SAFELY TO SCHOOL: A STUDY OF SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOL IN THE CLASSROOM
CHAPTER SEVEN Conclusions and implications
Introduction
7.1 A number of important issues emerge from this research, which have implications for the way local authorities and schools implement SRTS. In this chapter, we summarise the main issues from the research and highlight areas in which further action could be taken.
Practices vary
7.2 Local authorities spend varying amounts of money on road safety education and locate responsibility for it within different departments. Local authorities and schools also employ a variety of strategies to implement road safety. The most successful appear to be based upon co-operation between roads/transport and education departments so that local engineering/infrastructural changes are linked to curriculum developments in schools, and curriculum projects inform engineering activities.
7.3 Recommendation: Local authorities should be encouraged to share examples of good practice in road safety education and ensure that their road transport and education departments co-operate in the further development of SRTS programme.
Certain schools are more interested in road safety
7.4 It was generally reported that primary schools are more interested in road safety than secondary schools. As one local Road Safety Officer noted: 'Primary schools in general seemed to be more interested, and initially it was more rural schools that were keen to get involved'. Such schools appear to have parents' support and be located within a community which is generally more likely to participate in the school's activities and may have more time to get involved in promoting road safety. This focus on primary schools may be entirely appropriate given the need to introduce road safety to young children, but appropriate and targeted road safety education is required at all stages.
7.5 Recommendation: Schools should be encouraged to share good practice. More actions should be taken by schools and their School Boards to engage parents in SRTS.
Perceptions of danger
7.6 There was some evidence to show that perceptions of danger vary according to the location of the school and the age and gender of the child. Those schools involved in School Travel Plans and SRTS were more interested in promoting walking and tended to ignore cycling. Fewer children cycle to school often because the roads are perceived to be dangerous due to the volume and speed of traffic and width of roads. In addition older children believe that road safety education is more appropriate for younger children. Many do not believe that they themselves will be involved in an accident.
7.7 Recommendation: Accident statistics could be used to engage children in discussions regarding their perceptions of danger.
Commitment of schools
7.8 All the case study schools reported that they were fully committed to SRTS, and this view was confirmed by local Road Safety Officers and School Board personnel who strongly believed that the commitment of headteachers and their staff to SRTS was instrumental in the take up of School Travel Plans and the extent to which they could develop SRTS projects.
7.9 Recommendation: Headteachers should ensure that SRTS targets feature in their school development plans.
Competing priorities
7.10 Unfortunately, all informants indicated that road safety had to compete at school level with other curricular priorities and pressures. Lack of time in what was perceived to be an already crowded curriculum, and lack of support from parents, were frequently cited factors which affected the efficacy of road safety education. As one headteacher explained:
A school has so many other things to do, and it takes effort to get projects like this going.
7.11 Recommendation: The Scottish Executive Development Department should engage with the review of the school curriculum currently being undertaken by the Education Department in order to ensure that road safety education is embedded within proposed changes.
Support and resources
7.12 Most local authorities supported SRTS projects. Teachers welcomed support from local authorities, well-designed resources, and expert input, eg from the police and Road Safety Officers. However, a number of informants felt that there was a need to provide teachers with appropriate training so that they can integrate SRTS within the 5-14 Curriculum, or Personal and Social Education in secondary schools. Headteachers and their staff gave examples of support they had received from Road Safety Officers, local Walking Bus Co-ordinators, and School Safety Teams. As a primary headteacher explained:
Setting up a project like this, you do need a co-ordinator. Someone who is enthusiastic and focused, and that is their job. It's also someone to contact if there is a problem.
7.13 The role of the local Road Safety Officers/Units and Co-ordinators was instrumental in developing the Safer Routes To School programmes in three of the case study schools. Increasingly, the Road Safety Units were following the steps detailed in the Scottish Executive guidance on how to run a SRTS programme. In two of the cases study schools a 'School Safety Team' was established to act as a working group to support the initiative. Usually the Road Safety Officer worked with the School Board to establish this group. Road Safety Officers also appreciated the presence of an enthusiastic and committed individual within the school's management team, School Board or School Safety Team. One pointed out:
She [the headteacher] really is a road safety 'Champion'; she is very motivated and has been a major factor in making this work so far.
7.14 Recommendation: Teachers should be provided with school-based training in SRTS so that they can make better use of the resources which have been developed by the SRSC and others.
Changing children's behaviour is difficult
7.15 The literature recognises that a complex set of factors affect children's and young people's ability to behave safely on their routes to and from school. All accept that changing children's behaviour is difficult, and is unlikely to be achieved by programmes which merely target awareness and attitudes, but should include developmental skills training opportunities that improve pedestrian skills. For example, one case study took a P2 class on a 'Walking Expedition' in the local area, to give them practical experience of crossing roads safely and identifying road safety dangers. The class teacher stressed the importance because:
Some of them [pupils] haven't really been taught this by their parents, so it is useful.
7.16 Recommendation: An experimental programme, which attempts to change pupils' behaviour, should be developed and piloted.
The role of parents
7.17 All agreed that parents have a crucial role to play in SRTS as educators and role models. Not only do they often determine how a child will travel to and from school but most also accept that they have the primary responsibility for their child's safety. It is imperative to engage with parents, demonstrate to them that integrated traffic management approaches are being taken to eliminate unsafe behaviour by other parents, and allay their fears about the speed and volume of road traffic, and the wider dangers of bullying, assaults and abductions which many fear. The role of the School Board was also important in schools' involvement with Safer Routes to School. For example, in one primary school, the School Board's desire to establish cycle racks led to meetings with the Cycling and Walking Unit and the Accident Investigation and Prevention Unit. Teachers and Road Safety Officers also believed that a high level of support from parents and pupils for projects such as the 'Walking Bus' helped them overcome initial objectives to the project. Consulting parents was also identified as a contributory factor to successful SRTS projects. Such consultation and participation was most effective when the School Board was actively interested in the issue of road safety and led to the development of School Safety Teams. For example, in one West of Scotland primary school, a survey of all parents was undertaken, which focused on how children currently got to school, the reasons for this, which routes were used, where they came from, and what would encourage them to walk or cycle.
7.18 Recommendation: Measures should be taken to encourage parents to observe 'no parking' and speed restrictions within school zones. Particular effort should be targeted at parents of pre-school children to engage them in SRTS.
Input from pupils
7.19 Most informants recognised that children and young people should be involved in the development of SRTS initiatives and in the peer education of younger children. Young people themselves indicated that they prefer interactive approaches to road safety education. In addition, an important feature of all the case study schools was that they had, to varying extents, consulted pupils as part of their Safer Routes to School work. This appeared to be more structured where schools had School Safety Teams in place, and gave credibility and relevance to the SRTS and related projects.
7.20 Junior Road Safety Officers are intended to raise awareness about local road safety issues, represent the views of pupils regarding road safety, get children directly involved, and influence road safety education. In two of the three case study schools that deployed JRSOs, there was consensus that they had played an important role in Safer Routes To School. However in one case, the Road Safety Officers stated that the impact of the JRSOs had been limited. This was primarily because the pupils who had been chosen were not as active or committed as had originally been hoped.
7.21 Recommendation: Particular attention should be given to encouraging a pro-active/experiential learning and teaching style in order to engage pupils in SRTS.
Sustainability
7.22 As with all initiatives, sustainability is a continuing problem. Our informants made little reference to the sustainability of SRTS projects. However, throughout the case studies, informants pointed to the time, effort and planning required to apply for funding to the Scottish Executive and others bodies. Some indicated that they would appreciate assistance from the local Road Safety Officer, School Board and other committed persons in order to maximise their chances of gaining funding. We think that consideration should be given to long- term funding of road safety in the curriculum.
7.23 Recommendation: Ways of mainstreaming SRTS into school and local authority budgets should be explored.
Monitoring and evaluation
7.24 Finally, only six local authorities reported that they had conducted evaluations of SRTS projects. We believe that evidence should be collected to show which approaches are effective and, if possible, to assess their impact on local road accident statistics. Some case study schools recognised the importance of monitoring and evaluation and with the assistance of their Road Safety Officers/Units were beginning to collect evidence to assess the impact of SRTS. For example, one local Road Safety Officer noted that improvements made to areas close to primary schools often also had an impact on the school route taken by secondary school pupils.
7.25 Recommendation: All local authorities should evaluate their SRTS programmes and identify the impact on accident statistics.
Conclusions
7.26 In conclusion, we felt that efforts to improve road safety education for children were paradoxical. On the one hand most of our informants recognised:
- The importance of the topic;
- The need to ensure that children were able to travel safely to and from school;
- The need for appropriate resources and training materials;
- The need to engage actively with pupils, teachers and parents; and
- The need to adopt a co-ordinated approach.
7.27 Yet on the other, many identified obstacles to the implementation and maintenance of effective road safety. These included:
- Lack of an integrated road transport system, which will deal with the volume of road traffic;
- Disaggregation of responsibility and funding for road safety education at local authority level;
- An overcrowded school curriculum;
- The poor image road safety education has amongst some children; and
- The difficulties inherent in changing their behaviour.
7.28 There is now an urgent need to address these, so that the efforts being made by enthusiastic individuals/organisations are not dissipated.