It's time to think about car park safety again

We are very fortunate because most people are courteous and sensible when they pick their children up. Some arrive at 3.10pm (3.15pm on a wet day) on a regular basis so that they miss the big rush. This is very helpful. 

Others simply accept that they are going to have to park a little away from the school and walk into school even on wet days. This is helpful too, and what is more, a little rain generally doesn't do any harm. I know, because we spent years and years attending cross country and road races every weekend through the winter, come rain, hail and sometimes snow and our eight kids were always pretty healthy.

So thank you to those who simply accept that the pick of up children will require patience, courtesy, care and a little discomfort at times and we know that is just about all of you. However, what continues to surprise us is that there are a few people who obviously know the car park expectations but sometimes only follow them when we are watching. I really worry about the message this is sending to children - the message that we only need to follow rules or laws when there is a risk we might get caught. I don't think this is a message that will serve children well.

The thing is that though we might be able to squeeze in a few new carparks when we do the new building, essentially what we have in terms of car parks is it and we are going to have to make the best of it as the school grows - we are just going to have to get better and better at "doing" pick up time. In fact, we should acknowledge with appreciation that we are better off than most schools in terms of pick up times.

The Board definitely acknowledges that there are problems with the driveway entrance way, especially when you turn in from up Amesbury Drive, and we are working through a process to get it fixed.

Anyway, here is a reminder of the safe behaviours we expect from everyone at pick up and drop off time.

• When turning into, or driving out of, the school driveway, please take extreme care. It is hard to see the corner and you can feel as though you are driving a bit blind as you turn. If everyone drives very slowly, considerately and carefully, it will reduce or even eliminate the risk of an accident.
• Drop-off/pick- up zone: This is not a place to pause and wait for your child to come out. If you arrive at the zone and your child is not waiting, you need to drive on and go around the loop again to allow parents whose children are waiting, to pick their child/ren up safely. If several people pause in the pick-up zone waiting for their children to come out, then it will become difficult and dangerous for parents to pick up children who are already waiting.
• If you arrive at 3.10pm to pick up your child (other than Te Rito), you are unlikely to have to wait and this helps ease the congestion.
• Please only  park in clearly designated car parks and do not stop and wait at any point around the turning loop. This can quickly turn into a problem.
• Please do not park in the disability car parks unless you have a disability sticker. We do have people who need to use these car parks.
• Please teach your child to wait at the pick-up/drop- off zone back from the footpath edge, behind the yellow line, and to wait for your car to fully stop before moving forward to open the door.  We will also do our best to ensure this happens.
• Please always ensure your child climbs out of the car on the school side of the vehicle so they do not risk stepping into the path of oncoming traffic.
• When you use the drop-off/pick- up zone, please always drive to the front of it. This will make it easier for other cars to come in behind you.
• Do not park in front of the entrance to the Boiler Room and Caretaker’s Shed: This is a driveway which provides access to important services for the school including rubbish bins. It is essential that it is kept clear at all times.
• Parents sometimes wait in the car park loop for spare car parks to become available. Unless a car is leaving a car park immediately, we cannot have vehicles waiting and potentially holding up the traffic. We require you to drive around the loop and try again.
• Please park properly on Amesbury Drive and not over people's driveways. 

When asked to move, a number of people tell us they will only be a couple of minutes. The problem is that if everyone parks in the wrong place for a couple of minutes then the car park would be a very dangerous place indeed. We understand that sometimes enforcing rules seems silly and overly officious. However, in the interests of the safety of our children, we have decided that the only option we have is to require all people to follow the car park rules at all times.

A full copy of our Carpark Safety Procedure can be found here.