![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/Pool-in-article-26.png\")
\u201cHaving parents drop their kids up here has just made such a difference to the congestion at the front of the school in the mornings,\u201d Bellbrae Assistant Principal Louise Kahle said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting out of that car at the front of the school causes some anxiety for some kids. So having that release point up here, walking down the hill and just starting the day fresh is really big.\u201d<\/p>\n
With up to 90 per cent of Bellbrae Primary students living in Jan Juc, around five kilometres away, the push is on to get as many students as possible to gain the confidence to get to school by means other than car.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can get even 10-20 per cent of those kids riding, it\u2019s such an impact on the environment, their health, their wellbeing and just their mental attitude \u2026 we have some kids who even ride from Torquay,\u201d Ms Kahle said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big component of it is about just building or introducing some new habits, if we can introduce that from the ground up when they\u2019re in prep or grade one, then they\u2019re less likely when they\u2019re in grade three or four to have the expectation that mum is going to drop us at the gate,\u201d Ms Reynolds said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we start giving the kids the skills to be able to walk by themselves to school, or ride by themselves to school, and we practice it as they get older then it also gives them the skills to be able to ride around the community and be independent in the community,\u201d parent Shauna Burford said, who\u2019s also been instrumental in putting the plan into practice.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shire has been very supportive of the initiative of having the coffee van and providing a permit and then also working with us to put in 40k zone,\u201d Ms Reynolds said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe realised that one of the one of the barriers to riding school is people worried about the safety of their kids \u2026 so the shire came through and did a road safety audit for us and helped us with some funding,\u201d Ms Burford said.<\/p>\n The next step is to permanently establish the people and infrastructure that will keep the scheme going, including the permanent funding of second crossing supervisor to oversee those coming in from Jan Juc and Torquay.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a crossing supervisor down the bottom but not up here \u2026 the shire are going to be doing a traffic count in the coming weeks to see if they can fund that permanently,\u201d Ms Kahle said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BELLBRAE Primary School is trialling a new start to the school day with its active travel project encouraging parents and students to minimise the school gate drop off. Parents who drive their kids to school now have the option of parking at the nearby Bellbrae Reserve \u2013 where a coffee cart has conveniently popped up […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/Pool-in-article-27.png\")