Category: 3PR

School road safety scheme launches during Road Safety Week

Earls Colne Primary School 3PR Launch on 15 November: (Not in order) Cllr Richard Van Dulken (NEPP’s Member for Braintree District Council), Cllr Gabriella Spray (Braintree District Council Ward Councillor), Ms Sibley, Headteacher of Earls Colne Primary School, school staff and pupils, Essex Police. and 3PR costumed-character.

Earls Colne Primary School 3PR Launch on 15 November: (Not in order) Cllr Richard Van Dulken (NEPP’s Member for Braintree District Council), Cllr Gabriella Spray (Braintree District Council Ward Councillor), Ms Sibley, Headteacher of Earls Colne Primary School, school staff and pupils, Essex Police. and 3PR costumed-character. 

This Road Safety Week, the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) is aiming to improve road safety for over 400 pupils at Earls Colne Primary School by launching one of its gold 3PR packages.  

3PR, which represents the three parking rules of care, consideration and caution, delivers a positive message about school parking and provides advice and guidance to children, parents and carers on safe and considerate parking practices. As well as focussing on safety outside the school gates, the initiative also encourages sustainable and physically active ways of travelling to and from school such as walking, cycling and scooting. 

This package includes Park and Stride locations, where parents are encouraged to park away from the school gates and complete the rest of their journey on foot. The aim is to reduce the number of vehicles stopping to drop pupils outside of the gates, potentially obstructing the view of pedestrians and cyclists, to reduce congestion and increase safety. 

Partners of this Park and Stride scheme include Earls Colne Recreation Club car park, Earls Colne Village car park (managed by Braintree District Council), Earls Colne Village Hall car park and Riverside Spice car park.

The school will also be operating and patrolling a 3PR zone outside the school, where pupils collect tokens for walking, scooting, or cycling into the zone.  This reduces the number of cars at the school gates and engages pupils by encouraging competition with other classes to be awarded the coveted 3PR trophy.  

In addition to the above, the school has been provided with 3PR resources including 3PR Hi Vis jackets, information leaflets, signage, educational content and much more. 

The school also has a vending machine where pupils can purchase prizes with points earned over each term.   

Cllr Dan Land, North Essex Parking Partnership Chair, said: “I was pleased to attend the launch at Walton last week, seeing kids happy and at the same time safer, is surely what we all want. We are really proud of the work we do to make school drop-offs and pick-ups safer, and Road Safety Week will play a big part in that. Our 3PR schemes genuinely make a difference and I encourage any schools interested in the scheme to get in touch with us via the 3PR website, schoolparking.org.uk.” 

Jakki Sibley, Headteacher of Earls Colne Primary School, said: “Here at ECPS we’re very committed to finding new ways to encourage a calmer, safer and greener school journey for our families. NEPP has been excellent in providing the resources to set up the 3PR initiative and with help formalising our Park and Stride schemes with local partners. We are looking forward to seeing the positive impact the Park and Stride and 3PR zone will have on cars stopping outside the gates to drop off pupils.   

“I think 3PR is an excellent scheme, fully funded by NEPP, they have provided us with the resources we need to help educate pupils, families and our local community around road safety at the school gates. 

“I’d like to take the opportunity to say thank you to the local businesses who have supported the scheme and allow our families to use their facilities, this community is great at working together and this is no exception.” 

Yesterday’s launch at Earls Colne Primary School follows an identical gold 3PR launch which took place at Walton-on-the-Naze Primary School on 4 November, as well as three silver 3PR package launches last week.

Suzie Bliss, Headteacher of Walton-on-the-Naze Primary School, said: “The launch was great fun and meant that lots of our families were engaged and involved. So far, it has already had an impact on the parking outside our school.  

“Thank you to NEPP’s 3PR team for the event.”

To find out more about 3PR, visit schoolparking.org.uk

Walton-on-the-Naze Primary School Launch on 4 November: (Not in order) Cllr Dan Land (Chair of the North Essex Parking Partnership), Cllr Delyth Miles (Tendring District Ward Councillors), Mrs Bliss (Headteacher of Walton-on-the-Naze Primary School), school staff and 3PR costumed-character.

School starts the new year with new road safety scheme 

Photo of 3PR launch at St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School in Colchester on 10 January 2023: (Not in order) Councillor Martin Goss (NEPP’s Member for Colchester City Council), Ward Councillors Sue Lissimore and Leigh Tate, Mrs Kelly (Headteacher of St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School), school pupils and the 3PR costumed-character.

St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School in Colchester has started the new year by launching one of the North Essex Parking Partnership’s (NEPP) Gold 3PR packages to improve road safety outside the school for its 200+ pupils.  

3PR, which represents the three parking rules of care, consideration and caution, delivers a positive message about school parking and provides advice and guidance to children, parents and carers on safe and considerate parking practices. As well as focussing on safety outside the school gates, the initiative also encourages sustainable and physically active ways of travelling to and from school such as walking, cycling and scooting. 

The school will also be operating and patrolling a 3PR zone outside the school, where pupils collect tokens for walking, scooting, or cycling into the zone.  This reduces the number of cars at the school gates and engages pupils by encouraging competition with other classes to be awarded the coveted 3PR trophy.  

In addition to the above, the school has been provided with 3PR resources including 3PR Hi Vis jackets, information leaflets, signage, educational content and much more.  

Cllr Dan Land, North Essex Parking Partnership Chair, said: “It’s fantastic that another school has signed up for our very popular and effective 3PR scheme. Almost 30 schools across North Essex have now signed up to the scheme and I would encourage any schools interested in the scheme to get in touch with us via the 3PR website at schoolparking.org.uk.” 

Mrs Kelly, Headteacher of St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, said: “The children are very excited about sharing 3PR’s message with their parents and carers and showing our neighbours how we always act with kindness and consideration – even when we are parking!”  

To find out more about 3PR, visit schoolparking.org.uk

Road safety scheme upgraded at Gosbecks Primary School  

On 20 June 2022, Gosbecks Primary School celebrated upgrading their North Essex Parking Partnership’s (NEPP) Silver 3PR package to Gold, improving road safety for their 300 pupils. 

3PR, which represents the three Parking Rules of Care, Consideration and Caution (originally created by the South Essex Parking Partnership), delivers a positive message about school parking and provides advice and guidance to children, parents and carers on safe and considerate parking practices.   

The package includes a morning Park and Stride, a scheme where parents can feel confident parking away from the school gates – at the Berechurch Arms – to complete the rest of the journey on foot each morning. This is to reduce the amount of congestion and cars stopping to drop off pupils outside the gates, potentially obstructing the view of pedestrians.  

The school will also be introducing 3PR walking tokens, where pupils collect tokens for walking, scooting, or cycling to school. This lessens the number of cars at the school gates and engages pupils by collecting tokens in competition with other classes to be awarded the coveted 3PR trophy and extra playtime.  

In addition to the above the school will be provided with an array of 3PR resources including 3PR Hi Vis jackets, information leaflets, signage, an educational PowerPoint Presentation and much more.  

Cllr Sue Lissimore, North Essex Parking Partnership Chair, said: “I’m thrilled to see another gold 3PR package launching. The scheme now extends across North Essex – helping to improve road safety outside dozens of schools for thousands of pupils – and more and more headteachers are expressing an interest to join.”  

Cllr Martin Goss, Parking Partnership Member for Colchester, said: “I think 3PR is an incredible scheme, fully financed by NEPP, that is providing the resources needed to help keep Colchester’s pupils safer when commuting to and from school. They also provide schools with recourse needed to educate pupils, families and our local community around road safety at school gates.”  

Hannah McCann, Headteacher of Gosbecks Primary School, said: “At Gosbecks Primary School, we are committed to improving our pupils’ journey to and from school. The NEPP support has been excellent, helping us to set up the 3PR initiative so that we could engage with our local partners and educate our local community around road safety, especially at our school gates.   

“We are already seeing the positive impact because of the Park and Stride, and the 3PR Zone. More of our pupils are walking at least part of the way to school, making the area around our school calmer, safer and greener.” 

St James Church of England Primary School in Harlow are also launching a Silver 3PR Package today to further improve road safety outside the school. 

School parking camera trial launched

Hand shown using NEPP's new website.

The North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) is today launching a pilot scheme, using school parking cameras at two locations in North Essex. The scheme, known as Park Safe Schools, is believed to be amongst one of the first of its kind in the country and aims to use technology to improve road safety at the school gates and tackle dangerous and illegal parking outside schools.

The Park Safe Schools scheme is designed to provide additional support to NEPP’s existing 3PR initiative which aims to improve congestion and tackle inconsiderate school parking through education and engagement. It will also support and complement NEPP’s existing patrols.

This new scheme uses a temporary fixed parking enforcement camera outside a school. The camera will only focus on, and monitor motorists’ behaviour on the no stopping restrictions outside a school, such as zig-zags, and if needed, postal Penalty Charge Notices will be issued to those seen contravening the restrictions. Signage and road markings will confirm what the parking/waiting restrictions are in each location and also remind motorists that camera enforcement is in place.

With 300+ schools in North Essex, this pilot scheme has many benefits, including the ability for NEPP to remotely monitor the parking behaviour in these specific areas much more closely at peak times and for longer periods. NEPP will also gain a better insight into the issues at each location and can then work with the local schools and communities to improve road safety and motorists’ behaviour.

The two pilots will take place at Stanway Fiveways Primary School in Colchester and Chase Lane Primary School in Dovercourt. Both schools have already been working closely with the NEPP to tackle parking issues and have 3PR schemes in place.

Due to their close proximity, the pilot scheme in Winstree Road, Stanway will also cover restrictions at two other schools, the Stanway School and Lexden Springs. With the three schools so close to one another, there is a significant increase in traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times causing road safety, congestion, parking and air quality issues. This pilot scheme should help address overall problems in the area. In addition, it will also support another project in this area between Essex County Council and Sustrans, all looking to improve these issues of congestion.

At Chase Lane Primary School in Dovercourt, the nature and positioning of the school’s entrance and exit causes problematic and dangerous parking, which this new scheme should help improve further.

NEPP will continue to work with the pilot schools and local communities throughout the pilot to ensure its effectiveness. Both pilots will run for a minimum period of one school term, when the situation will be reviewed.

To avoid the possibility of moving parking issues to another location, NEPP will continuously monitor any risk of dispersing the problem along with the schools and take any action necessary.

For further information about the scheme, including Frequently Asked Questions, please visit the NEPP’s dedicated webpage at: www.parkingpartnership.org/north/parksafeschools.

Councillor Robert Mitchell, Chairman of the North Essex Parking Partnership, said: “School parking is one of the issues we get contacted about most and I’m delighted that North Essex is one of the first areas in England to trial this technology as part of our efforts to address dangerous and inconsiderate parking outside schools.

“As well as addressing parking concerns and supporting our current work with schools, this scheme should help reduce congestion and improve air quality in these busy locations, while also supporting Police and Essex County Council road safety campaigns.

“We will, of course, be monitoring this pilot very carefully before deciding whether, or not, these cameras might become permanent features. This trial period should also provide useful information in the validity of such schemes around other NEPP area schools.”

As this is a new, innovative scheme, NEPP has been working very closely with the local schools, community and councillors since the scheme was agreed in January 2020 at the NEPP’s Joint Parking Committee meeting. The NEPP has also provided schools with resources to ensure local residents; school children; parents/carers and staff are aware of the scheme.

Councillor Mike Lilley, Colchester Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Communities, Wellbeing and Public Safety, said: “This is a really exciting new way of using technology to improve road safety, parking issues and air quality, and supports our new Positive Parking Strategy and commitment to tackling climate change.

“The way NEPP has worked with the school and local community ahead of this pilot launching is fantastic, and I look forward to following its progress over the coming months.”

Councillor Michael Talbot, Tendring District Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Any measure which improves safety for children attending school has to be a good thing to try, and this is a welcome addition to the already great work the 3PR scheme does.

“I cannot wait to see the results of this pilot and hope it achieves its objectives as children return to school.”

Julie O’Mara, Headteacher of Chase Lane Primary School, said: “I am looking forward to working with the school community and North Essex Parking Partnership to improve the safety of our pupils and their families. The progress we have already achieved with 3PR and Park Safe Schools, to raise awareness of considerate parking has been great. The Park Safe Schools Camera will really help to improve road safety and parking around our school.”

Primary schools without 3PR are unable to apply for or request Park Safe Schools, however any schools that are interested in the 3PR scheme to address parking problems, should complete the contact form on the 3PR website.


A short video explaining how the scheme operates can be found on the NEPP’s YouTube channel, Anna Tendant, here.

British Parking Awards Finalists

Hand shown using NEPP's new website.

The North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) has been shortlisted as a finalist for three awards in the national British Parking Awards 2021 recognising organisations that have made a significant contribution to improving parking.

Having won the Communications award and been finalists in another two categories last year, the Partnership is keen to continue its success and has been shortlisted in the Communications Award, Positive Responses to the Pandemic Award and Parking as a Service Award categories this year.

The ‘Communications Award’ category recognises imaginative, engaging and informative approaches adopted by parking organisations to communicating with the public and other organisations. NEPP has been shortlisted for its messaging throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to keep customers as up to date as possible. This includes a dedicated coronavirus webpage to keep residents informed, three videos including showing the benefits of using contactless MiPermit payments and work on social media highlighting the Positive Parking Agenda (PPA) and Selfish Parker campaigns.

The Positive responses to the pandemic award’ will be awarded to recognise and honour the exceptional work that parking teams have done to support the NHS, local authority clients and communities across the UK manage, mitigate and fight the coronavirus pandemic. Along with the dedicated coronavirus webpage, NEPP extended support to NHS staff members by offering a free parking permit. Single yellow line restrictions were eased to allow for increased homeworking and less commuters during the lockdown stages of the pandemic. Residents were also offered a three-month extension to their residents parking permits.

The Parking as a service award’ is presented for creating a positive experience for motorists, recognising work done to create easy-to-understand, non-confrontational and person-centric services. NEPP have created a positive experience for motorists by supporting the Positive Parking Agenda which focuses changing perceptions and misconceptions towards parking, as well as the Don’t be a Selfish Parker campaign. In addition, recognition is given to the 3PR and Park Safe Schools projects which aim to tackle dangerous and illegal parking around schools.

Cllr Sue Lissimore, North Essex Parking Partnership Chair, said: “I’m incredibly pleased that NEPP has been shortlisted once again in multiple categories for the prestigious national British Parking Awards. NEPP continues to receive recognition across the parking sector for its innovation, communications, customer service and project work with partner authorities and I look forward to the results next month.”

Originally launched in 2002, The British Parking Awards seeks to recognise and celebrate best practice, innovation and achievement in the design and management of both public and private sector parking.

The 2021 winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on 24 September at Royal Lancaster, London.