MEN Article On School Traffic “Chaos”

Levenshulme is in the news with an article in the Manchester Evening News about traffic problems around schools.

“A community campaign group [Streets For People] is urging local councillors to take action on dangerous parking and increased school traffic in south Manchester.”

Extract from MEN article

Streets For People is hosting a Zoom meeting on Sunday 20th September 2020 at 3pm. The group says:

We are organising a public meeting on the issue of what’s happening with the Low Traffic Neighbourhood proposals, and especially the council’s inaction on the dangerous situation outside schools caused by motor traffic.

We challenge the Levenshulme and Burnage councillors and council leadership to attend this meeting and explain to residents what is happening.”

Streets For People

Read the full article HERE

You can view the Streets for People video below or on their website HERE.

School Crossing Safety Improvements

Significant improvements are taking place to the roads around our schools as part of a road safety project by Manchester City Council. Full details of the improvements are provided below.

The schools affected in this area are:

  • Acacias Primary School
  • Alma Park Primary School
  • Chapel Street Primary School
  • Crowcroft Park Primary School
  • Levenshulme High School for Girls
  • St Mary’s Primary School
  • St Richard’s Primary School

The aims are:

  • to reduce the speed that traffic can move around the school
  • to increase the visibility of the crossing
  • to stop drivers parking on or near the crossing.  

Manchester City Council says:

“We’re committed to making the roads around our schools much safer. These improvements are essential and should encourage more families to walk to school.

The improvements have been designed specifically for each crossing location, taking into account facts and figures relating to accident data and evidence from the site and surrounding areas.

We believe that these measures will make our school neighbourhoods much safer environments, and reduce the likelihood of accidents happening.”

Manchester City Council School Road Safety Projects

The council announcements are available HERE. Work has already started on the Chapel Street Primary School improvements.

If you wish to comment on these changes you can email the council at: engcp8@manchester.gov.uk

Please note that this project is not part of the Active Neighbourhood proposals currently in development that were previously badged as Levenshulme Bee Network.

What are the changes?

Acacias Primary School

  • Burnage Lane / School Entrance
    • Zebra Crossing
    • Bollards
    • Guardrail
  • Crossley Road and Moorton Avenue
    • Speed cushions / traffic calming
    • Bollards

Alma Park Primary School and St Mary’s Primary School

  • Errwood Road / Clare Road / Buckhurst Road
  • (assumed roads as specific locations not specified apart from Buckhurst Road)
    • Flat top junction/crossing
    • Tactile paving
    • New signage
    • Renew road markings
    • Tighten Buckhurst Road junction
    • Raised puffin crossing
    • Speed cushions
    • Bollards and railings

Chapel Street Primary School

  • Barlow Road / Cromwell Grove
    • Tighten junction
    • Realign island
    • Signalised crossing
    • ‘No Waiting At Any Time’ markings
  • Broom Lane / Chapel Street
    • Speed cushions
    • New signs and road markings

Crowcroft Park Primary School / St Richard’s Primary School

  • Northmoor Road / Stovell Avenue / Wilpshire Avenue
  • (assumed roads as specific locations not specified)
    • Kerb buildout to slow traffic
    • Bollards to prevent dangerous parking
    • Dropped kerbs for increased access
    • Tactile paving
    • Refreshed road markings
    • Reduced foliage for increased visibility

Levenshulme High School for Girls

  • Burnage Lane / school gates
    • Zebra crossing
    • Bollards
    • Guardrails
  • Crossley Road/ Moorton Ave
    • Speed cushions/ traffic calming
    • Bollards

Getting Free School Meals During the Covid19 Crisis

Free School Meals

Coronavirus: information about help with food costs while schools are closed.

If your child qualifies and their school is in Manchester, you can Apply for free school meals

You’ll need to contact the school yourself if it isn’t listed.

If your child’s school is outside Manchester, their free school meals will be dealt with by the local authority the school is in. Go to the GOV.UK website and enter the postcode of the school your child attends to find out how to get them.

Which children qualify for them?

Your child may qualify if you have any of these incomes:

  •  Income Support
  •  income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  •  income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  •  the guaranteed part of Pension Credit
  •  Child Tax Credit (as long as your annual gross income is £16,190 or less and  you don’t get Working Tax Credit)
  •  Working Tax Credit run-off after you come off Working Tax Credit
  •  Universal Credit that you applied for on, or after, 1 April 2018. As long as your household income is less than £7,400 a year after tax, not including any benefits

Children who receive these benefits themselves instead of through a parent or guardian, can also qualify for free school meals.

Your child may qualify if you are an asylum seeker.

Children who are younger than the compulsory age for starting school but in full-time education, can also get free school meals.

How long can they get free school meals for?

Children who are eligible for free school meals now will be eligible for them until either:

  • they finish school; or
  • if on 31 March 2022 they are still in school, until they finish the phase of schooling they are in (primary or secondary) –

whichever is sooner.

Infant free school meals in England

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 can get free school meals whatever your income. But if you have one of the qualifying incomes (above) it will help the school if you tell them this, so they can get extra funding.