Award criteria

higher standards level

The school travel plan document should have met all criteria for the 'sustainable' level. To meet the accreditation level for 'higher standards' the plan must be at the review stage or beyond. The school should show a higher level of participation in sustainable travel initiatives provided by their local authority and TfL, combined with a more innovative approach to their travel plan and related actions, consultation and monitoring.

The left-hand column of all criteria indicates the links to Every Child Matters and where these elements should be included in the self-evaluation form. Each criterion applies to SEN schools unless otherwise stated.

Part one

School travel plan document

Details should be provided to confirm that the document contains relevant information required for 'sustainable' level

Research, monitoring and evaluation

ECM 4.2 / 4 /3
SEF 2a, 2b
Review of travel modes has been completed yearly since the plan was approved with information on the key indicators - travel to and from school, preferred travel to and from school and obstacles to sustainable travel Not applicable to SEN schools
SEF 2a, 2b For SEN schools - data should be provided on how each child travels to school and compared to the data from the previous year
SEF 2a, 2b Staff are involved in surveys
ECM 3.8.5
SEF 2a, 2b
Comparisons of year on year data have been made and progress has been evaluated
ECM 4.3 / 4.3.4 Pupils are involved in monitoring - For SEN schools see below criteria
For SEN pupils - if pupils are unable to be involved in monitoring they are asked for their views on their journey to school and this is recorded
ECM 3.8.5
SEF 2d
Progress reported against targets (this can be done within the action plan - see below)
A date is set for the next survey and next review
A date is also set for a complete rewrite of the plan. Each plan must be totally rewritten every three years to accommodate the new influx of pupils
SEF 2d Reviews of the plan have provided evidence of modal shift away from the car for at least for part of the journey (or there are at least 90% of pupils travelling by sustainable modes where schools already have high levels of sustainable travel and modal shift is difficult to achieve)

Consutation

ECM 4.3 / 5.3.4 A list of representatives on the working group is provided (should include student representatives) or the school can demonstrate how information is circulated throughout the school and how all members of the school community are involved
ECM 4.7 For SEN schools, if students are not able to belong to this group, then the school must demonstrate how information is circulated throughout the school and how all members of the school community are involved
SEF 2a The school has provided minutes of meetings held with governors, staff, senior management team and school council (if appropriate - not applicable to SEN schools)
SEF 2a Details of further consultation on the plan since it was approved are listed (this should include residents and other stakeholders)
Examples of pupils work relating to the plan (eg survey analysis or posters) is contained within the travel plan document
ECM 4.3.4 / 1.3.3 The school has carried out walking/cycling audits with pupils. For further clarification on this, you should contact your School Travel Advisor

Engineering

ECM 2.2 Problems/issues on the journey to school have been identified and evidence has been provided as to how these were identified and by whom
ECM 2.2 / 2.4 / 3.6.1 These issues have been solved through engineering measures if applicable (or an explanation has been provided as to why not)
Information on STP engineering measures has been circulated throughout the school

Action plan and targets

SEF 2d Progress has been recorded against the original action plan (this will preferably be included as an additional column)
A new action plan has been set for the following year that includes sustaining actions and implementing new initiatives
SEF 2d Progress has been reported against original targets
ECM 3.8.5 Targets have been updated and reset if necessary. An explanation has been given for not reaching targets and a summary of the work in progress to remedy this has been provided
ECM 4.3 Student council/pupil groups are responsible for specific points within the action plan. This may not be appropriate for SEN schools, which do not have to meet this particular criterion

Funding

Details are included within the plan on the allocation of the DfES capital grant and other funding made available from Transport for London
Photos are provided of what the funding has been spent on

Curriculum

SEF 3c There is evidence that sustainable travel has been incorporated into the curriculum (eg curriculum links, lesson plans, photos of display materials)
The school receives Theatre in Education performances on sustainable travel (reasons are given if this is not possible)

Promotion

The school promotes sustainable travel initiatives through a variety of means, eg:
- Newsletter
- Notice Board
- Parents evenings/induction evenings
- Information on the websites/within the prospectus
- Competitions
- Information sent to residents
- Letter from the head teacher
- Letter from school council to school community
- Parent coffee mornings
ECM 2.1/1.1
SEF 2c
The school promotes the school travel plan through at least three of these methods on a termly basis

Part two

To qualify for a 'higher standards' award, a school must demonstrate it has taken initiatives further. The school should meet all criteria in at least one of the four categories and one of the criteria from each of the other categories. It is recognised that schools will not be able to achieve all criteria in all categories.

SEN schools must provide details of what has been achieved in a particular area in the section provided and these will be considered on an individual basis.

Walking initiatives

ECM 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3 / 1.2.6 School takes part in WoW - Walk Once a Week/Walk on Wednesdays/Walk Whenever
ECM 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3 / 1.2.6 The school rewards children for walking in other ways/using other schemes eg pedometer schemes
ECM 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3 / 1.2.6 The school runs walking events not just tied to the journey to school eg sponsored walks
The school has investigated the possibility of a walking bus and implemented this if appropriate
Other schemes - the school should provide details of other relevant schemes

Cycling initiatives

ECM 1.3 The school has cycle storage facilities in place and an adequate number of spaces is provided
ECM 1.1 / 1. 2 / 1.3 / 1.2.6 The school runs cyclist training courses for year 6 pupils and has investigated the possibility of extending this training to other age ranges and to staff
ECM 1.1 / 1. 2 / 1.3 / 1.2.6 The school has investigated the possibility of pool bikes for pupils to use
ECM 1.1 / 1. 2 / 1.3 / 1.2.6 The school has other schemes in place to reward pupils for cycling to school e.g. cycling competitions
ECM 1.1 / 1. 2 / 1.3 / 1.2.6 The school runs sponsored cycling events
ECM 3.6 / 2.1 / 1.2 / 1.3 / 1.2.6 / 1.3.3 The school organises bike maintenance sessions for pupils and staff
Staff and visitors are encouraged to cycle wherever possible
ECM 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3 The school distributes/displays local cycle maps (these can be provided by TfL)
ECM 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3 Other schemes - the school should provide details on other relevant schemes

Car sharing initiatives

The school promotes car sharing as an alternative to individual pupils travelling separately to school by car and has an informal system in place if applicable
ECM 1.3.3 / 2.1 /2.2 The school is implementing ways to discourage irresponsible behaviour among parents who drive their children to school
Other schemes - the school should provide details of other relevant schemes

Public transport initiatives

ECM 3.6 / 2.2 The school promotes the use of public transport and the free U16 scheme available to all pupils in London.
ECM 3.1 The school promotes the use of public transport through various methods eg travel leaflets, information on notice boards and on the school website
The school holds public transport information workshops for pupils and parents where there is information on local routes (if a secondary school)
ECM 2.1 / 2.2 The school has tackled issues of anti-social behaviour on local buses through the development of innovative schemes, if applicable

SEN Schools

SEN schools will need to provide specific information on initiatives developed within their schools

Part three

Further initiatives which a 'higher standards' school would be expected to implement in addition to the initiatives detailed above:

Road safety initiatives

ECM 2.1 / 2.2 The schools should have a Junior Road Safety Officer (JRSO) scheme in operation (primary only). If this is not possible, explain why
ECM 2.1 / 2.2 The school should promote Dangerous Games (secondary only). If this is not possible, explain why
ECM 2.1 / 2.2 The school implements transitional work (both primary and secondary). If this is not possible, explain why
ECM 2.1 / 2.2 The school implements pedestrian skills training (primary only) and or Theatre in Education on road safety education (primary and secondary)

Partnership initiatives

ECM 2.4
SEF 1b
The school can demonstrate partnership work with Road Safety Officers (from local council)
ECM 2.4
SEF 1b
The school can demonstrate partnership work with the Police eg Safer Neighbourhood Teams
SEF 1b The school is working towards or has obtained National Healthy Schools Standard
SEF 1b The school can demonstrate partnership work with Schools Sports Coordinators (from local council)
SEF 1b The school has entered the London Mayors Environment Award or the school is an Eco School

Part four

To be implemented by the School Travel Advisor:

Information from original survey and annual review surveys has been recorded on the Itrace monitoring database by the School Travel Advisor. The school travel plan and review/s has been signed off by the Assistant Director (or above) of Transportation and the Assistant Director (or above) of Families and Children's Services

Part five

Please provide any additional information not included within the criteria to support your application. This section is optional.