Our School is an active and safe school
We encourage families to ‘leave the car at home’ and consider healthy and active transport options when travelling to and from school. It is recommended children get 1hr of physical activity each day and adults 30minutes to stay fit and healthy. This does not have to occur in a solid block but can be broken up and is easily achieved if you activity travel to and from school each day. For students attending Clontarf Beach State School there are a variety of buses and shared pathways for students and their families to use when actively travelling in the mornings and afternoons.
Active and Safe Maps,
To build on a healthy and active lifestyle we suggest you walk, scoot or cycle to and from school. Even once a week will make a difference. If you are unable to actively travel all the way to and from school, why not try part of the way. Our Active and Safe map (PDF, 2.14MB) is a great resource to get you started! Several meeting points have been identified where you can park a short distance away from school and either walk, cycle or scooter the rest of the way to and from school with your children. These routes average about 800m (and only take 5 - 15 minutes to walk) so it’s an easy way to improve fitness, road safety awareness and spend time together with family and friends.
Walking, Cycling and Scooting
When actively travelling to and from school it is important to cross roads and streets at the appropriate locations, such as supervised crossing, pedestrian refuges or at signalised lights. Children cannot judge speed and distance the same as an adult, which is why it is important, when you are accompanying your child to or from school, your family use the safest route possible. We know everyone’s lives are busy; however, it doesn’t take very much longer to walk to a supervised crossing or pedestrian refuge than to risk yours or your children’s lives.
For everyone who scoots or cycles to school there is a large secure bicycle/scooter parking area. Please ensure your children wear a bicycle helmet when cycling or scootering to and from school. Although the bike cage is locked between school hours we suggest your child brings a bicycle or scooter lock with them.
Catching the public transport
There are a number of buses which service our school. If you would like to consider this as a form of travel to and from school for your child please contact the following bus companies, Kangaroo Bus Lines and Hornibrook Bus Lines, to get information about the timetables and routes.
All students need to conduct themselves in a safe manner when waiting for, travelling on and after exiting a bus. Therefore, if your child is utilising the bus services provided, please ensure they are familiar with the code of conduct.
Carpooling
Carpooling is a great option for those families who have no alternative to driving to and from school, such as those who do external sports in the mornings or afternoon or extracurricular activities like band. There are many benefits carpooling, for example you can save time, share the cost of fuel and maintenance, and you don’t have to compete for a parking spot every day.
Top Ten Tips for Carpooling
1. Have a set time and place to meet
2. Always drive carefully and follow the road rules
3. Ensure your vehicle has the correct seating arrangements for the age of the children in the car
4. Determine your route and schedule – avoid side trips unless pre-arranged
5. If the driving is not equally shared, establish a method for reimbursing driving expenses
6. Keep in touch and establish a chain of communication to prevent misunderstandings
7. Be punctual
8. Establish what music, food and drinks are acceptable in the vehicle
9. Keep your car in good repair
10. Give your carpool time to work
Please note carpooling is not encouraged as an alternative to walking, cycling or catching the bus where these options are available to you. For those families who have no alternative to driving to and from school, we encourage you to take another child, or children, with you if you can. This will improve the safety of the school precinct for your children.
2 Minute Loading Zone
A two-minute drop-off area is located in the carpark, with access through the hall gate. In order to keep this area free of congestion, particularly between 8.15am-8.45am and 2.30pm-3.20pm we ask you comply with the two-minute regulation, and utilise the school and on-street car parks where additional time is required.
Where to safely drop off your children? In the interests of safety, we ask you do not stop in the middle of the carpark or adjacent to school crossings to drop your children off to school. Please park your car in a legal allocated car park and walk your children to the nearest gate. Please do not drive through or drop your children off in the bus bays. This incurs a fine and demerit points and is unsafe for all parties.
In order to keep the school area free of congestion, we ask you use the following strategies:
- Walk or ride to school whenever possible.
- Use the Active and Safe Map and park away from school and walk.
- Tell your children to wait for inside the front gate until 3:10pm when you will find ample parking spaces and can pick your children up easily and without delay.
- Carpool where possible.
In conclusion, we can all work together to reduce congestion around our school but more importantly, we will be teaching our children to be environmentally sustainable whilst encouraging healthy lifestyle options.