Y10 Travelling to School

Travelling to school

The Government has published general guidance on public transport which states that from 15 June, passengers will need to wear a face covering on public transport. This includes when travelling on buses or coaches, trains or trams, aircrafts or ferries. General guidance on staying safe outside the home is available here.

Exemptions to the rule include young children (under the age of 3), disabled people and those with breathing difficulties.

In the light of this general guidance to the public, the DfE has updated guidance for parents and carers. Parents, children and young people are encouraged to walk or cycle where possible and avoid public transport at peak times.

The decision to have only a quarter of students in Year 10 and 12 on site at any time is designed to limit the amount of young people travelling to and from school/college on public transport. So when  planning the journey to school, if using public transport, parents are advised that their children should follow the safer travel guidance for passengers.

The guidance says that pupils and parents should do all they can to help make sure they and others can travel safely. This can be done through:

• not leaving home if anyone in their household, has symptoms of coronavirus
• avoiding travelling on public transport, particularly at peak times
• maintaining a 2 metre distance from others who are not in their household
• ensuring good respiratory hygiene by using the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach
• avoiding touching their face
• washing their hands thoroughly before and after travelling
• wearing a face covering if they need to use public transport

School transport is unlike public transport, in that it generally carries the same group of children to and from the same destination each day – this may help reduce the risk of cross infection.

it is important that those using face coverings can do so properly – guidance on how to wear and make a cloth face covering is available. Face coverings should not be used by children under the age of 3 or those who may find it difficult to manage them correctly.