Park safe, Walk safe

If you need to drive your child to school, for the safety of your child, their friends and the local community, please park away from the school and walk at least 5 minutes to school. By doing this, you will avoid the congestion outside school and keep all children safer and healthier. Please do not drive to the school gates to drop your child off unless there is a medical need for it.

If you park further away from the school and walk the last 5 or 10 minutes, you will get the benefits of walking to school and it will result in less congestion outside the school, improving air quality and safety around your school and you get to spend more time with your children.

If driving to school, it is your responsibility to park legally and not endanger children. You must not park on double yellow lines or School Keep Clear signs as this decreases safety for children.

School Keep Clears

What school ‘keep clear’s are for

For safety - to ensure clear sight lines for both motorists and children, as well as for other road users, outside schools. They provide a clear area in which families can cross more safely.

No stopping times

The no stopping times on the yellow zig zags outside most school entrances are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except August.

No stopping, no excuses

No vehicles, including vehicles showing a Disabled Person’s Blue Badge, are permitted to stop within the area of the markings during the times and dates the restriction is in force, even for picking up or setting down of passengers. Also, you must not load or unload within this restricted area during this time.

If the school lies within a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ), then the School Keep Clear section will also be covered by a double yellow line restriction which prohibits parking within the School Keep Clear zone at any time of the day or night, year round.

If you stop on the School Keep Clears, you will be liable for a penalty charge notice of £70.

For schools

The measures described on this page usually work best as part of a concerted effort by a school or parents to address the issues of illegal, inconsiderate and unsafe parking and poor driver behaviour outside your school. This is best achieved through updating your School's Travel Plan.

Tackling parking issues - enforcement

To report parking problems outside your school, call Parking Enforcement on 0345 603 5469 and select option 2 to leave a message.

You can request Civil Enforcement Officers to attend a school.

You'll need to:

enter your contact details
select the option "Request Parking Enforcement"
complete as many fields of the form as possible - you can upload photos

Civil Enforcement Officers can and do issue instant Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to drivers stopping on the parking restrictions outside schools. This means that the car registration details are logged together with a photo and the driver then receives a PCN through the post.

Worn road markings that need repainting can be reported. Send an email to school.travel@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Tackling parking issues - changing behaviour

Some schools ask parents to sign a 'Travel to School' pledge or agreement [editable Word version 389KB] as part of their School Travel Plan which lays out the specific concerns at their school and also suggests alternative ways for getting to school, including trying more active travel options such as Park & Stride and walking, scooting or cycling. See the Park safe, Walk safe resources below for more ideas.

Park safe, Walk safe campaign resources

No Stopping No Excuses sign outside a local school

Do you have problems with parents and carers stopping on or near the yellow zig zag lines or the road outside your school? Do you have a number of parents who can’t walk to school due to the distance they live from school or because they need the car for an onward journey to work or another school?

These resources, designed for schools to use, focus on the need to keep the school entrance safe and congestion free by encouraging safe driving behaviour. They also seek to encourage parents and pupils to walk to school, even if it is only the last 5 or 10 minutes.

Park safe, Walk safe campaign overview (PDF 218kb).

Below are template documents for schools to adapt and use as part of a behaviour change campaign or as stand alone activities.

Park & Stride

Try park and stride banner.

Park & Stride simply means driving some of the way to school, parking up away from the school entrance and walking the rest of the way. It is designed to alleviate the known problems and dangers of parents parking directly outside the school.

Park & Stride is particularly good for families that live a long way from school and can’t walk the whole way. It has the added benefit of reducing congestion around the school entrance, making it safer for children to enter their school. You can borrow a banner or print a poster to promote this scheme. you may find this complementary information about Walking Zones useful.

Contact school.travel@brighton-hove.gov.uk for more information.

Park safe, Walk safe banners and posters

Image of banners for paking safely

Schools can borrow parking banners to display to drivers who don't park safely, legally or considerately, for example, by parking on double and single yellow lines, the white zig zags on pedestrian crossings, corners near your school, or double park.

Contact the School Travel Team to borrow a banner. Send an email to school.travel@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Park safe, Walk safe postcards

Schools can order free postcards (A5 size) to give to parents as part of a 'Park Safe, Walk Safe' campaign to improve driver behaviour outside their school entrance and to offer alternatives to driving to school.

Contact the School Travel Team to request postcards. Send an email to school.travel@brighton-hove.gov.uk and make sure you include your school and how many postcards you want.