Watford Borough Council, in partnership with NSL, has delivered parking safety sessions to select schools in the town as part of a new pilot scheme...
Watford Borough Council, in partnership with its enforcement contractor NSL Ltd, has announced Parkgate Infants & Nursery School as the winner of the school banner competition, which was part of a wider initiative aimed at promoting safe and considerate parking around local schools.
The campaign invited pupils to take part in safety education sessions and as part of this, pupils were invited to design a banner encouraging responsible parking. The winning design from Parkgate Infants & Nursery has been transformed into a large banner displayed at the school gates. The winning pupil won a £20 book voucher, and the school has been awarded £200 in book vouchers. Further book vouchers will be given to the runner up pupils from Watford Field Infants & Nursery School, Cassiobury Infant & Nursery School and Kingsway Infant School.
In addition to the safety sessions, the enforcement team have also been providing schools with flag and posts on a rotation basis to place in areas near the school where there are safety concerns to further encourage considerate parking and circulating leaflets to further raise awareness.
Unsafe and inconsiderate parking during school drop-offs and pick-ups, such as stopping on zigzags, double parking, and blocking driveways, creates safety risks for pupils and residents. By engaging young pupils through education and creativity, the council and their enforcement contractor aims to drive positive change from within the community, encouraging children to take the safety message home and influence parents and carers. Following the success of the trial the Council in partnership with our enforcement contractor will seek to continue to provide safety sessions to schools in the borough.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “I want to congratulate all the schools who took part in this competition for their brilliant efforts. A special well done to Parkgate Infants & Nursery for their winning design. Thank you to every pupil for their creativity and enthusiasm in helping make our school communities safer."
NSL Client Account Manager, John Konate, said: “Thank you to all the pupils for their fantastic efforts in helping promote safer parking around schools. Your creativity and commitment make a real difference. By parking responsibly and following the guidelines around school sites, parents and carers can help reduce risks and ensure every child arrives and leaves school safely.”
The initiative builds on similar successful schemes run in other parts of the country, such as East Sussex, and forms part of a wider behavioural change effort led by the council to improve safety and community wellbeing around schools.
