Travel and Transport
School Transport
Almost all students who are admitted to Oak Lodge have yet to develop the skills that would enable them to travel safely and independently to school.
The London Borough of Barnet SEN Transport Panel will consider parental requests for transport from Barnet residents. Parallel arrangements are in place for other local authorities that may commission a place at Oak Lodge.
If agreed the Transport Department will make arrangements and will tell you when your child will be picked up and returned home.
Any queries concerning transport should be addressed to your Local Authority. If the Panel refuse a request for transport, it becomes the parent’s/carer’s responsibility to ensure that students get to school on time and are safely collected at the end of the day.
Some school support staff are trained as travel-trainers and we aim to ensure wherever possible that students are either independent travellers or have made progress towards becoming so, by the time they leave school.
School Travel Plan
We encourage all staff to use active or sustainable modes of travel for their daily commute, by walking, cycling or using public transport. Only 40% of staff arrive at school by private car or motorcycle; everyone else is car sharing, cycling or using public transport!
Independent Travel Training
Road safety and the development of independent travel skills are a regular feauture of every student's learning at Oak Lodge. This will involve progressively developmental activities that are adapted to suit each student's emerging skills, so that in time many will have the confidence and ability to plan and make journeys of their own. Whilst most students arrive at school by SEN Transport minibuses or taxis, educational visits to local and regional places of interest are a daily feature of our curriculum and are always undertaken using public transport wherever possible to maximise opportunities to practice travel skills.
"Park and Stride"
There are limited parking spaces on the school site. As the road down to school can become congested, we encourage all parents and visitors travelling by car to consider parking in other local roads, where space is legally available. Click here to see walking times from local streets in East Finchley.
School Travel Policy