Mundellla Primary School, Sheffield: ‘We’d like people to try and park further away’

​“In a morning, when I walk to school, it’s all chaos around here,” she said.

Hannah is a pupil at Mundella Primary School at Norton Lees and this Monday she was helping at a new School Streets barrier outside the school on Mundella Place, where the main entrance to the school is 50 metres from the road entrance.

“People park on the corners and everywhere. It’s not good for the environment, or for safety,” said Hannah.

The trial of a School Street at Mundella will be for 18 months, and follows an education programme by the Modeshift Stars organisation, working for the council.

There was also a consultation with the local and school community, which found 89 per cent of respondents supported a School Street at the school, said Laurie Butler, from Modeshift Stars.

Birju Kotak, the school’s business manager, confirmed pupil Hannah’s assessment of the situation on the cul-de-sac outside the school gate. Many people dropping off children would often be driving as close to the entrance as possible, before manoeuvring across both sides of the road and driving off again.

“Now, we’d like people to try and park a bit further away so they walk to school,” she said. “It’s safer for the kids, and it’s better for the environment and air quality too.”

There are now 15 School Streets across the city, mostly at primary schools, but also one secondary, Astrea Academy at Pitsmoor. Usually the streets operate at morning and afternoon opening times. At Mundella. unauthorised motor vehicles will be legally barred from the outside road from 8.15am to 9.15am and 2.45pm to 3.45pm.

Coun Ben Miskell, chair of the council’s transport, regeneration and climate policy committee, was helping at the barriers on Monday alongside fellow councillor Rob Bannister, who represents the ward.

Coun Miskell wants all Sheffield primary schools to have a School Street eventually, if the school is not prevented from taking part, due to being on a main road or bus route, for example.

Four or five new School Streets will be launched per year for the moment, with the next at Watercliffe Meadows on October 7, with consultations for possible School Streets at Pye Bank and Broomhill launching over the next month.

School Streets carry a signed legal exclusion for unauthorised vehicles at their operating times and Coun Miskell hopes to trial camera enforcement in future.

School Streets are monitored by cameras rather than volunteers in some London schemes, he said, which makes the school safety schemes more sustainable.

Funding for the Sheffield schemes comes largely from the payments into the Clean Air Zone, so drivers paying the charge are enabling children and parents to walk or wheel to school more safely, he said.

At present one of the challenges is to find volunteers to staff the barriers. Often this will be parents or carers from the school community.

So the council and NHS supported BetterPoints scheme has stepped in to help by giving each School Streets volunteer a free thankyou coffee or tea through the scheme.

BetterPoints rewards walking, wheeling or public transport trips with discounts at local shops and points redeemable for gift cards, hot drinks or for donations to local charities.

“We’ll be promoting School Streets and volunteering to help them to our current 15,000 plus participants in Sheffield,” said Jack Windle of BetterPoints.

“And behind the scenes we can also collect anonymised data to help the council improve safety for children on school travel routes: we’ve already worked with Sheffield University to help improve student safety on their journeys.”

The key to helping kids travel to school safely is the community in and around the school, Jack said. “Nearby drivers can help by slowing down and parking safely, and if parents or carers give themselves time to walk to school with their scooting, cycling or strolling kids, everyone has more fun and a better start to the day.”