School’s response to increase in bike thefts – no bikes

Just ****ing brilliant.  Senior management of a school judged by OFSTED as "requiring improvement" flail around ... and go off on a wobbly about kids cycling to school.

Just a hint, for you buggers "managing" the school?  OFSTED didn't put the boot into you for your cycling provision, but for your inadequate education provision?

Sorry "managers", but howsabout you focus on your real job?  The education of kids, to fulfill their full potential?

Good to know that wearing a helmet keeps my bike safe from theft.

What happens if there is an increase in vehicle accidents in the area or car thefts?

Will the school ask parents not to take their children to school by bike?

The response to the problem outlined makes little sense.

"We have been made aware by the local Police that bicycle thefts in the area have recently been on the increase. As such, we would ask parents/carers to request that their children refrain from bringing bicycles into school."

You need to read between the lines - the school is just being realistic, and does not want the police turning up and finding all the stolen bikes parked on site, hence the request that pupils do not bring their latest set of wheels to school!

And just how many bicycles have been stolen from the School?

Maybe ths school should stop letting pupils go there? Or maybe everyone, children, teachers and parents, should have to wear cycle helmets at all times, whether or not they are cycling?

Providing "secure" bike parking should not even cost much, a metal fence, 6 foot high, spikey-ish top, and a locked gate once bikes are in until end of day (or maybe lunchtime if required), all of the above to surround the current bike parking.  If theives are willing to lift bikes over that, after cutting the locks, then they've maybe earned the bike (NO not really)
 

Are the thefts directly connected to the school? An increase in burglaries from peoples homes or muggings taking place on the way to / from school?

If any if those scenarios I don't see how not cycling to school is the answer.

If the first then the school needs to question not just how best to provide secure cycle storage but more importantly how it intends to tackle undesireable people being on school property at all.

If the second, then the bicycle may actually be safer at school during the day.

If the last, then if not mugging children for their bicycles, the offenders will be mugging them for other valuables and the Police need to be taking action really rather urgently before a child is stabbed or worse.

Who knows, without empirical evidence from a 5 year study, helmet wearing may actually reduce the incidence of bicycle theft...joking.

Children failing exams - close down school. No more failed exams. 

Impeccable logic 

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Really forward thinking here by the educators who've just taught these kids that it's not a good idea to bike to school, but get their parents to drop them off instead.

I hope they've taken into account to extra traffic outside the school.

My daughters academy have just closed one gate, so all the kids leave by the main road, and with the drop off and pick up, it's absolute pandemonium now. If the kids on bikes didn't ride to school it'd be carmagedon at the peak times

I would have thought the use of a good quality lock may have been an intelligent suggestion.

NCP (car parks) could advise all drivers not to bring cars into their car parks. No more theft. Happy days. Taking this further Marks and Spencer could close all the shops. No more shop lifting.

Absolutely ludicrous decision.

Would be a far better approach from the school to beef up the existing provision of secure bike parking, given their policy of encouraging cycling.

Perhaps... make bike parking available on-site, covered by CCTV, reasonably away from site access points to avoid anyone just nipping in and lifting a bike?

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Why bring up the unrelated safety equipment angle

Because such notes are not researched and written by qualified and experienced transport and safety management professionals, they're written by the well meaning but ignorant admin staff at the school and these people's experience of cycling extends only to what they read in their favourite newspaper (/website) most recently.

It's quite possible that there is a provision in the school's liability insurance which states that any children cycling to school must wear helmets (in the same way as there is for many sportives), and this has filtered down into the rules that must be obeyed.

Twenty years ago we had a similar rule at my school.  We all ignored it.  We all died.