Go Smarter

Please consider running any of the activities listed here for your school. 

For any advice, please contact gosmarter@northtyneside.gov.uk For any activity, or just to inform people on active travel, road safety, air pollution etc., consider telling everyone by: 

• Writing a newsletter article
• Using Facebook / X / School App
• School assembly
• Speaking to school council

When parents need to bring the car on the school run, encourage them to park away from school and walk the last part of the journey.

• Write a newsletter article to tell parents
• Send them a map of surrounding streets

Perhaps there is a particular location where parents can park the car and then walk to the school. 

• Look for a place between 5 to 10-minutes’ walk from school, for example a pub or supermarket car park.
• Ask the owners for permission for your school parents to use at drop off and pick up.
• Possibly design a ‘permit’ for parents to show in their car window

Provide parents, staff and visitors with a mini–travel plan in order to highlight: 

• Walking routes
• Cycling routes
• Bus services
• Metro travel 

Contact the Go Smarter team for a document for your school.

Provide a map of the school and its surrounding streets, highlighting 5 and 10-minute walking zones.

The Go Smarter team can create a map for you if you would like to request one from: gosmarter@northtyneside.gov.uk

Encourage parents to leave the car at home for a day. 

• Choose a suitable date.
• Encourage all parents to either leave the car at home on that day, or at least park away from school and walk the last part.
• If possible, suggest a place that they can ‘park and stride’. If this place belongs to someone – a pub or a shop for example; always ask permission.
• Survey pupils as they arrive on the day to find out how they travelled.
• Perhaps have a competition to see which class had the most active travellers

Encourage pupils to walk to school for a week. 

• Choose a suitable week.
• Encourage all parents and children to travel as actively as possible for the week.
• If possible, suggest a place that they can ‘park and stride’. If this place belongs to someone – pub, shop, for example; always ask permission.
• Ask all pupils to ‘sign in’ all week, explaining how they travelled.
• Give an award to the class with the most active travel recorded.

Encourage pupils to cycle to school while decorating their bikes. 

• Choose a suitable date.
• Encourage all children to cycle all or some of the way to school that day.
• If possible, suggest a place that they can ‘park and stride’. If this place belongs to someone – pub, shop, for example; always ask permission.
• Hold a competition for the person with the best decorated bike.
• Think about including walkers with decorated shoes.
• Make sure all cyclists know where in school to put their bikes.

Encourage pupils to travel actively by rewarding them with breakfast. 

• Check if the school could provide a drink and small breakfast for each child taking part.
• Choose a suitable date.
• Encourage all children to travel actively and arrive early that day.
• If possible, suggest a place that they can ‘park and stride’. If this place belongs to someone – pub, shop, for example; always ask permission.
• Provide an area where children can sit and eat.

Request parents to turn off engines while stationary, and park safely 

• Decide all the things you would like parents in cars to do each day. This could include parking away from the gates, not leaving engines running, reducing speed, not parking on paths.
• Create a document including all of your ideas, make posters and write a newsletter article.
• The team can provide electronic versions of the poster shown right, or work with your School Council to put up stickers on lamp posts.

Promote the importance of not stopping or parking on the School Keep Clear yellow zig zags. 

Discuss:

• what School Keep Clear markings mean
  Keep clear during the times shown
  No stopping or waiting
• the reason for them
  Make it less dangerous for children to cross the road near school
  Allow drivers to see children
• what would the punishment be for stopping there? 
  Penalty charge notice from Civil Enforcement Officer (traffic warden) or camera car 

Hold a competition to design the best poster 

Create a social media campaign or newsletter

Get rewarded for your work on environmental projects 

• Register at www.eco-schools.org.uk
• Register activities online 

Activity with Go Smarter can help you complete the Transport section

Bikeability 

cycling@northtyneside.gov.uk 

Pedestrian training 

Lynn.O’Sullivan@northtyneside.gov.uk 

Go Smarter bike maintenance videos 

https://bit.ly/2EyV8Ag 

Cycling and walking maps 

https://gosmartergoactive.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2021/07/north-tyneside-20k-map.pdf

Nexus Live Travel Maps

https://livemap.nexus.org.uk/#/liveDepartures 

North Tyneside Council Cycle to Work scheme 

https://www.vivupbenefits.co.uk/ 

Active North Tyneside 

https://www.activenorthtyneside.org.uk/