John Ferneley College car park trial: parents and residents invited to meeting in June

John Ferneley College have trialled the change because of fears for the safety of their students due to vehicles being driven too fast and being parked in unsafe places to pick up and drop off children.

The two-week trial where only staff, school buses, taxis and parents with special permission have been able to use the car park between 8.30am 9.30am and 2.30pm until 4.30pm on school days ended today (Friday).

And the school has now organised a consultation evening on Wednesday June 5, from 6pm until 7pm, for parents, carers and residents to provide feedback on how it has worked and give their opinions on proposals to make it a permanent arrangement from the start of the autumn term.

Senior school staff will be present and police officers will also attend to make their observations public.

Deputy headteacher, Warren Drury, called on people to attend the meeting to give their views, and said: “The trial closure has been hugely successful from the school perspective, particularly when considering the health and safety of our students.

“It has reduced congestion on Scalford Road and the buses in particular have stated how much better and safer the collection of students has been.

“The feedback from the local police who have carried out a number of drive-by observations on the surrounding streets has also been extremely positive with no incidents reported and the parents using the local street have been very compliant.”

During the limited access trial period, children were asked to walk or cycle to school and those parents and carers who still wished to drop their child off were encouraged to use the car park at nearby Melton Country Park as part of what the school called its ‘Park and Stride’ scheme.

Email [email protected] if you would like to comment on the proposals to limit access to the school car park on a permanent basis.