Education

Children are the future of Swords and without their involvement then an inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable town may not be achieved.

It is critically important to involve children in the project and to consult with them on the development of their town. Children have often been forgotten and left out of the planning process, as a result towns and cities have been developed which often neglect the needs and wants of children in terms of how they use spaces, how they feel when in a space, what facilities they need and how they would like to travel.

It is critical to consult with children and the school community so that a holistic approach is taken when developing solutions for the town. There are currently twenty-four schools in Swords registered on the Green-Schools programme with a population of approximately 7,000 students. Project team members Green-Schools has dedicated Travel Officers who can liaise with the schools over the project period to carry out the following work:

• Walkability Audits – these audits are carried out by students to assess how pedestrian friendly these routes are when it comes to school travel. The audits are an excellent tool in which to determine the barriers facing children and parents and offer students an opportunity to demonstrate where new or improved infrastructure can be located.
• Cyclability Audits – these audits are carried out by students to assess how existing cycling routes to school are in terms of safety, infrastructural provision and permeability. The audits are then used to inform the Local Authority of how the user – the child – uses the routes to school and how these routes can be upgraded or retrofitted to improve safety and thereby increasing the number of children who cycle to school.