Our road safety team has shared lots of tips and advice to help your child travel to school safely.
If your child is starting at a new school
The roads near school gates are often very busy at drop-off and pick-up times. Here are some of the things you might be helpful to check before your child starts in their new school.
If you are planning to drive to school as you have no other options:
- Check whether there is a School Street scheme running at your child’s new school.
- Find a place where you can park safely and legally away from the school gate, and then walk the last few metres into school safely.
Remember the SCHOOL KEEP CLEAR markings are there for a reason, to keep children safe, so do not park on them. Please do not park on yellow lines or in front of driveways.
We always encourage parents to walk to school to ensure the road outside the school is less busy and visibility is maximized for all road users. You can find additional information on our road safety page.
Walking safely together
- Holding hands with young children and ensuring they walk on the inside of the pavement
- Talking about road safety during your journeys. This could include:
- Spotting and understanding basic road signs
- Walking safely on the pavement (no running, no playing with balls)
- Finding a safer place to cross (for example at zebra, pelican, puffin crossings, pedestrian islands or dropped and tactile kerbs)
- If your school has a school crossing patroller, they will help you to cross the road safely
- Practicing the Stop, Look, Listen and Think sequence every time you cross the road with your child
- You can be a good role model for your child by:
- always using a safer place to cross
- putting your phone away when crossing the road to demonstrate distraction-free crossing
- always waiting for the green man
- always looking and listening as you cross the road
- walking straight across the road, but not running.
Is your child ready to travel to school without an adult?
Every child develops road safety awareness at a different rate. Studies show that children under 10 years of age have not yet fully developed the ability to judge the speed and distance of oncoming traffic.
You know your child best, so here are some indicators to look out for to determine whether your child might be ready to travel to school without an adult:
- They consistently show an awareness of traffic when walking near roads and crossing the roads.
- They can tell and demonstrate the Green Cross Code every time they cross the road.
- If they cross between parked cars or at junctions, they consistently show they can do it in a safer way
- If they consider a place to be unsafe to cross, they keep walking on the pavement until they find a safer place to cross
- They know to always wait for the green man and to not follow anyone else into the road without looking and listening themselves.
- They understand what risky behaviour and peer pressure is.
- They know to avoid being distracted by friends, music or their phone when crossing the road.
Travelling to school without an adult
If you think that your child demonstrates their road safety skills consistently and confidently, you might decide that they are ready to walk to school without supervision, you can still support them by:
- Planning their route with them. You could use their school’s walking map to support you
- Rehearsing the route with them so you can identify any danger or risks that you had not planned and change part of the route if necessary
- Being a good role model
- Encouraging your child to learn more about the rules of the road. The Department for Transport has published a digital booklet called Tales of the road: highway code for young road users.
Scooting to school
Getting to school by scooter has become increasingly popular with children, especially those not yet able to cycle.
Scooting encourages active travel from an early age and develops skills which will also help with cycling such as steering, stopping and balancing. As well as being fun, it encourages children to exercise. Like walking and cycling, it is a more sustainable way to get to and from school. Here are some safety guidelines to follow:
- Ensure your child has the correct scooter. Three-wheeled scooters are perfect for those who need extra support with their balance. Two-wheeled scooters are great for older kids who have found their balance.
- Ensure your child can ride their scooter. You can teach basic skills to your child, for example understanding how to brake, avoiding obstacles or responding to pedestrians on the route by giving way to them. You can also check whether your school offers scooter training.
- Plan the route to school. Ensure the surface is smooth, flat and always avoid steep hills. It is also vital to make sure your child will never have to scoot in the road. Traffic will not expect to see them on the road, so a collision is more likely to occur. Scooter wheels are also smaller than bikes, so they are more likely to get caught in drain covers or potholes.
- Always undertake a safety check of the scooter, checking handlebars and brakes. Avoid putting any bags on the handlebars as this will off balance the scooter.
- Ensure your child wears sensible clothing. We recommend that they wear reflective and bright clothing such as a vest or armbands, especially when days are shorter. Consider the use of a helmet as well as arm and knee pads.
Find more tips from Sustrans.
Cycling to school
We recommend that children under 10 years old do not cycle on their own to school, as road situations vary and change very quickly, and split-second decisions will have to be made.
We recommend that they complete at least Bikeability Level 2 training before cycling on the road, so they have the skills to cycle safely. It is a parent’s decision to allow them to cycle on the road.
If cycling, it is important to check that their bike is safe to ride, that they wear a cycle helmet and wear appropriate clothing (including some bright and reflective elements, especially when it is dark). Make sure to fit reflectors and lights to the bike especially when the days are shorter.
Planning your child’s route with them is also important. You could use our cycling map to help you.
Taking the bus to school
Taking the bus can be a quicker way to get to and from school for some children.
The following tips may be helpful to build children’s confidence for independent travel and keep them safe when travelling by bus:
- check whether there is a bus route from your home to the school, and if there is, check where the closest bus stops are
- check the bus times with your child or children
- remind them to stand a few feet away from the edge of the road while waiting for a bus
- remind them to always stay seated on the bus and to not behave in a way that could distract the bus driver
- when getting off a bus, they should never cross the road directly behind or in front of it. They should instead wait until it has moved off and they can see the road clearly in both directions before crossing
- practice what to do if something goes wrong, such as their bus not turning up or missing their stop.
Useful resources to help teach your child about road safety: