This school is patrolled as part of SEPP’s school patrol schedule. However, our resource and operational enforcement budget is limited and the SEPP receive a huge number of requests concerning school parking, consequently, due to the volume of schools in the area that all suffer similar issues, we cannot guarantee sustained and prolonged patrols at any one specific school. Additionally, it is just not possible to cover all the schools at the same time.
“Short term invasion” is the term given to parking for the purpose of dropping off and picking up passengers or goods at a known organisation such as a school, high street, convenience store etc, and will only be for short periods of time and often only for certain periods of the day. The enforcement of any restriction that is introduced to tackle a short-term parking issue requires a sustained and concentrated enforcement presence and so therefore makes enforcement very challenging as, what has been explained above, means that SEPP does not have the resource to offer a sustained and concentrated enforcement presence.
The other issue is that school patrols fundamentally are extremely challenging by design. The reasons for this are:
- Often, vehicles are not parked long. Many pull up and wait for short periods or are only there to drop off so stop for a short time. An officer who is close by must approach and begin the process of issuing a PCN which, in such a short space of time, is not possible.
- Many vehicles are parked with the driver waiting inside and so whilst the officers move these vehicles on, it does make school patrols ineffective in the long term as they do not offer any long-term deterrent.
- Vehicles are legally able to stop on a yellow line to allow for boarding and alighting – Consequently, many of the obstructions caused by these vehicles SEPP cannot do anything about.
- When officers are on site before the busy time, people see them and the majority park safely and considerately. So often, only one or two PCNs are issued, again, this reduces long term deterrent.
- When officers arrive after the busy time, as most people wait in the cars, as they approach people drive away and this then causes a ripple effect of numerous vehicles moving, again this reduces long term deterrent.
Unfortunately, as we so often see at schools, parents elect for their own convenience over safety and consideration of others. At schools, it is especially important that drivers are compliant with the restrictions that have been installed and to take their responsibilities as a driver seriously by parking safely and considerately.
The level of non-compliance at this school and virtually every other school has reached unmanageable levels. SEPP and the Traffic Management Act 2004 is not geared up for this huge level of non-compliance and short-term invasion. And we are now seeing unprecedented levels of non-compliance across Essex and, in fact, the UK. This is not helped by the fact that schools are expanding and, in view of this, are now opening their doors to people living outside the traditional catchment area. Each year the number of both catchment and non-catchment places are increasing. With the best schools seeing sometimes ten or even up to twenty non-catchment applications per place, competition is fierce. Parents are now travelling much further than ever before to drop children to school, and this is in most cases, by car.
In 2009, the Government at the time, committed to creating an additional one million new school places by 2019. At the start of that year, statistics showed that an extra 921,000 places had been created in the UK. In 2014, figures showed that since 2010 an unprecedented number of new schools had been opened. This included 250 free schools, 30 Technical Colleges, 37 studio schools across the UK. A further 2800 schools were granted academy freedoms, including the choice to set length of school day and terms, how money is spent and creation of additional school spaces and wider catchments. In June 2020, the Government announced its School Rebuilding Programme, set to last a decade, and build or rebuild 500 schools – a rate of 50 per year across the UK.
This is a huge national problem. Why are catchment’s widened and pupil numbers increased without any consideration given to the community and the road network outside of the school. All local communities and road networks only have so much space to be able to manage the local traffic. This needs to be considered.
SEPP believe that parents and the schools should be held more accountable, and so it may be worth also reporting these vehicles to the school so they can publish them in a newsletter or, even better, directly contacting the parents in question and requesting that they do not endanger the children and make things difficult for other drivers by parking in this manner. We believe the school should have representatives outside logging persistent offenders and speaking to them in front of other parents. Parents need to also act and log vehicles, take photos and even tell other parents that they should not park where they are. The problem persists because of the school parents, so why are they not policing themselves. People may ask why that is their responsibility, but surely EVERYONE is responsible for this problem. As explained, SEPP simply does not have the resource to be their every day and so when we are not there, people need to take pick up responsibility.
When children join a school, they are told to behave and act in a certain way that is covered by the school’s code of conduct. The parents also the same. It covers providing your child with a good breakfast, getting them to school on time, helping them with their homework. It also covers behaviour outside of schools, like not drinking alcohol, not smoking, not swearing, etc – Why is parking safely and considerately not covered in the parent’s code of conduct? If a parent was to consistently break the rules of the code of conduct, they would be spoken to – Yet a parent can attend a school every day and park on the school keep clear crossing, yet this behaviour is ignored by other parents and the school.
The SEPP also operate the 3PR School Parking Initiative which is based around engagement and education. There are various packages, and we could even create a 3PR zone where children are rewarded for walking into the zone. This stops parents parking too close to the school.
3PR UC – Care, Caution & Consideration
Finally, SEPP accepts its responsibility in trying to resolve these issues and the location in question does receive school patrols, but we will endeavour to undertake more in due course to try and help reduce inconsiderate and dangerous parking. But the responsibility goes much wider than just SEPP and without others help, then this problem will only get worse.
The police can also assist. Instances of obstructive or dangerous parking is the responsibility of the Police. The Traffic Management Act 2004 Operational Guidance to Local Authorities Parking Policy & Enforcement, states the continuing role of the Police. They have the necessary power and obligation and are the only body with the authority to deal with such matters. They have the authority to remove a vehicle or issue a Fixed Penalty Notice if it is deemed to have parked dangerously or causes an obstruction to other highway users.
The Police can also enforce Section 22 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which makes it an offence for the person in charge to leave a vehicle, or trailer, on a road in such a position, or condition, as to cause a danger to other road users.
You can report it to Essex Police online or by calling 101. Alternatively, you can report it using Essex Police – Extra Eyes (egressforms.com)