A new walking bus is making its way around Ynysddu to help local children get to school safely.
Caerphilly county borough council is keen to encourage as many youngsters as possible to walk to school and schemes such as the walking bus are helping to get more and more pupils involved.
A ‘Walking Bus’ sees pupils travel to and from school in supervised groups. The initiative has really taken off over recent years and many parents welcome the opportunity to see their children escorted to school in a safe, organised group with their friends.
The new walking bus at Ynysddu Primary School is being launched during National Walk to School Week (17 – 21 May), to encourage more school pupils to walk, rather than be driven to school.
CCBC cabinet member, Cllr Rob Gough, said: “Initiatives like this are an excellent way to help reduce the number of cars on our roads doing the daily school run. As well as helping to cut congestion and reduce pollution, the schemes also encourage pupils to lead a healthier lifestyle by allowing them to enjoy a daily walk in the fresh air with their friends.”
Ynysddu Primary School Head Teacher, John Farmer, said: “The enthusiasm with which the whole school community has approached the initiatives introduced through the School Travel Plan has been fantastic. The children in particular have been really keen to get involved and the group they set up to lead on these initiatives – the Walk to the Future Team – have generated some great ideas for running and promoting the Walking Bus.”
Local ward officers for Ynysddu – PC Alan Tinsley and PCSO Louise Jenkins – have been working with Ynysddu Primary School to make sure that the pupils are getting to school safely, as well as to raise awareness of dangers on the roads.
A green cone scheme has also been set up at the school. The local ward officers worked with the school and Caerphilly county borough council to start the scheme after it became clear that there were too many vehicles trying to park outside of the school. The green cones are placed outside the school at the start and end of the school day to encourage more people to walk to school or park away from the entrance.
PC Alan Tinsley, said: “Parents and residents have already said that the green cones have helped to ease the traffic problems that were being experienced outside the school. Our main aim is to ensure that the children get to and from school safely as previously there were too many vehicles trying to park outside the school at the same time, which could have posed a danger to the pupils.”
PCSO Louise Jenkins, said: “The walking bus is being launched to help pupils get to school safely and to encourage more of them to walk, rather than be driven to school. The children will be accompanied by adults to make sure that they stay safe.”
Most schools across the area have developed School Travel Plans which set out ways of developing safe routes to school from surrounding towns and villages. A lot of investment has been provided for new walking routes, cycle paths and other measures to help create safe routes in the community.
For more information please contact Susan Davies, School Travel Plan Co-ordinator on 01495 235402.
