St Peter’s Primary joins Southwark Council to help clean Southwark’s air

8 October 2020

Southwark Council signs up St Peter’s Primary, the latest school to commit to tackling poor air quality for students and staff, this Clean Air Day. Cllr Catherine Rose and Cllr Johnson Situ, joined Executive Head teacher, Justin Burtt, Deputy Head, Claudette Green and young members of the School Council.

Southwark Council is working to get all of its primary schools signed up to its School Travel Plans, and is currently working with 68 schools (65 per cent). The council will be working with St Peter’s, supporting their journey towards securing improved road safety at the school gates and cleaner air for everybody at school, as part of their Travel Plan.

The council helps schools to looks at the journeys that children and staff take to school and investigate the reasons behind these trips, in order to understand and encourage safer, healthier travel. It offers bike and scooter training, as well as bike maintenance sessions, walking route planners and more. Sadly, current government guidelines make much of this difficult at the moment, but it’s a good time for St Peters to start its investigation.

The children on the School Council represent their friends in years four, five and six. They explained that they like to walk to school, spend lots of time playing in the neighbouring Burgess Park and love trees for their ability to clean the air, create homes for wildlife and make paper.

As part of its School Travel Plans, Southwark Council is working to help the boroughs’ primary schools to implement a trial School Streets, where roads outside schools are closed to motor traffic at drop off and pick up times. Schools work hard to make sure children, parents, neighbours and school staff are supportive of such works. The council has 15 School Streets in action, with another 53 planned and the vast majority of schools opt to make timed road closures permanent, when the trial is up.

If you want to find out if your school has a Travel Plan, or suggest it for accreditation, you are welcome to contact the council at: highways@southwark.gov.uk

Cllr Catherine Rose, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Environment and Roads, said: “I am delighted to welcome St Peter’s Primary to our growing list of School Travel Plan schools. We know that activity can greatly improve a child’s ability to focus and learn in the classroom. This makes walking, cycling and scootering safely, an excellent way to travel to school.

“It was lovely to hear first-hand from the children that they understand the importance of looking after the environment and to see their enthusiasm for walking, cycling and our BMX track in Burgess Park.

“We hope that with our support, everyone at St Peter’s can take further steps to more sustainable, active and safe journeys to school.” 

Justin Burtt, Executive Head Teacher at St Peter’s, said: “Air pollution is a big problem for society as a whole but it can have a particularly significant effect on children’s health. Exhaust fumes can inhibit not only lung growth but brain growth as well. Also it can cause more unnecessary respiratory illnesses in children. It is clear when talking to our children that they have a real desire to live and learn in a pollution free environment and that they care deeply about the environment.

“Clean air will make all of our community, children, staff and parents healthier. We hope that working with the council on this important issue will ensure that our children engage more freely in physical activity, that they will have healthy lungs and that their brain and cognitive capacity will develop as it should.”

Page last updated: 20 October 2020