Forty Borough Schools Win Award for Encouraging Sustainable Travel
STARS scheme encourages children to think about how they get to school
Pupils being urged to walk, cycle or scoot to school if they can
Forty schools across Hounslow borough have now been officially accredited by Transport for London (TfL) for their commitment to sustainable travel.
The Sustainable Travel, Active, Responsible, Safe (STARS) programme is an online accreditation scheme that aims to encourage children and their schools to think and act differently about travel and its impact on their health, wellbeing and the environment. The programme works to address issues of congestion at the school gates, road safety and air quality and urges children to walk, cycle or scoot to school if they can.
Schools can achieve three levels of accreditation under the STARS scheme - Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each requires different activities to be completed. Of the 40 accredited schools in the borough, four are now bronze accredited, ten are silver and 26 have achieved gold.
Schools that have been give the Gold award include Belmont Primary School, The Green School for Girls, Grove Park Primary School, Isleworth Town Primary School, Ivybridge Primary School, Lionel Primary School, Stand-on-the-Green Infant and Nursery School plus the Junior school, The William Hogarth Primary School and St Paul’s CofE Primary School. Silver award winners include Cavendish Primary School and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Chiswick.
Hounslow Council says that the average journey to school is less than one kilometre and many of these journeys are made by car.
Schools that sign up to the STARS programme are supported by Hounslow Council officers as well as by a designated champion at the school. Outside agencies also assist the scheme with educational sessions, including with police providing advice on road safety and Junior Road Watch, a scheme to prevent speeding around schools.
Participation in the STARS scheme also has wider benefits for schools and children. It means that participating schools gain priority access to free road safety education courses including Junior Road Watch, Pedestrian Skills Training and Bikeability training. It also counts towards Healthy Schools silver and gold awards, allows Junior Travel Ambassadors to develop real world skills and acts as evidence of promoting and achieving active travel to Ofsted, local residents and other groups.
Hounslow Council’s Cabinet member for Children, Learning and Employment, Councillor Lily Bath said, “We want to make sure that all schools in our borough can take advantage of the benefits the STARS scheme offers with active, healthy children and cleaner air. At the same time, we want to reduce the dominance of cars on our roads so that it is safer for children to walk and cycle as much as possible.
“Healthy, active schoolchildren are more engaged at school and physical exercise offers a boost to mental wellbeing too. I encourage every school to become an accredited participant in the STARS scheme; you will be supported and reap the many benefits with a cleaner, safer local community around your school.”
All schools across the borough are welcome to join the STARS programme. For more information, email STA@hounslow.gov.uk.
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November 16, 2022