Together we can make it way safer and easier for more children to walk, bike and scooter to school. We're here to support your school.
Good-to-go ways to get to school
Good-to-go ways to get to school is an exciting programme designed to support schools in encouraging safe, active, fun, affordable, low-emission ways to travel to and from school.
All you need to do is take part. We're here to help.
This programme is designed to support schools in making travelling to school safer. More children walking and biking to school helps to lower carbon emissions.
We’ve got carbon emission targets to aim for, and by working together, we can get there.
Read about our full programme below and let us know how you want to take part.
Want to know more about ways to lower emissions? Head to our Climate Action Hub.
Book your next Cycle Safe school session
Cycle Safe is an essential cycle skills education programme for schools.
Students learn the advantages of cycling and how to ride with confidence and be road savvy.
Join the programme and help your students become confident and skilled cyclists.
Our programme aligns with BikeReady(external link) and is considered one of the leading delivery models in the country, with all students receiving a personalised certificate highlighting their achievements.
The programme includes:
- Cycle maintenance and helmet fitting.
- Basic cycling skills.
- Road rules.
- On-road cycling.
Find out more about Cycle Safe.
To book a school programme email cyclesafe@ccc.govt.nz.
Organise a walking school bus
A walking school bus is a fun and safe way for children to walk to and from school under the guidance of adult volunteers (who are often parents), just like a normal school bus.
Walking school buses reduce the number of cars on the road, making our environment safer and cleaner, and they provide exercise for children in a fun and social way.
Here's how it works
Children are collected from stops along a planned route and safely dropped off at the school gate.
Along the way, they learn road safety and social skills, improve their fitness, and arrive at school ready to learn and energized.
Your Walking School Bus can operate any day of the school week, from just one day to all five, and can be in the morning, after school, or both, depending on the availability of adult volunteers, and what works best for your team of bus drivers.
Resources
- Walking school bus volunteer guide [PDF, 149 KB].
- Plan your route resource [PDF, 95 KB].
- Walking school bus permission form [PDF, 91 KB]
Each parent and child sign up when joining a walking school bus, agreeing to follow the road safety rules and to listen to the coordinator's instructions.
Let's make walking to school a fun adventure.
If you'd like to talk to someone about how a walking school bus could work at your school, get in touch at SchoolTravel@ccc.govt.nz.
Take part in Walk or Wheel Week
Walk or Wheel to School Week is a fun week that encourages primary school children and their families to walk, cycle, scoot or skate to school.
Whether you join us for one day or the whole week, we’d love to have you walking and wheeling with us.
Build a bike track for your school
We support the Bikes in Schools programme so students have access to bike gear, storage facilities and purpose-built tracks on school grounds.
Bikes in Schools is a school-led project for any school looking to give students regular and equal access to bikes and bike tracks right on the school grounds.
With Bikes in Schools, your school will build a two-metre-wide asphalt or concrete riding track encircling the school field, plus get a fleet of school bikes, helmets and a converted container to store them all. Some schools include additional pump and skills tracks.
In Christchurch, Bikes in Schools projects receive support from Christchurch City Council’s Cycle Safe training programme for students.
Completed tracks
Some schools have already completed their tracks and biking is now part of the curriculum and everyday life.
The good news is the tracks are available outside of school hours for the community to use too.
Go check them out:
(external link)
- Rāwhiti School
- Cotswold School
- Middleton Grange School
- Pāpanui School
- St Francis of Assisi School
- South Hornby School
- Northcote School
- Somerfield School
Please remember the tracks are the property of the school. Please enjoy and respect the bike tracks and take note of any signage.
Users are responsible for their own health and safety. This includes ensuring helmets are worn, bicycles are safe to ride, and you ride carefully.
Safe parking around schools
School drop-off and pick-up are busy times.
Create a safer environment for students, parents and staff travelling to and from school.
We have a couple of options for safe parking at your school gate.
Park Smart at Schools
Park Smart at Schools is a two-week programme designed to encourage a safer and less stressful parking environment around Christchurch schools.
Across the fortnight, we'll provide your school with parking education and reinforcement of safe parking practices at an agreed time during the term.
- The first week focuses on public education to promote safe ways to park around schools.
- The second week will involve the enforcement of safe parking practices. Where appropriate parking compliance officers will aim to educate first.
Drop-off zones for schools
Three-minute (P3) and five-minute (P5) parking is available to stop and help your child out of the car. These parks are the safest places to drop your child off to walk into school on their own.
Please remember:
- If you wish to walk your child to their class, please park down the road.
- Have your child use the door on the footpath side of the car – it’s safer.
- Double parking is unsafe – it puts children in front or behind moving vehicles, where drivers may not see them.
- Move forward along the parking bay when the car in front leaves – it helps keep traffic flowing.
We're here to help
To learn more about Park Smart at Schools, please email SchoolTravel@ccc.govt.nz.
Resources for teachers
School leaders, teachers and communities can get on board with safe road safety practices around the school gate.
Waka Kotahi and New Zealand Police have heaps of amazing resources for schools to use.
Walking school buses
If there are other kids your child can travel to school with, there can be certain advantages.
Good-to-go ways to school
The safe and sustainable school travel programme is designed to support schools in making travelling to school safer.