Governors and Headteacher banning walking or cycling to school

[spixblue]

www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/Children-banned-walking-cycling-North-Downs/story-18210883-detail/story.html#axzz2LtyOZ9D0

This seems crazy. Anybody else seen tis story and know the facts?

THat school has been amalgamated across three villages
www.northdowns.surrey.sch.uk/contact.asp
and rural roads
the parents may be annoyed because this year the journey is easy, but next year it may not be
there is clearly a 'long term view' going on

It looks ok to me

maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=betchworth&daddr=RH2+8NN&hl=en&ll=51.210002,-0.253372&spn=0.050114,0.104628&sll=51.210116,-0.253585&sspn=0.012582,0.026157&geocode=FUveDQMdnOv7_ylXsczTD-R1SDET-db4r1Nv9w%3BFeNjDQMdmyX8_yndnVG2ueV1SDG72yqERTQOVg&dirflg=b&mra=ltm&t=m&z=14&layer=c&cbll=51.210028,-0.253428&panoid=Hs35eL87XyacTbCiCzRH1A&cbp=12,315.09,,1,4.42

but the article is confusing. The father says it's unsafe to cycle there. Nothing to do with the school, surely?

At the beginning of the article it says that the HT said it would be driving only.

'' Following a parent-governor meeting at North Downs Primary School last Thursday, headteacher Angela Ewing said its Betchworth and Leigh bases would be "driving only" from September.''

I am not sure if the HT can dictate how parents and pupils get to school - surely they can point out the risks but then up to parents.

None of their business how you get children to school

It would depend which site you were on surely. Some DC will be able to walk.

Lots of village schools are accessed along similar roads. I have some sympathy with no cycling. Rural road are very dangerous for young bike riders and if they ride on the pavement to stay safe they are a danger to those walking.

Are they going to provide free buses? If not I don't see how this can be enforceable.

They cannot do this, surely? A school cannot dictate what parents do or do not do with their own children outside of school hours can they?

That road looks almost identical to the road by our school, loads of people walk and cycle. What will they do if someone walks to school? Refuse admission? And what about parking? If you park too far away will that count as walking?

This seems utterly absurd. Surely it would be better use of the money which they'll be paying on taxis to make better pavements, pedestrian crossings and cycle paths. It's hardly setting a good example to the children. Children in primary school now will almost certainly live in a world which is effected by climate change, but instead of setting them up to live sustainable lives, they're banning it and forcing them into yet more cars.

I don't see how it's any of their business. The child's school run safety is the parent's responsibility, not the schools.

And people wonder why child obesity rates are rising...

This is DD2's school. It is a three-site school, and two of the sites are on busy rural roads. The Betchworth site is on a road almost too narrow for two cars, and there is no way even I would cycle there, let alone my child. It is a very dangerous road.

I'm not sure how many children will be directly affected, but I wouldn't say it is many.

So what are parents who don't drive supposed to do?

My family live in betchworth, IF I lived there now DS would be at the betchworth base of Northdowns school, he would be walking to schooll, there is pavement or footpath or R.U.P.P all the way. When it came time to switch base he ( and I) would be cycling, I CAN'T drive him to school, no car.

Do The North Downs school have any ideas on how they will police this policy? will children be punished for the decisions on transport their parents are making for them?

Betchworth has far more pedestrian separation from traffic than in the village we live in currently where there is maybe 100m of pavement on our half mile route, Ok, my lane is not AS busy as Betchworths street, but it feels it at school drop off time as drivers have to back up and shimmy into gateways to get past each other. Medieval villages were not designed for cars.

Saw a friend yesterday with DC at North DOwns Primary- this is all bullshit! The newspapers have taken something and misinterpreted it.

www.northdowns.surrey.sch.uk/documents/newsletters/13issue22.pdf

"Please don?t believe all you read in the newspapers...
I can assure you that at no time has a ?ban? been issued regarding walking or cycling to any of the three sites at North
Downs Primary School.
We welcome and encourage parents and pupils to walk, scooter or cycle to school wherever possible. In order to
facilitate this we have recently installed additional bicycle parking at Brockham and a bike, scooter and boot store at
Betchworth. We actively promote a ?walking bus? at Betchworth and have been seeking volunteers to run it.
In addition, Year 5 & 6 pupils take part in the Bikeability cycle training scheme which prepares them for cycling safely
to school.
So please, continue to walk, cycle, or scooter to school where you can."

So what is it the papers have picked up on?

I wonder what it is the headteacher said after the parent-governor meeting, then? Something gave rise to this...

Now there's a surprise. (!)

Looking at the original article it seems like they were just talking bollocks, and the Dad was upset because he no longer had a nice ride to school across a field but now a two-and-a-half mile journey.

But apart from anything else I still maintain that a school would not be allowed to dictate how parents should or should not get their children to the school gate. Providing no laws are being broken it is simply none of their business. The most they can do is suggest or cajole - nothing more.