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Further Funding to Support Your School Travel Plan

Kent Highway Services is pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to bid for further capital funding to support your School Travel Plan.

What funding is available?

Capital grants of up to £10,000 per school (subject to available funds and a competitive assessment process).

When will it be allocated? 

The funding has been allocated as part of Kent’s Local Transport Plan budget for 2010/11. This is the strategic investment programme for transportation schemes across the county.  A key objective is to develop schemes which encourage sustainable travel and reduce congestion.  Tackling the school-run is a key part of achieving this.

Funding will be made available to successful schools from June 2010 and proof of legitimate use of these funds must be received by 31 March 2011.

What can it be spent on?

This is capital funding that can be spent on any physical feature within the school grounds which you can demonstrate will support the objectives and targets of your school travel plan. Examples include:

• Cycle storage
• Lighting
• Sheltered waiting areas
• New and improved footpaths/cyclepaths 
• Improved access and drop off facilities for buses and private hire vehicles

This is not a definitive list however, and innovative ideas are welcome!

Who is eligible?

To be eligible to apply for this funding you must:

• Have a valid DCSF number 886/xxxx
• Have a school travel plan, which has been in place for at least a year i.e. you received your Government School Travel Plan Grant in 2008 or before
• Have fully utilised your Government School Travel Plan Grant on a legitimate item(s) (evidence may be required)
• Have returned your Annual Review form for 2010 and all previous years, as applicable
• Be able to fully implement your scheme within the financial year 2010/11
• Be able to provide evidence of other funding sources, should you choose to use this grant as match-funding for a larger project 

How to apply?

Complete the application form below, answering all questions as fully and accurately as possible and return to Kent Highway Services by 30 April 2010 (return address on application form)

Last year, 13 schools were successful in accessing funding for various projects. Watch this space, and read the next edition of the “Insight” newsletter next term to see details of how those schools made use of the additional funds.

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  School Travel Plan Funding Application Form

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Update on Approved School Travel Plans

This year has been another bumper year on the School Travel Plans’ front. 87 schools had their travel plans approved countywide, bringing with them a total of just under £500,000.00 of capital grants from the DCSF. This funding will be spent on projects designated by schools within their sites to encourage sustainable modes of travel, and/or measures which will improve safety or access for pupils. Typical expenditure is on improved cycle storage or parent waiting shelters.

KHS also invited schools with travel plans approved before this year to bid for additional funding allocated from the county’s Local Transport Plan budget. 12 schools were successful, and we look forward to seeing the individual plans come to fruition. Successful schools are scattered around the county, and the projects varied.

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New Sustainable Travel to School Information Available via KCC's Schools Searchable Database

Kent Highway Services are pleased to announce the provision of Sustainable Travel to School Information as a new feature within the Schools Searchable Database accessible to the public via the kent.gov.uk website.

A requirement of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 is for all Local Authorities to promote sustainable travel to school and inform existing and prospective pupils, parents and staff of the provisions in place to enable them to travel to school by means other than the private car.

The tick-box information provided under each school gives a broad picture of the types of facilities in place in the vicinity of the school e.g. crossing points, walking buses, zig-zag markings etc. It is intended that a second phase of this project will enable this information to be represented graphically using mapping and GIS e.g. actual walking bus routes and the precise location of crossing points and school crossing patrols.

Additionally a downloadable pdf of all existing School Travel Plans, their objectives, actions and targets will be made available from this web page.

The information has been collected via a combination of fieldwork and desktop research and is correct to the best of our knowledge in October 2008. However, we would like to share ownership of this information with schools and are very happy to amend any details which schools consider to be incorrect or unrepresentative on a case by case basis. Please contact your School Travel Advisor should you wish to discuss any of the information recorded.