Local Sefton school children have been having their say on their local area. Sefton Council with the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans) have spent the past year working with pupils and the wider school community to create a list of prioritised improvements that will make the school journey safer and more enjoyable.

Some changes have already been made, like the addition of a Park and Stride at Bootle Leisure Centre, that encourage school children and their families to choose to walk, wheel or cycle to school.

Benefits of active travel

Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families Cllr Diane Roscoe said:

“Active travel to school, like walking, wheeling or cycling, has many benefits, from improving physical health, helping pupils feel more energised and able to focus better in the classroom to encouraging independence in older children and improved social interaction in the community.

“This is alongside the environmental benefits of leaving the car at home for the school run.

Local pupils share their ideas for improvements

“Within the North Park area, many live within a 10 minute walk to school, with most pupils living much less than 5km of their local primary school. Over two-thirds of the pupils lived within the project area itself.

“This work is about making the streets around the school nicer and safer to be in, so more people want to walk, wheel or cycle to school. The kids love it too.”

Local pupils highlighted that they wanted to see improvements like more seating, greenery, artwork, better lighting, more bins and less dog muck, safer crossings, reduced speed limits and parking restrictions like a school street (where a road outside a school is temporarily closed to traffic during school drop-off and pick-up times).

The Council are defining a programme of improvement works to start in 2026. These changes will start to be implemented this year.

How we collected the data

To help decide specific improvements to be considered, workshops were held with pupils, pop-ups outside school gates and drop-ins with members of the local community. Over 90 pupil’s voices were heard and over 600 comments from the wider community were received.

Several rounds of engagement were held to focus on developing a programme of work, to allow the measures to be prioritised into quick wins, short-term, medium-term and long-term improvements for potential delivery, as funding becomes available.

Who we've worked with

The first phase of works started in January 2025 in the North Park area of Bootle, working with All Saints Catholic Primary, King’s Lander Primary, St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary and Thomas Gray Primary School. Local community groups including Brunswick Youth and Community Centre, Gateway Collective and Ykids were also engaged in order to gain local knowledge. In January 2026, work has also started with Linacre Primary school, as an addition to the North Park Neighbourhood.

Sam Turner, Active Travel Officer for Walk Wheel Cycle Trust said:

“Working with the school community in the North Park area has been a fantastic experience, particularly our engagement with the children and young people. It is clear to that there is a strong community spirit and an appetite for making school journeys safer.

“The ideas and lived experience we were able to gather whilst working with the schools and community groups has been an essential part of the work. I can’t wait to see some of these ideas come to life.”

In addition to the North Park Bootle School Neighbourhood, the Council is aiming to roll out similar School Neighbourhood projects across the borough, with the addition of the Rimrose Hope School Zone project, which started in Spring 2025.

Benefits to the School Neighbourhood approach

Cabinet Member for Housing and Highways, Cllr Daren Veidman said:

“This approach is so beneficial for the local community. School pupils and the wider school community who know their area best are heard and it is their suggestions we are putting in place.

“When a car idles for one minute, over 150 balloons worth of harmful emissions is produced. With less cars sat idling outside the school gates as people chose to walk, wheel or cycle to school there is less pollution for everyone. We know air quality is an important issue, especially around the school gates and this School Neighbourhood approach is one of the ways we are tackling air pollution.

“Because the improvements are in the community, it benefits everyone. These streets aren’t just for the school community, local people are using these streets every day to go to work or the shops or walk the dog, and everyone will benefit from healthier, cleaner, greener and safer streets.”

Find out more about the School Neighbourhood work.