Community-centred and data-driven interventions for school safety : the walking safely to school project

Abstract

The South African Schools Act (1996) stipulates that schooling is compulsory for all children from 7 to 15 years or Grades 1-9 (Government Gazette, 1996), making safe travel to school essential. According to the 2023 General Household Travel Survey, two-thirds of South Africa's 15.4 million school-going children walk to school, yet inadequate road infrastructure poses significant safety risks (Koekemoer et al., 2017). The Walking Safely to School Project, implemented at selected Tshwane schools, addresses these challenges through a comprehensive, evidence-based approach. Key project components include engaging stakeholders and communities to identify safety concerns around schools, school-based road safety training, pedestrian infrastructure assessments using the iRAP Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) tool, and implementing targeted road upgrades. As the first global evidence-based tool to measure and communicate the risks children face on school journeys, SR4S helps guide improvements and advocates for speed limit reductions in school zones. This paper discusses the project’s preliminary findings on community safety perceptions, baseline SR4S results for school pedestrian infrastructure and outcomes from simulated upgrades using the SR4S Demonstrator. By adopting a community-centred, data-driven approach, the project aims to create safer school zones and establish a model for scaling up school safety interventions across South Africa.