Where are we?
Located next to Talbot Heath Nature Reserve, Bishop Aldhelm’s is perfectly positioned to benefit from its environment. Tucked away at the end of Winston Avenue, the school enjoys the peacefulness of backing onto the heathland whilst also having accessible links to the local housing areas.
Positioned on the border of Bournemouth and Poole, Bishop Aldhelm’s is in a prime position to support children from across the borough. Local bus routes from the centre of Bournemouth are used by a number of families.
Listed below are a few ways that you can travel to school.
Entrances into school
At Bishop Aldhelm’s there are 3 entrances that can be used to enter and exit the school. This allows for families to choose a location convenient to them. The picture on the right with the stars shows these entrances.
Walking to school
Walking to school is encouraged. Not only are the physical and mental benefits to walking to school, you will also support the reduction in car use and therefore emissions in our local area. If you live too far away to walk the whole way, consider parking nearby and walking the final part into school.
Children in Year 5 and 6 are able to walk to and from school on their own, with their parents permission. See below for more information.
Cycling to school
See our 'Cycling to School- One Page Policy' in the links below.
At Bishop Aldhelm’s Primary School, we recognise both the environmental and health benefits of cycling to school and wish to promote safe cycling to school. Cycling gives children freedom as it provides an opportunity for independent travel. The school encourages cycling as a safe and affordable means of getting to and from school with minimal impact on the environment. Parents are responsible for the safe transport of children to school. There is storage on site for children to put their bikes.
Scooting to school
Non motorised scooters are a fun and active way to get to school. There are facilities on site for children to store their scooters. Or why not join other parents in scooting home after you’ve dropped your child off!
Bus to school
There are a number of bus stops close to the school, with one right outside the gates. This makes it easier to travel to school by bus. Buses from Bournemouth Town Centre can take as little at 14 minutes.
Use the Morebus website to plan your route using the local buses: https://www.morebus.co.uk/plan-your-journey
Before school
Before the school day starts and after the school days ends, parents are responsible for the safety of their children. We ask that children are not left unattended on the school premises either before or after school.
To safeguard our youngest children, adults (over 16 years old) are required to accompany all children in Preschool and EYFS to the door of their classroom and to collect them from there at the end of the school day. From Year 1, children are able to walk into school from the 'drop off zone' if deemed responsible enough to do so by parents and school staff.
After school
At the end of the school day, children in pre-school up to Year 4 must be collected from their classroom door by a named adult for the child (over 16 years old). If an adult turns up to collect your child and we have not been notified and they are not a named contact, the adult will have to wait until we have verified his or her identity.
In the summer term of Year 4, permission letters are sent out to parents to consent, if they feel that their child is responsible enough, to meet their adult at the school gates. Only children with a signed form will be able to leave the classroom without an adult collecting them.
Children arriving to and from school on their own- Year 5 and 6.
Children in Year 5 and 6 will be allowed to walk home alone if they have a signed permission form allowing them. Without this form, children will need to be collected by an adult from the classroom door.
When deciding whether a child is ready for the responsibility of walking to and/or from home we ask parents to consider the following:
1. Do you trust them to walk straight to school or straight home, using the agreed safe route?
2. Are there roads to cross on the route and how busy/safe are those roads?
3. Do you trust them to behave sensibly when with a friend or group of friends?
4. Are they road safety aware?
5. Would they know what to do if a stranger approaches them?
6. Would they know what to do if they needed help?
7. Do they understand about keeping themselves safe and not to make any dangerous choices, either by themselves or with a group of friends?