Roads directly outside Oakdale Junior School are now closed to traffic at drop-off and pick-up times.

The Poole school has become the sixth school in the Bournemouth and Poole area to trial the School Streets initiative. The others are Hamworthy Park Junior School and Livingstone Road Infant School in Poole and St Michael’s CE Primary School, St Clement’s & St John’s CE Infant School, and Pokesdown Community School in Bournemouth.

Mrs E Bissell, headteacher at Oakdale Junior School, said: “I’m thrilled that we are able to trial a School Street here. Congestion has long been an issue, and I hope this will encourage more children and their families to travel actively to school.”

Richard Pincroft, head of Transportation at BCP Council, said: “We have had fantastic feedback from the other schools running School Streets, so it’s great we have been able to extend this to Oakdale Junior School.

“This initiative has had a really positive impact in terms of how safe parents and children feel at drop-off and pick-up times. Not only are people encouraged to leave their cars at home and walk, cycle or wheel to school instead, but less traffic means improved air quality outside schools, helping us to work towards our climate and ecological emergency goals.”

The trial at Oakdale Junior School will run at least until the end of the summer term, during which a formal consultation process will take place.  After this point a decision will be made to either finish the trial, extend it, or make the School Street permanent.

Those affected – particularly parents, carers, local businesses and residents – can have their say by clicking on https://haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/hub-page/school-streets.