JRSO Award & Councillor Visit
We were visited today by Cllr Steve Forester from Hampshire County Council today.
He had a very special award for our Junior Road Safety Officers - a GOLD Modeshift Stars Award!
This award certifies that our pupils and staff have completed an "Excellent Travel Plan", in that we have shifted away from car use by 5%, delivered 25 sustainable travel initiatives, 15 supporting initiatives, and 10 consultation initiatives! We have hung the certificate in our school office, for all to see!
Today, our JRSOs, supported by Year 6, delivered an assembly that they had written themselves to the Councillor, to explain the issues we are facing on Ramley Road around speeding and crossing.
The Councillor previously wrote to us and said that "New Forest District Council does hold money from housing development in Pennington to pay for highway and transport improvements in the local area. The District Council and Hampshire County Council are working together to undertake a study and prepare plans for transport improvements that could be built in Pennington using that money. Together we will review the scope of the study to make sure that it looks at the section of Ramley Road outside your school and the problems you experience in crossing the road. We will look into a range of possible solutions that could help. However, before anything is built we will also work with the school, residents and their representatives to gauge local views on the plans. I hope the above comments are encouraging and will help ensure your initiative leaves a lasting legacy for future pupils."
We have found this news incredibly encouraging and we hope that the whole community get behind us!
Today, Councillor Forester discussed different options with the children and the pros and cons, such as traffic lights, speed cameras, speed bumps and speed tables, slowing the speed limit and crossings. He said that he would take our assembly back to share with Councillor Adams-King, who makes decisions on transport and highways at Hampshire.
Our JRSOs are now getting ready to pass the torch to Year 5, who have promised to continue Ava, Scott, Ava-Mae and Tristan's example and continue working towards a safe crossing on Ramley Road. We thank them for their excellent service as JRSOs over two years to our school and we are so pleased that they have achieved this award, well done!
