Allschoolchildrencantravelfreeonbuseswithinlondonifyoupayaone-Offcostof

Freebustravelfromhometoschool

AllschoolchildrencantravelfreeonbuseswithinLondonifyoupayaone-offcostof£10foraZipOystercard.Childrenunder11canalsotravelfreeontubesandtrainswithaZipOystercard.Findoutallaboutyourandyourchildren’straveloptionsat:

ThelocalauthorityexpectsresidentsofTowerHamletstomakeuseoftheconcessionsofferedbyTfL.

Assistancewithhometoschooltravel

Iftravelassistanceisrequiredoutsidethescopeoffreetravelarrangementsandanyother alternatives,youcanmakeanapplicationtoPupilServicesfortravelassistance.Pleasecheckwhetheryouareeligiblefortravelassistancebeforecompletingtheform.

Whoiseligible?

Thelocalauthoritycanprovideassistanceforeligiblechildrenof compulsoryschoolagewhomeetthefollowingcriteria:

•childrenunabletowalksafelytoschoolbecauseofthenatureoftheirspecialeducationalneeds,disabilityormobilityproblems(includingtemporarymedicalconditions)

•childrenunabletowalkinsafetytoschoolbecauseofthenatureoftheroute

•childrenlivingoutside‘statutorywalkingdistance’(twomilesfor childrenundereightandthreemilesforchildrenovereightyearsofage)

•childrenwhoseparentsareinreceiptoftheirmaximumlevelofWorkingTaxCredit

•childrenattendingaschoolwheretheeducationprovidedisthatofthefaithtowhichtheparentadheres

•childrenwhoseparent/carer’sdisabilitypreventshim/herfromaccompanyingachildalongawalkingroutewhichcanbeconsideredsafe

Inmostcases,childrenwillonlybeeligiblefortravelassistanceifthelocalauthoritycannotofferaplaceatasuitablealternativeschool.Therefore,pleaseensurethatyoumakeanapplicationtosixofyourlocalschoolsbeforesubmittinganapplication.

Supportingdocumentation

You mustberesident inTowerHamletstoapplyfortravelassistanceandbeabletoprovideuswithproofofyouraddress,suchasarecentcounciltaxbill.

Ifyou haveany medical/socialreasonyouwouldliketobeconsideredwithyourapplicationthenpleaseprovideevidencewiththisapplicationthatissupportedbyaprofessional(suchasadoctor’sreport).Pleasealsoprovidethecorrectproofofparentalincomeasrequired.

Pleasenotethatifyoudonotprovidethenecessarysupportingdocumentation,theapplicationformmaybereturnedtoyouandthiswilldelaytheassessmentof yourform.

Foranapplicationform,visit:

Makingadecision

PupilServiceswilldecideontheformoftravelassistancethatismost suitable(i.e.bursary,travelpassforparentorchild,placeontheschoolbusetc.)takingintoaccounttheageandneedsofthechild,thedistancefromhometoschool,transportprovisioncurrentlyavailableandanyotherrelevantfactors.Ifyourapplicationfortravelassistanceisrefused,thenyouhavearightofappealagainstthedecisionandyouwillbeadvisedofthisinyourletter.

Appreciateandloveyourlocalareamorebywalkingorcyclingtoschool on a daily basis.Allowenoughtimeforyourjourneysothatyoucanenjoyitwithoutrushing.ExploredifferentroutesregularlywithyourchildrensoyoubothgettoknowTowerHamletsbetter.

Chooseaschoolwherethedailyjourneyiseasyandpleasurable.

Yourchildwillmakeover4,500home-schooljourneysthroughtheirschoollife–so chooseyourchild’sschooltomakethedailyjourneyaseasyaspossible,whereyourchildcanbeincontroloftheirownjourneyroutesandtimes.

Howtovalueandenjoythenewdailyjourneytoandfromschool

Anextra30minutes’journeytime everydaymountsupto190hoursspentawayfromhomeeachyear–that’stheequivalentofanother12weeksof your child’s evening freetimeeveryyear!

Thebenefitsofaquickandeasysustainablejourneytoschoolwhichdoesn’tneedyourinvolvementeverydaywillalsogiveyouasaparentmuchmorepersonalfreedomandtime.

Ifyouwereoriginallythinkingof drivingyourchildtoschool,theTravelChampionattheschoolor thecouncil’sSchoolTravelAdviser(02073646918)willhelpyouchooseadifferentoptionthatwillimprovebothyouandyourchild’squalityoflifeandself-esteem.

Thecouncildiscouragesuseofthecarfor environmentalreasons,reducingcongestion,savingmoneyonparkingandpetrolandforhealthandfitnessreasons.

We encourage the use of publictransportforlongschooljourneysandwalkingandcyclingforshorterones.

Wehaveoneofthebiggest,mostfrequenttransportnetworksintheworldandTowerHamletshassomeofthebesttransportlinksinLondon.AllschoolchildrencantravelfreeonbuseswithinLondonifyoupayaone-offcostof£10for aZipOystercard.Childrenunder11canalsotravelfreeonthetube andtrainswithaZipOystercard.Findoutallaboutyourandyourchildren’straveloptionsat:

Yourchildshouldbegettingat least60minutesofmoderateintensityphysicalactivityeachday(threehoursforunder-fives).Thewalktoandfromschoolcanbeincorporatedintothis–easyifyoulivewithin2kmofschool.

Olderchildrenlivingwithin5kmcancycletoschool,orgetoffafewbusstopsearlyandwalkthelasttenminutesiftheychoosefreebustravel.

Childrenlearningaboutallaspectsandmodesoftravel,andexperimentingwiththemduringtheirteenagelives,canenrichtheiradultlivesthroughbetter,cheaper,fasterandaboveallmoreenjoyabletravel,givingaccesstobetteremploymentprospects,moreleisuretimeandtheability todiscoverandexplorenewplaces.

Nurseryschool

Start the active travel habit themomentyourchildentersnursery–thisisthemomentwhentheyshouldbewalkingonaregularbasiseveryday.Iftheyhavedifficultykeepingupwithyou, thenletthemuseascooter–mostnurseriesinTowerHamletshavesomewheretostorescooters.Nurseryschoolsintheboroughactivelypromoteactivetravelfor healthandfitness,andtodevelopsocialskills.TowerHamletsoffersfreecycleconfidence,skillsandsafetytrainingsessionstoparentswhowouldliketocycletheiryoungchildrentoschoolusingachildseat.Findoutmoreat:

Primaryschool

Manyofourprimaryschoolsprovidelessonstopupilstohelpthemtravelsafely,activelyandindependently,suchascycleskills,onroadcycletraining,roadsafetytraining,travelawarenessandjourneyplanning.Ifyouhavehadadviceonplanningasustainablejourneyandyouradviseragreesthatyouhavenopracticalalternativetodriving,thenyoushoulddrive–andpark–safely,legallyandconsiderately.

Donotdriveanywhereneartheschoolentrance,butparkwellawayfromtheschoolandwalkwithyourchildtothegate.Justtwominutes’walkisenoughtoparkevenafewstreetsaway,andifyouvarywhereyouparkeverydayitwillmakethejourneymoreinteresting.

Youwillalsohavetheopportunitytoremindyourchildhowtobesafeonthestreetsandwhencrossingroadseverydaysothatitbecomessecondnaturetothem.Manyyoungerchildrenwanttocyclewhilsttheirparentswalkwiththem.TowerHamletsoffersfreecycleconfidence,skillsandsafetysessionstoallresidents,sothatwhenyourchildrengetafewyears older you can both cycle toschoolsafelyandconfidentlyonroadsandcyclepaths.

Ifyoustillhavetodrivetoschool

Bearesponsibledriver–showandtellyourchildrenwhyyoudriveandparksafely,legallyandconsiderately.

Allowplentyoftimefor yourjourneytopreventrushing,takingchancesandbreakingthelaw.

Re-readTheHighwayCode–youmightbesurprisedhowusefulthisis.Takeanofficialpracticedrivingtheorytesttoseewhetheryouwouldstillpasstoday.

Stoppedandparkedcarsoutsideschoolsareariskastheyobstructsightlinesforchildren,andsoKeepClearmarkingsareusedtokeeptrafficmoving:evenstoppingforafewsecondsonthemputschildrenatrisk,andisconsideredseriousenough an offencetoattractafineof£130.

Donotdrivenearorpasttheentrancetotheschool–parksafelyandlegallyinanotherstreetandwalkbetweenthecarandtheschoolleavingtheentranceareaclearforpedestriansandcyclists.

TheSchoolTravelPlan(STP)

ASchoolTravelPlan(STP)isapackageofmeasurestailoredto aschool’sneedstohelpmakejourneystoschoolsafer,healthierandenvironmentallyfriendly.EveryschoolinTowerHamletshasanappointedSchoolTravelChampionandanapprovedSTP.

STPsincludeinitiativestohelppupilswalk,cycleandusepublictransportmoreandtravelindependentlytoschool,reducingcaruseontheschoolrunandremovingbarrierstotravelling sustainably to school.

Schooltravelinitiatives

Keyinitiativesthatyoushouldlookoutforwhenchoosingaschoolforyourchildtoattendthatencouragesustainabletravelinclude:

•personaltravelplanningandsafetytraining

•buddywalkorcycletoschoolschemes

•cycletraining

•coveredsecurecycleparking

•bikeIt

•walkandBiketoschoolcampaigns

•organisedwalksforfamilieswithinandoutsideschoolhours

•schoolcrossingpatrolsandJuniorRoadSafetyOfficers

•findingfriendly,easyroutestowalkorcycletoschool

•schoolcurriculumtravelandtransitionmaterials

•saferNeighbourhoodsTeamsandCommunityPoliceSupportlinks.

Askyournewschoolwhatsupportandschemestheyhaveinplacetohelpyoutravelsustainablyoractively toschooleveryday.