Operation of the new school car parking scheme.

We are delighted to see the near completion of our new car parking scheme at the school. The lighting and perimeter fencing are the final jobs and the contractor has assured us that these will be finished by the end of next week. ( by Friday 7th Sept).

In the meantime, the area is available for us to use. The parking spaces along the kerb are for staff only and we would appreciate that parents adhere to this to ensure the smooth running of the system.

The system will be one way, with traffic entering at the bottom and exiting at the top school gate.

The two buses will drive into the area and drop off/ pick up on the left hand side. Both the entrance and exit must be kept clear at all times to allow the traffic to flow freely. The buses will need plenty of room to get in and out so we ask that you leave adequate space for buses arriving and leaving.

If either bus is still there when you arrive for drop off/pick up, we ask that you do not pull up alongside or ahead of the bus as the driver will be hemmed in, causing chaos for everyone. You can use the bottom half of the car park until the buses have gone, after which you use the bus area to pull in.

We predict that morning drop-off will be more straightforward, as parents are arriving at different times.

When you arrive in the evening for pick-up, we encourage you to remain in your car and we will do our best to direct your child to you. We will be encouraging pupils to use the passenger side to get into the car.

For parents of P1-P3 children, you are free to use the parking facility and walk up the path to the back playground to collect your child at 2pm.  There will be quite a bit of traffic at this time so it is important that everyone parks sensibly and leaves room for others to exit. When you collect your child, please keep them beside you at all times, as there will be unseen dangers due to the new layout.

While the scheme is a positive step in the right direction, it will not take all the school traffic off the road. Parents are still encouraged to park at either the upper side of the school or below the school and walk up to collect children.

Teachers of P4-P7 classes will be walking the pupils down to the new collection point from Monday onwards. The original collection point at the upper gates will not be used for now.

We have no way of envisaging how this new system will work, other than to take it a day at a time. We are relying on you the parents to work with us on trying to utilise the new space in the best and safest way possible. Ultimately, the safety of our children is the priority and I stress that we will not take kindly to anyone being inconsiderate to other drivers or putting our children in danger through haste or impatience.

Thank you for your cooperation on this matter.

Mrs B Casey