Road Safety GB has partnered with TMS Consultancy to enhance efforts to support local authorities to evaluate the availability of a child’s journey to school.
In November 2025, Road Safety GB published an updated version of the Assessment of Walked Routes to School guidelines.
The guidelines exist to help officers carry out assessments on walked routes to school where the journey is below the statutory distance.
The assessments are normally required where it is claimed that the route is not safe and therefore the local authority should provide free transport.
On 5 March, Road Safety GB, with support from TMS Consultancy and Dorset Council, hosted a webinar on the updated guidelines, attended by more than 225 professionals.
The webinar, a recording of which is available to watch on YouTube, was split into three parts.
In part one, Road Safety GB’s executive director James Gibson provided an overview of the latest updates to the guidelines which have been introduced to improve consistency and aid clarity within the document.
James Gibson said: “Road Safety GB is committed to helping with this area of work. The updates to the guidelines are relatively small but are significant in terms of improving the overall document. A key thing has been to ensure consistent use of language throughout, which will help officers to interpret the various points clearly.
“An important note is that the guidelines provide guidance it is for the individual local authority carrying out an assessment to set their own policy.”
In part two, Joe Allen and Rob Camp from Dorset Council highlighted the benefits of reviewing historic walked routes assessment decisions with an example of a review in Dorset.
Part three saw Jess Waldron and Steve Proctor from TMS Consultancy outline the Walked Routes to School training course delivered by TMS Consultancy, incorporating further detail on risk assessment methodology and its practical application to walked routes.
During the webinar, it was announced that Road Safety GB members can now enjoy a discounted rate on the TMS Consultancy course, with the next running of the course taking place on 29-30 April.
The course provides an overview of the current national guidance, the process of risk assessment, and the applicability of risk assessment techniques to road safety activities and walked routes to school sites, in particular. Site visits are also conducted on this course to allow delegates to put their learnings into practice.
Jess Waldron, TMS Consultancy, said: “It was wonderful to see such strong uptake and engagement for the Walked Routes to School webinar.
“At TMS Consultancy, we pride ourselves on bringing real-world knowledge into every course; sharing insights that go beyond the policies, and practical tips you will be able to implement into your workplace straight away.”
PIC-ROAD SAFETY GB
