School Street Stewards: the latest superheroes keeping schools safe

With schools set to reopen in the next few weeks, there are unsung heroes preparing to assist with the monumental task of maintaining Covid-19 secure drop off and collections. Many schools have struggled to create enough space for parents, carers, teachers and students to effectively social distance at these times. School Street Stewards are helping to make more space.

School Street Steward

What is a School Street Steward?

A School street steward is a volunteer that assists in creating a temporary road closure outside a school during drop off and collection times. This is known as a School Street. Creating a School Street can help to achieve better social distancing and has other benefits such as encouraging healthy choices like walking or cycling to school, and improving road safety.  Successful school streets have been implemented across the country and have been shown to have minimal impact on residents and businesses because they still have full access to the street if travelling at walking pace.

How can I organise a School Street in my area?

There are a number of elements that will need to be put in place to create a new school street at your local school. First, you will need to get your local council on board because they have the ability to issue a temporary traffic regulation order (TTRO) to make the road closure legal, and will be able to give advice around the logistical elements of the closure such as signage.

Local authorities have already been given guidance by The Department for Transport enabling them to rapidly adapt streets quickly to provide additional space for walking, cycling and social distancing as part of the government response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The government advice says that schools should be “encouraging parents and children to walk or cycle to their education setting where possible”.

Once a TTRO is in place, your school or council will need to appoint a School Street Supervisor to oversee the closure. This could be someone that is already a member of the school staff and has experience or training in Health and Safety.  They will be the ‘go-to’ person to help to manage any incidents or unforeseen events during the school street closure, and may also act as a liaison point between the local authority, volunteers and the local community.  They may benefit from some specific training such as iQualifi’s School Street Steward course.

Once a supervisor is in place volunteers will be needed to manage the school street, including directing pedestrians and setting out signage and barriers.  To help them conduct their responsibilities they will need some training such as iQualifi’s School Street Steward course and some specific onsite training to understand layout and emergency arrangements of the site. Perhaps you could volunteer to be a School Street Superhero too?

If you are a member of staff at a school or council you will want to keep the local community informed and engaged in the process. There is no requirement for a consultation before setting up a school street because it is an emergency safety measure. However, children, parents, local residents and businesses may have useful insight about the impact the school street is having and how it might be altered or changed.  It is important to reassure the local community that this is likely to have a positive impact such as reduced congestion at school drop off and collection times, and that residents and businesses within the closure will still have access as required.


So if you are still thinking about setting up a School Street for your school, you could find out more about what is covered in the training course here.  Or you could find out more about other successful School Street initiatives at livingstreets.org.uk and schoolstreets.org.uk.

Twitter Facebook Instagram