District: Braintree

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.

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!”