Getting children to school safely

Advice and resources to help you get your children to and from school safely.

Research shows that children under 12 don't have the skills and experience needed to be safe in traffic on their own and should be taken to school by an adult. 

Keeping children safe at the school gate

Some simple things you can do to help keep children safe around the school gate are as follows:

• Drive safely and obey the speed limits.
• Park so that your child can leave the car on the footpath side away from traffic.
• Pay attention to other children at the side and behind your car when parking, dropping off or setting off.
• Park so you don’t block the flow of traffic or access for emergency vehicles (don’t double park).
• Do not stop or park where there are yellow zig-zag lines along the edge of the road and the words ‘SCHOOL KEEP CLEAR’.
• Do not park on any double yellow lines.
• Do not park on a footpath or a cycle track (this is an offence).
• Do not park in a way that would block the school entrance or exit, residents’ driveways or junctions.
• Do not park at bus stops, disabled parking spots or private parking spots.
• Do not park within 15 metres before or 5 metres after a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.

You should also think about:

• Encouraging your children to walk or cycle to school to increase their physical fitness (it’s a good opportunity for you to be more physically active too!).
• Car-pooling or taking public transport.
• Parking nearby and walking the rest of the way.

Going to School (a guide for parents and guardians)

Going to School is a handy guide with helpful tips for parents and guardians on how to get their children to school safely. It’s available in both English and Irish and you can download and view it here: 

Hiring a bus for school trips and events

We have a useful checklist of what to look out for when hiring a bus for a school trip, sports match, outing or other event where children are being transported.

School gate risk - guidelines for schools

Guideline to improving road safety around your school, the aim is to provide information and tools which will assist school management to develop and implement a road safety action plan in collaboration with the school community to reduce the risk of any incidents occurring during the commute to and from school.