Leigh-on-Sea: Pupils and parents 'chilled' by school car ban

Head teacher Yolande Sayer (left) said parents were sometimes upset by the driving and parking outside the school

Banning cars from outside a school at pick-up and drop-off times has made parents and pupils more "chilled", a head teacher said.

West Leigh Infant and Junior are the latest to join Southend Borough Council's School Streets scheme.

Head of infants Yolande Sayer said traffic had meant "it wasn't a relaxed start or end" to the school day.

Barriers and marshals, who are trained school staff, now block access to the street for cars, vans and motorbikes.

Staff are still able to park at the two schools, which are separate but share the same site, and residents that live within the restricted area have been supplied with permit stickers to allow access.

The scheme is due to run for 12 months.

Trained marshals prevent cars driving up to the schools by rolling out barriers on Ronald Hill Grove

Money for the scheme has come from the Department for Transport's emergency active travel fund.

Mrs Sayer said the traffic problem had been made more difficult due to people having to socially distance when walking.

"People got very cross because they couldn't cross the road, and couldn't pass one another on the pavements," she said.

She said parents would "often arrived complaining about inconsiderate behaviour" on the road.

The head teacher said: "Hopefully this allows people to have a bit more of a chilled start to the day and we'll have a better day in school because of that."

Two other schools in the borough have been operating the scheme since December, and another will join in the coming weeks, the council said.

The authority added that the scheme was only "viable" on residential roads, and could not be introduced at schools on main roads.