Guide to creating your school travel plan
Download the school travel plan template
Steps to create and deliver your school travel plan
- Download the travel plan template - it is an interactive Word document
- Allocate the role of Travel Plan Coordinator to one or more members of staff and decide who else will be involved in the creation and delivery of your travel plan.
- Carry out a hands up survey of pupils showing how they travel to school
- Complete the school travel plan template
- Send template to Sustainability & Climate Change team for comment and sign off. Email: Sustainability and Climate Change team at move@herefordshire.gov.uk
- Promote to all stakeholders. For example, parents, Governors, residents, using internal communications and on your school website
- Implement your travel plan action plan
- Every 12 months - carry out a hands up survey and review and update your travel plan
- Deliver your travel plan.
What is covered in the school travel plan template
The travel plan template covers everything you need to include in your travel plan. Simply add in the missing information (prompts in red) to complete it.
The template contains the following elements to help provide a clear picture of the travel issues facing your school:
- Your school information
- Travel plan working group members
- School travel site audit
- Hands up survey results
- Targets - what you want to achieve through your travel plan
- Action plan - what you will do to achieve the targets
- Monitoring and review - the template sets out the process and who is responsible
However, when it comes to school travel planning, there is no one single approach that works for all schools. While we do recommend using the template, the style of your travel plan is up to you and could be anything from a formal document to something less formal designed by students. The important thing is that it is achievable, and has the support and engagement of the whole school community.
Role of the Travel Plan Coordinator
The school designates a Travel Plan Coordinator who:
- Completes the travel plan
Whilst writing the travel plan the Travel Plan Coordinator should look to include others across the school group including students, Eco Council members, Governors, parents, local residents and teachers. - Implements the travel plan and reports to the Head and or Governors
Delivery of a travel plan is normally in conjunction with Eco School Committee and other teachers.
Annual hands up travel survey
The school travel plan template asks you to carry out and record the data from a simple hands up survey about how pupils travel to school. It helps you establish a baseline of data and also to identify the key issues you need to address through your travel plan.
Each year at the same time the Travel Plan Coordinator carries out a simple hands up survey. This provides data which can be used to monitor progress. The simplest survey just asks and records the answers to the question:
- How do you normally travel to school?
You may also want to ask additional questions to pupils and or parents including:
- What concerns do you currently have about walking/wheeling/cycling/scooting to school?
- What would encourage you to walk/wheel/cycle/scoot more often?
- What do you like about walking/wheeling/cycling/scooting to school?
- What would encourage you to catch the bus to school?
The travel plan template provides space to record the results of your survey.
How to set your travel plan targets
These are targets for you to achieve each year. Once you have conducted your travel survey you will have a baseline set of data and a better understanding of the objectives you would like to achieve. There is no right or wrong - just look to set targets that will provide a positive impact yet are achievable. Most commonly schools want to see a reduction in the number of pupils being driven to school. So in the first year of the plan aim for a 3-5% reduction in this number whilst setting the target to increase other methods of travel by the same figure.
Actions to include in your action plan
Within the travel plan template there is a list of suggested actions. You can find more information about some of these schemes on the school travel plan page.
- Choose the actions you think best support your school's aims and objectives
- Consider the results of your hands up survey
- Pick enough actions to ensure you make a positive impact but be realistic about your capacity to deliver
Involve your pupils in the delivery of the travel plan
Involving your pupils can help gain greater commitment. For example:
- Ask your pupil committees such as Eco Schools or Road Safety to identify the issues their fellow pupils are facing on their commute to school
- Ask pupils to conduct the hands up survey
- Involve pupils in helping to promote the travel plan through the website and or school newsletter
Send a copy of your completed travel plan to us at Herefordshire Council
Please send your completed travel plan to Herefordshire Council's Sustainability and Climate Change team at move@herefordshire.gov.uk to ensure that we are aware of your travel plan and can provide support. You may also wish the team to provide helpful comments and further guidance. Once it is complete the main thing is to start implementing your action plan.
Promote your travel plan
Some schools promote as they start writing their travel plan while others announce when then have completed it. Either way, it is important to emphasise the reasons your school has developed your travel plan and what you are trying to achieve with it.
- Use your school website, newsletter, noticeboards, assemblies and/or other channels to announce that you're working on a school travel plan and explain why.
- Use this promotion to ask for assistance.
Review and update your travel plan
Your travel plan lasts for as long as your school continues to deliver it. To keep it current and to measure progress you should review and update it once a year.
- Carry out your hands up survey at the same time each year
- Record the results of the survey in your travel plan
- Review the results and update or amend your action plan accordingly