Healthy schools & TRAVEL PLAN
Healthy Schools London Award
The healthy schools rating scheme is a voluntary scheme awarded by the Major of London for schools that recognise, encourage and contribute to the support of pupils' health and wellbeing.
We have just received our Gold award for healthy schools.
Rainbow Champions
The Rainbow Team work with a selected group of children that are recognised as being good friends to all. These children are known in school as our rainbow champions and can be recognised by their rainbow badges and lanyards!
They work as a team, similarly to how the school council operates, to help their peers in resolving issues. They meet on a half termly basis with Mrs Sfaltos to take part in activities including role play where they can practise supporting their friends in restorative play.
Every week, our Rainbow Champions lead a lunchtime club 'Troubles Tuesday's' with Mrs Bones. This club gives all infant children the opportunity to talk to a peer about something that is troubling them. It is also a safe space for children to enjoy quiet games, indoor positive play and mindfulness colouring.
Links to support keeping healthy:
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
https://www.healthforkids.co.uk/
https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/activities/sports-and-activities/
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/active-kids.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers
https://www.place2be.org.uk/our-services/services-for-schools/mental-health-resources-for-schools/
Travel Plan
At Scotts, we participate in the TRAVEL PLAN scheme that helps us to achieve our TfL STARS accreditation. STARS rewards schools that promote safer and active travel behaviour which consequently helps to increase the number of pupils and staff who walk, scooter and cycle to and from school and therefore helps us to reduce the traffic around our school. We also help year 6 children prepare for their journey to secondary school.
We are proud to announce that as of September 2021, we have a been awarded gold level TfL STARS accreditation and have maintained this level in 2022 and 2023. Well done to all staff, children and parents for the work involved in being awarded at this level.
2022/2023 travel plan targets
- Increase park and stride to 10%. Activities will be carried out such as assemblies, banner competition and campaign, anti idling campaign etc
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Increase scooting from 9% to 12%. This is being supported by additional scooter storage funding which has been secured and will be installed in 2022/23.
2022/2023 focus travel plan issues
- EYFS - We would like to develop our children's physical ability further, through the use of a wider range of bikes and scooters. We would also like to create more road safety role play opportunities for pupils outside.
- Bonington Road Safety - Increase sight lines for pupils crossing the road outside the school gates to encourage more walking and cycling.
- Parking - The increase in our pupil numbers has obviously impacted on traffic and parking outside the school gates. Outside the front gate parking restrictions have been put in place by Havering council, so the congestion has improved. However at the back gate in Maybank avenue we have had reports from parents of illegal parking on a residents drive and blocking of drives. The bollards to prevent illegal parking at the Maybank entrance have now been reinstated. Havering parking enforcement have visited along with our local councillor to assess the parking.
- Shelter for parents - To encourage parents to walk and collect children, we would like to install a shelter/canopy for parents to wait in inclement weather.
JTAs
Each year in September, we employ Junior Travel Ambassadors (JTAs). Their job is to make travelling to and from school safer and more active for their friends and school mates. They do this by researching, planning, promoting and delivering safer, active independent travel activities via assemblies, competitions and events. The JTAs meet with our local road safety officer who awards them with a JTA badge and high visibility vest whilst introducing them to the role.
Scootfit
Our EYFS/KS1 children thoroughly enjoyed their scooter training session, as did parents in the after school session!
Year 6 Safer Bus Trip
Learning how to travel safely and independently. The children worked with TfL and the Metropolitan Police to help to prepare them for secondary school.
Year 5 cycle proficiency lesson
Anti-idling event
Thank you to our JTAs and our year 4 children who took part in an anti-idling event in the autumn term. They took part in a workshop to understand the impact this has on the environment and created posters to action against this happening. Our JTAs then took part in an anti-idling action event, where they spoke to parents, and in this case, thanked them for not leaving their cars idling.
Bikeability Training with year 5
Some of our students in year 5 are shown here, busy peddling towards their level one and two Bikeability certificates.
Thanks to the expert instructors, pupils have developed better, safer cycling habits that have prepared them for dealing with short journeys to school and the local shops. Thank you!
Cycle Awareness Day for Key Stage 1 Children
Luckily, the sun was still shining and lovely and warm when some of our children in year 1 and year 2 participated in our bike and scooter training recently. This event was thoroughly enjoyed and their class teachers have reported that the children returned back to class with big smiles.
We Promote School Trips Using Public Transport
On a recent visit to the Metro Bank in Romford, our year fives used public transport to travel there and back.
