Schools Funding

Introduction

Since 2003 the Government has had a capital grant system in place in an attempt to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and encourage children to cycle to school.

Every school in England is eligible for support towards the funding of cycle shelters, canopies, parent waiting shelters and storage lockers. Primary schools can receive £3750 + £5 per pupil and secondary schools £5000 + £5 per pupil.

Applying for funding

In order to gain access to this funding, schools must have a travel plan in place. School travel plans (STP's) must fulfil a number of criteria, and based on this your local authority will assess your eligibility to qualify for funding. As a rough guideline your STP should contain information on each of the following elements:

1. Introduction

• School name, address, number of pupils
• Type of school
• Age range of pupils
• Description of the schools location and local community
• DfES number
• No. of staff
• School opening times

School Statement

• Why are you setting up a travel plan?
• Travel issues raised as a result of your surveys?
• Travel needs of others, such as, staff, community members etc.
• Are there any clubs/activities outside school opening hours?

Survey

• Date of survey
• No. of respondents
• Survey example
• Current methods of transport
• Information on those using public transport/school bus etc

You must also include evidence (e.g. all correspondence) to support your application. It is important that your survey data is no older than 18 months and you will need to also provide all information from detailed questions.

2. Action Plan

This is basically a list of objectives that you hope your travel plan will achieve, e.g. reduced congestion at peak times, and how you aim to achieve these.

3. Monitoring

Your plan will need to include dates of when you will be reviewing and updating your STP. In order to do this you will need to carry out another student survey.

Your local council employ a number of school travel plan advisors who are there to assist you throughout the process. You can get in touch with your travel plan advisor through your local council or via Sustrans.

The following links may be useful:

Sustrans is the UK's leading sustainable transport charity, aiming to reduce the number of cars on the road and increase walking and the use of bikes and public transport.

Urban Engineering has a good relationship with the Sustrans team, and over the years has regularly donated a number of bike racks to be installed at schools around the country.

Visit the Sustrans website for a wide range of helpful resources, such as key stats, downloadable fact sheets and general help and guidance with your travel plan application.

Sustrans runs a number of campaigns including, Bike It focusing on increasing cycling in particular amongst young people. Bike It has a number of local officers around the country, click on your nearest officer for further details:

London - Marina Litteck & Andy Casson

Brighton & Hove - Gary Shipp

Exeter - Emma Osborne

Bristol, Bath & South Gloucestershire - Katherine Rooney

Derby & Leicester - Dave Clasby

Greater Manchester - Vincent Goodwin

Doncaster & Darlington - Vicki Hill

Aylesbury - Sam Pickard

Lancaster - Kathy Bashford

Cycling England was set up by the government to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and promote safe cycling as an alternative. Six towns and cities throughout the country have been chosen as ‘demonstration towns' to lead the way in endorsing cycling across England. Click below for further details:

Aylesbury, Brighton, Darlington, Derby, Exeter, Lancaster

Contains a wide range of information designed for, local authorities, schools, teachers and parents.

Provides guidelines for improving road safety, and have a number of downloadable resources for road safety officers and teachers.