£2k for Road Safety for The Vale Primary School

Congratulations to The Vale Primary School who have secured a £2,000 grant from vehicle manufacturer Toyota, which will be used for a range of new road safety measures.

Road safety signs, cones, banners and Bikeability courses will all be coming to fruition as the school aims to ease problems around the start and end of the school day when children are dropped-off and collected. The school is located at the top of Langley Vale village, with only one way in and out, and there have been some potentially dangerous incidents which were directly related to traffic. Parents and residents have also made complaints about poor parking, engines left running, and people driving too fast near the school.

The school wants to promote and encourage sustainable travel and healthy lifestyles through walking and cycling to reduce congestion, as well as developing children's skills for independent and safe travel. This funding award means the necessary steps can now be taken.

New road safety measures will support local residents by promoting safe travel, reducing speed and stopping parents leaving engines idling. They will also encourage more mindful parking – as well as making it a safer and cleaner environment for all.

The Toyota Fund for a Better Tomorrow was set up in 2011 to help charities, schools and community projects in the Surrey area, and has since supported over 650 projects and provided over £1,100,000 in funding. To be eligible, we needed to be a community-based project local to the Epsom Toyota offices. We also had to demonstrate the positive and durable impact on the community, and how all stakeholders would be engaged in its delivery, as well as how it aligned to one of Toyota’s strategic aims – sustainable and safe travel.

A ceremonial cheque was presented by Alice Hood and John Ryan from Toyota’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Affairs Department, during a recent school visit. We are delighted that the PTA has secured this funding to help us improve and develop our route to school and site, and support the development of our children’s skills.

Working with the PTA, local village hall committee and pre-school we can plan what is bought and plan a series of courses to offer in-school. We want to ensure road safety for everyone travelling to and from school, and for our local community.