Belvedere Park Primary School

Belvedere Park Primary School

BICYCLE AND SCOOTER POLICY

Rationale:

• Students travelling to and from school, as well as those at school, need to be safe.
• Bicycles and scooters are a popular means of transport for students, but their use requires regulation and management.Skateboards are a high risk means of transport and are therefore not a suitable means of transport to school.

Aims:

• To provide a school environment, which is safe for students, is practical, encourages exercise and balances the rights of individuals with the school’s duty of care toward all staff and students.
• To encourage Belvedere Park students and families to adopt safe practices for cycling and scooting to and from school.

Implementation:

• Parents/carers are responsible for their children’s safety when riding bicycles and scooters.
• The school will provide a storage area for bicycles and scooters ridden to school by students during school hours. The school advises students to bring a lock in order to lock their bikes and scooters to the railings or the bike shed fencing. Despite our best efforts to keep bikes and scooters safe the school will not be responsible for any loss or damage to bikes and scooters within the school grounds. The school is not responsible for bicycles or scooters left overnight in the bike shed.
• In line with DEECD guidelines and Vic Roads’ advice, students in Foundation to Year 3 who ride or scoot to and from school,must be in the company of an adult. Bicycles and scooters are very popular methods of transport for students however it is well recognised that young children have underdeveloped motor skills, peripheral vision and judgement.
• The maintenance of bicycles and scooters remain the responsibility of parents/carers and must be in a roadworthy condition to ride to school.
• Students must wear a properly fitted helmet when riding a bicycle or scooter.
• For safety reasons riding or scooting is not permitted inside the school grounds.
• Bicycle education, road rules and safety will form part of the school curriculum.
• Students who do not adhere to school rules will be managed in a manner consistent with the Student Wellbeing and Behaviour Management policy. Consequences of breaking these rules may include students not being allowed to bring their bicycle/scooter onto the school grounds for a period of time determined by the Principal or their delegate.
• Skateboards are NOT allowed in the school grounds.
• All parents will be made aware of these school rules and the safety reasons supporting them.

Evaluation:

• This policy will be reviewed as part of the school’s review cycle.