FAQs

A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic. The result is a safer, healthier and more pleasant environment for everyone. 

We have carried out a trial of School Streets at a number of schools as part of our Department for Transport-funded active travel programme. Four of these schools are now in the process of making their School Street scheme permanent. 

The aim is to create a safe, welcoming, and attractive environment where children, parents and teachers can walk, wheel, cycle, scoot or park and walk to school with lower air pollution and traffic congestion. In particular, it makes the school gates much safer for children – who are more vulnerable road users. 

School Streets encourage parents and carers to choose active travel modes for the school journey. This is further helped by Living Streets and Active Oxfordshire initiatives – including the Street Tag app, Walk to School week and Park and Stride – encouraging parents to complete some of the school journey on foot. 

The order associated with a School Street is a legal order to vehicles that are not exempt and are driven into the School Street zone during its street closure times. Therefore, you could receive a fine if you drive a vehicle that is not exempt through the School Street during its street closure times. An enforcement officer, and/or an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera will be in operation and will take your vehicle’s registration plate details, and you will receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). 

You will not be fined if you are walking, wheeling, using a mobility scooter, cycling, using a scooter or driving an exempt vehicle in a School Street.  

Road warning signs will be clearly displayed at the entrance point of each School Street to inform you when you are entering a School Street zone.  

Anyone driving a vehicle passing through the School Street closure zone during its operational times (i.e., when the School Street closure applies – times will be shown clearly on road signs ahead of the closure zone) who is not registered for an exemption.  

This includes delivery drivers and couriers and general service providers (as not exempt) – excepting utilities vehicles and public waste collection vehicles. Please see FAQ 10 for more details.

The consultation is ongoing, and the decision whether to implement the ANPR enforced School Street will not be made until 8 September 2022. Details of how to apply will be updated after this date if necessary.

There is no charge or cost for being added to the Exemption List for School Streets.

The trial e-scooters in Oxford have their speed capped at 12mph (equivalent to a very brisk walking pace). 

We expect cyclists and scooter/trial e-scooter riders to conduct themselves responsibly, travel slowly in the School Street zone and be mindful and considerate of other road users. School gates restrictions will apply as set by the school – usually for cyclists and scooter riders to dismount and walk at the school gates and on school property. 

Enforcement via ANPR cameras reduces the need for volunteers, which makes them more suitable for permanent schemes. 

Using the ANPR cameras means the School Street scheme can continue without safety risks to volunteers. We are extremely grateful to the volunteers who have operated the temporary ‘gates’ during the last year at all the schools who took part in the initial School Streets trials. We appreciate that while this has enabled the trials to work really well, it is not sustainable or practical for only volunteers to manage gates consistently on a permanent basis. 

Road warning signs will be installed on the roads near the schools informing road users of the vehicle restrictions in the School Street. We will also write to people in the area and advise them to avoid travelling during the School Street operating times. 

We are working with the schools to encourage access to the schools outside of their School Street timings, and we are recommending that schools tell their visitors about the road restrictions before planned school meetings and events. 

We will conduct a public consultation to gather feedback on the School Street being proposed before we implement a permanent School Street. As part of the consultation process, we advertise a School Streets notice in the local newspaper, announce it in a press release, and provide information via our libraries and online Oxfordshire County Council web site.

We also contact statutory consultees, including - but not limited to: emergency services, county councillors, council highway officers, bus service providers, and other affected schools in the area and local businesses to gather their views and feedback.

We will contact all residents who live on the proposed School Street, writing to them to inform them about the proposal and invite them to feedback via the consultation and/or by contacting us.  

We will also work with the school to inform the wider school community including parents and carers about the proposed School Street, as well as ensuring teachers and support staff are aware of the proposed School Street.

All school staff, parents, carers, and families are also invited to respond to the proposed school street via the consultation and/or by contacting us.  

• We will collect information about how pupils travelled to school before the scheme became permanent, and during the scheme to monitor active travel improvements.  
• We will engage with parents, residents and school staff, who will be surveyed to monitor active travel improvements, i.e., reduced car journeys to and from the school. 
• We will also assess the proportion of children meeting physical activity guidelines and any impact on their wellbeing. 
• We will share feedback through annual reviews on how well the school streets have worked – and note the benefits, impacts and any matters for consideration raised.   
• We will also engage with the wider school community including parents/carers and residents and businesses, and with the school to ensure the School Streets benefits continue.  

No. A School Street closure is a restriction on motorised traffic during school drop-off and pick-up times outside a school. 

 A Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) is an area where motor traffic is prevented from taking shortcuts through a residential area. Traffic is restricted either by a bollard, a planter tub, or a camera-enforced restriction. These prevent all motor traffic (including cars, vans, lorries and motorcycles) from driving through. Emergency services, cyclists, pedestrians, wheelchairs, the trial e-scooters and those using mobility scooters will all have free access. More about Low Traffic Neighbourhoods is here. 

On some occasions a School Street closure may be integrated into LTN restrictions, other times it will be a separate closure. This would usually depend upon whether the school is situated within a Low Traffic Neighbourhood.  

The current list of schools taking part in the programme does not include any schools in an LTN area, although Larkrise Primary School does sit between the St Mary’s area (east Oxford) and the Florence Park (Cowley) experimental LTNs, with its catchment area partly including both of these LTNs. 

If you have any further queries regarding School Streets, please contact the team at: schoolsactivetravel@oxfordshire.gov.uk 

Yes. Local authorities can implement temporary 18-month Emergency Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) and permanent Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to control traffic in an area.  

The Department for Travel has devolved powers to a number of Local Authorities to use ANPR cameras to enforce permanent School Streets.