Albion Primary takes up council’s pedestrian training for Walk to School Week
21 May 2021
Albion Primary was one of the first schools to take up Southwark Council’s pedestrian training offer for year three students, after the recent relaxation of COVID regulations. Ten of their children met Cllr Catherine Rose, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Environment and Roads and Cllr Radha Burgess, Deputy Cabinet Member for Low Traffic Southwark, outside school on a cloudy morning in Walk to School Week (17 to 21 May).
Students and staff at Albion Primary have been working with the council on their Sustainable Travel: Action, Responsible, Safe (STARS) award, for a number of years. The school is one of 36 in Southwark to have taken up and managed one of the council’s School Street timed road closures, or other traffic management initiatives, outside their school. This means that the road outside Albion Primary is free of moving traffic at drop off and pick up times, making it easier to walk and cycle and that bit nicer and safer.
The ten excited year three children practised basic road crossing, covering Stop, Look and Listen, as part of their pedestrian training. They talked about things that might get in the way when trying to cross the road and learned how to deal with parked cars when crossing. The group also learned about the importance of being in charge of their personal safety, when in time they come to crossing the road alone.
In preparation for this, the council’s Road Safety Officer suggested that the children might offer to take their parent or carer across the road, instead of the other way around, and talk to them about what they’d learned in their pedestrian training.
Catherine Rose said: “The children and staff at Albion Primary have given a clear signal today that they want safe roads and routes from home to school. The junction in a child’s life when they want to walk and travel independently is an important one and this training is vital to create safe, lifelong habits about how to get out about in the world. We need to give a green light to more School Streets, improved air quality and active travel. The children at Albion have active minds through excellent teaching, they need safe ways to travel to fulfil that potential.
“Walking and cycling for short trips is also key to cleaning the air and cutting carbon here in Southwark, so we were delighted when the majority of students in today’s group proudly told us that they had walked, cycled and scootered into school this morning. They are leading the way for the wider community. ”
Karl Bardouille, Head Teacher at Albion Primary, said: “Albion children enjoy walking to school and arriving on their bikes and scooters. This is evident as our four bike sheds are full to the brim! We promote healthy lifestyles here at Albion, through our commitment to keeping active and eating a balanced, healthy hot meal at lunchtime. We promote sustainable travel to and from school in order for children to take this attitude into their next stage in education and beyond.”
Page last updated: 21 May 2021
