The school run is a staple of school life everywhere in the world.

This year, though, it is taking on a far greater significance as schools, governments and transport providers battle with the challenge of running a socially distanced drop-off process and keeping pupils spaced apart on public transport.

This comes amid a wider push among schools and society to make the school run safer and more environmentally friendly - ideally by giving up cars and encouraging walking, cycling or public transport. But that’s not easy when air pollution can be poor, roads unsafe or children face long journeys to school.

Indeed, new research conducted by the Child Health Initiative clearly shows that while there is an appetite for the school run to become cleaner, greener and safer, half of the 13,000 respondents polled globally feel the roads near their school are not safe enough for children to walk or cycle on or next to.

Yet, three-quarters would welcome physical changes to roads, such as reducing speeds or limited traffic, to make it safer for pupils to get to walk or cycle to school, or to better use public transport to reduce traffic and thereby also improve air quality and reduce emissions.

To this end Unicef and the Child Health Initiative have put together a list of 10 areas that schools should focus on, alongside transport providers and local authorities, to deliver on this aim.

They have also collated examples from schools that have implemented some of the ideas below for others to analyse and seek more information on how the changes can be achieved.

1. Engage the whole school community

Schools should engage in regular communications - both through technology platforms and more traditional methods such as posters - to ensure the whole community understands the transport plans and, specifically, measures to reduce coronavirus transmission.

They add that pupils should be a part of this, too.

2. Ensure physical distancing during school drop-off and pick-up

Perhaps an obvious one, but the report suggests specifically using a queuing system, using markers to outline the space between arrival groups, avoiding parents gathering at school gates during drop-off and arrival, and staggering arrival times as a means to do this.

However, to date, staggered arrival times have been causing some issues for parents at schools (as reported on social media), with many failing to adhere to the time slots they have been given.

3. Prioritise non-motorised transport

An issue before coronavirus, the need to reduce cars and other motor transport near schools has been an issue for some time.

The report recommends working with local authorities to try and make school streets “closed streets” during pick-up and drop-off times so that walking and cycling is safer, and to continue efforts to promote these forms of getting to school over the car.

Schools and authorities should also ensure children with disabilities have the access required to get to school without issue.

4. Make it safe to walk, cycle, scoot and ride a wheelchair

Following on from this they suggest more needs to be done to reduce the speed of roads near schools.

Asking local authorities to install systems that slow vehicles down - such as specific crossing points - is also advised, as well as creating “walking buses” where children can walk together in safety and are clearly visible.

5. Help students who cycle and scoot to follow protocols

For those that already use bikes, hygiene around racks where bikes are left must now be given strong focus to ensure there is no risk of infection spreading in these areas. As such, any bike storage areas must be regularly cleaned and bikes left spaced apart.

They also suggest making sure there is clear signage to wear a helmet and maintain physical distance when on a bike outside school - i.e. at traffic lights - so students do not undo their good work and risk spreading the disease even when cycling.

6. Reduce private vehicle use

The majority of pupils are most likely to arrive by car - especially as a means of reducing coronavirus transmission on public transport. Despite this, the report says that schools should aim to limit this by reducing access to school grounds for private cars.

They also note that the longer-term benefit of this will be reducing emissions and helping to improve air quality.

7. Treat school buses as extensions of the classroom

Schools should consider how they can reduce the number of buses used to bring children to school by changing timetables or alternating routes to pick up more children. This may not be sensible right now, but it is suggested as more of a long-term goal.

Hygiene on public transport also needs better consideration, with the suggestion that a designated member of staff should be responsible for safety and hygiene on each bus. 

Spare masks should be provided to drivers for the pupils that - inevitably - will forget or lose their mask.

8. Promote safety and hygiene on public and shared transport

Following on from this, pupils should be taught about the importance of wider hygiene on all public transport to help minimise the risk of infection and reduce the spread of the disease.

9. Ensure equal access for marginalised populations

Schools and local authorities must ensure any transport options to school are equipped for all students, such as those with visual impairments or those that use a wheelchair. Ideally, schools should do a test run and identify any issues for students before they arise.

10. Sustain changes in the long term

Lastly, the report urges that any changes that are made will ideally have an eye on the future to ensure that schools, transport providers and local authorities are providing a transport setup that is as clean, green, safe and easy to use as possible.

Dan Worth is a senior editor at Tes