work and they chuck their kids out the car on the way to the office.

i can't see a solution to this personally.

maybe sahm's with f*ck all else to do than their hair and nails and go to Taquisha's for a latte could be singled out and made to walk? you know who they are - yes you do.

Avalon · 19/01/2006 12:04

Tommy - what I was thinking of was one leaving time for the infants (up to Yr 2) and a separate leaving time for the juniors. This is what happens with the big primary near me.

In families where both infants and juniors are being collected, the infants could wait with the juniors?

Maybe you need a survey of parents to see how many have both infants and juniors and then the governors can see the possible impact this would have on the school.

Bozza · 19/01/2006 12:07

IKWYM Custardo. But honestly it is quicker for us to walk to school than drive. And people who live nearer still drive. We did it when we went to look round before DS started. DS was at nursery but we had baby DD who fell asleep. So DH walked home carrying her and I drove home and he was home first.

But working parents could stick their kids on the walking bus or drop them at the pub car park just as easily as at the school.

Tortington · 19/01/2006 12:10

you can't leave a 6 year old in a car park!

Marina · 19/01/2006 12:12

I know what you mean too custy - I took a day's leave to go on a school trip this Monday and saw a large and animated crowd of mums clustered round the coach. Goody, I thought...plenty of company. Turned out they were all off for a coffee and a manicure together . Three of the four suckers who actually boarded the coach were WOTHs
But it depends on location, I think. In London most of the working parents at school and nursery are the ones who do live locally and do walk because we are near a station. Traffic levels mean it's just not worth driving for them and obv. not into central London.

Bozza · 19/01/2006 12:13

No Custy - it was suggested further down that that could be an organised drop off point from which children could walk to school in a sort of "park and walk" scheme. And I was just saying that would be just as feasible for working Mums as dropping at school. In fact, might be better because might be able to drop them 10 minutes earlier!

Kelly1978 · 19/01/2006 12:17

if there is a big problem with traffic tho, is a walking bus even going to be safe? It wouldn't be at our school, no pavements and cars going every which direction.

Marina · 19/01/2006 12:18

The no pavements thing is certainly a worry kelly, but the more people you encourage to walk, bus, train or cycle, then the fewer dangerous cars there are to run little kids over, no?

Kelly1978 · 19/01/2006 12:20

yes, but they'll always be some that won't consider alternatives.

fennel · 19/01/2006 12:21

a walking bus can have adults at the corners to shepherd the children along, so they aren't likely to get run over. true though that no pavements is a bit of a downer.

i am thinking of setting up a walking bus sometime, and a sustrans-style "safe routes to school" cycle system. as far as i can see that's going to help my life as a working parent, if we can delegate and share with other parents.

Bozza · 19/01/2006 12:21

So Kelly what about people who don't actually own a car? Are you saying it is not safe for their children to go to school? That is pretty bad IMO.

Kelly1978 · 19/01/2006 12:24

no, I'm jsut considering that I can manage to watch my dd fine, but I wouldn't be so sure about watching a whole train of children. The answer would be to have lots of adult volunteers to watch them, but how many parents are going to want to or be able to do that?

Marina · 19/01/2006 12:25

We have 270 children at school with lots of siblings. If 10% of the parents switched to walking/bussing/training (and tbh our school is VERY well placed for public transport from most of the catchment area, truly) that would be 27 fewer cars. If that was replicated all over our borough (we are suburban London, I think you are rural kelly?) then it would have a measurable impact on traffic locally. We see the cars go past us on our walks and 50% are children being driven to school.
I think we could also do with American-style school buses as well.
We do use our car as little as possible because we are very concerned about car fumes and the environment and I am a firm believer in thinking globally, acting locally. Every decision to leave a car at home where feasible will help the planet.

Kelly1978 · 19/01/2006 12:26

yes rural. I would Love to see american style buses, and would happily pay towards it. It would save me on petrol costs in any case.

advocateofthedevil · 19/01/2006 12:28

The park and walk scheme seems a good idea. The only problem is who is responsible for the children, would they need to be police checked and just how responsible for the children are they expected to be (eg child bolts out into the road, hides in the carpark so you can't find them...) ?

Bozza · 19/01/2006 12:29

Hmmm I have half considered volunteering as a helper for the walking bus on Mondays and Fridays, because, while I want to take DS to school, I wouldn't mind taking others too. But unsure because of DD (20 months) and also we would have to walk further than school in the other direction to be at the start of the bus.

Marina · 19/01/2006 12:30

And, tbh, in areas with good public transport networks like ours, I would not be at all sorry to see wardens out in force ticketing the drivers who park daily on busy junction corners and zebra-crossing zigzags. If parking safely is a problem, then don't park.
Ds' class is full of children aged 7 who have never been on a London bus except as a treat to see the Xmas lights FFS. We took a classmate on the train to Brighton to see Dr Who and the biggest treat for him was going on the train
Last year we all had to get to a party locally that was 3 mins walk from a train station. Despite the short walk at each end and the short wait for the train we were the first family to arrive at the venue. And I had dd in a buggy as well.

Bozza · 19/01/2006 12:30

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Marina · 19/01/2006 12:31

I really, really think you need secure school buses in rural areas. Buses are social experiences for children as much as anything - chatting to each other instead to the back of a harrassed driver's head