STARS - Interim Evaluation Results

About STARS

STARS (Sustainable Travel Accreditation and Recognition for Schools) is a European funded project delivering a behavioural change programme to increase the number of school students using sustainable methods of transport to school. The project has delivered a pan-EU accreditation scheme and a peer-to-peer engagement programme in 9 EU cities, including the London Borough of Hackney.  

The project has two tiers, allowing it to reach both primary and secondary school students:

  • Primary Schools: The accreditation programme focuses on empowering primary schools (pupils, teachers and parents) to engage in cycling. The accreditation programme is based on the principle of recognition. Schools work their way up an awards scale from a bronze to a gold star accreditation, based on how much they are doing to promote cycling and the mode shift they achieve.
  • Secondary Schools: The peer-to-peer engagement programme targets secondary school students aged between 11-19 years. The programme encourages students to devise their own campaigns to promote cycling. The principle of the programme is that students are more likely to persuade their peers using their own ideas and activities.

The overall aim of STARS is to take the tried and tested behaviour change approaches of accreditation and peer-to-peer engagement to achieve a modal shift away from the car to cycling and other active modes for the journey to and from school.

Evaluation Results

An interim review of the first year (2013/14) of the project has been carried out to monitor and evaluate the progress of the programme and monitor the modal shift from car use towards more sustainable modes of transport. Below is a summary of the STARS interim review MEP (Monitoring and Evaluation Plan). The full report can be found here.

Note: Due to difficulties surveying all schools twice within the schools year we have only been able to compare data on modal shift and CO2e saved for four partners (Hackney, Edinburgh, Krakow and Madrid) in the consortium.

Accreditation Programme Results (Primary Schools)

  • A total of 75 Primary Schools participated with 28,970 students and more than 3,200 teachers. Together more than 2,300 activities were developed during the first year.
  • 48 Schools (64% of the total number of school 2014/15) reached the conditions to obtain accreditation: eight schools obtained gold accreditation, nine schools obtained silver and 31 schools obtained bronze.
  • 496,234 km shifted from car to active modes resulting in 125 ton CO2e saved.
  • 249,928 km shifted from public transport to active modes resulting in 25 ton CO2e saved.

Peer-to-Peer Engagement programme Results (Secondary Schools)

  • A total of 39 Secondary Schools participated with 25,683 students and more than 1,000 teachers.
  • 350 Youth Travel Ambassadors recruited to promote peer-to-peer activities
  • 252 activities developed an average of 9 activities per school a year.
  • 281,292 km shifted from car to active modes resulting in 125 ton CO2e saved.
  • 2,031,556 km shifted from public transport to active modes resulting in 25 ton CO2e saved.

Evaluation Results - London Borough of Hackney

The London Borough of Hackney implemented STARS at both levels reaching both primary and secondary schools in the borough. 

The London Borough of Hackney – Participation Results

Schools targeted

Number of Schools Participating

Number of Students

Number of Staff

Primary School Results

13

19

6,502

990

Secondary School Results

5

4

2,570

+314

 

Accreditation Programme Results (Primary Schools)

In the accreditation programme schools work their way up an awards scale from bronze to gold, based on how much they are doing to promote cycling and the mode shift they achieve.  Across the 19 schools participating a total of 817 activities were carried out; the highest number out of all the partners.  As a result, 18 schools out of the 19 schools participating reached the conditions required for accreditation; six schools received bronze, four silver and 8 eight gold accreditation. The London Borough of Hackney was the only partner to award gold accreditation to their primary schools.

Peer-to-Peer Engagement programme Results (Secondary Schools)

The peer-to-peer engagement programme encourages students to devise their own campaigns to increase cycling; the principle being the students are more likely to influence their peers using their own ideas. As part of this, STARS implementation in Secondary schools focused on the recruitment of Youth Travel Ambassadors (YTAs). YTAs are pupils with the motivation and leadership to develop communication and awareness campaigns from a peer-to-peer approach with their school colleagues. In the London Borough of Hackney 64 YTAS were recruited across the four secondary schools with 59 activities carried out across the school year.

Conclusion

The Interim Report evaluates the first year of implementation and early indications of its impact. The data obtained in the second surveys provide a useful basis for identifying the potential for STARS Europe in the change of behaviour in school trips towards active mobility. A final report of the project will be available at the end of the project (March 2016).

For more information please visit the STARS project website and sign up for the STARS newsletter for regular updates. If you have any questions about the STARS project please contact a member of the LEPT team.