Modeshift STARS for secondary schools

What is Modeshift STARS?

Modeshift STARS is a national schools awards scheme that has been established to recognise schools that have demonstrated excellence in supporting cycling, walking and other forms of sustainable travel. The scheme encourages schools across the country to join in a major effort to increase levels of sustainable and active travel in order to improve the health and well-being of children and young people. Every school in England can participate in Modeshift STARS for free. On completion of an application for Modeshift STARS, schools will automatically have a brand new School Travel Plan.

Many schools in Southampton are already becoming STARS accredited by working hard to educate their children about the benefits of active travel in innovative and fun ways.

Getting accredited

Once your school is signed up to Modeshift STARS and you are ready to get started there are five levels of accreditation that you can achieve:

Green Award

For schools who intend to develop a STARS travel plan and can demonstrate that they have planned travel and supporting initiatives recorded. Could be useful for planning applications.

Bronze Award

For schools that demonstrate a commitment to promoting sustainable transport by conducting an annual survey, identifying travel issues and solutions and delivering a range of travel initiatives.

Silver Award

For schools that achieve a reduction in car use on the journey to school, deliver a whole-school approach and deliver above and beyond what is normally expected of a school.

Gold Award

For schools that have excelled with promoting sustainable travel and achieved a noticeable reduction in car use on the journey to school by fully embracing sustainable travel as the norm throughout the entire school community.

Platinum Award

For schools who have achieved gold and can demonstrate that active modes of travel, e.g. walking, cycling and scooting, have been increased by at least 5% within 4 years.

See our latest pocket guide to the initiatives below.

Other benefits

• On submitting an application to Modeshift STARS, the system will automatically generate a new School Travel Plan for you which will deliver significant time and cost savings. If, however, you are needing a travel plan to support a planning application, please contact the School Travel Planning Team for advice on the requirements.
• The scheme has various resources and toolkits that have been designed to ensure that your pupils can get involved in helping the school to achieve Modeshift STARS.
• Modeshift STARS will provide you with the tools to reduce car use and increase the number of children walking, cycling and using public transport on the journey to and from school. This means a cleaner, safer, greener and healthier environment around your school.
• Delivering Modeshift STARS will help you to identify infrastructure improvements that are required around your school, therefore helping you to build a case to access the funding that is available.

STARS training

If you are new to Modeshift STARS and require training for school travel champions, teachers, LSAs, admin staff or governors, contact the School Travel Planning team and we will arrange a two hour training session for you. If your school has a workspace with IWB, WiFi and laptops which we could use as a venue to train several Modeshift STARS schools together, we would be delighted to hear from you.

We have just launched four new training films so you can get started on your journey. Click on the tile below.

You can also download our latest pocket guide to the initiatives below.

Seek further support from the team

Downloads: 

Attachment	Size
Modeshift STARS Pocket Guide 20 21 HCC With Checklists	761.7 KB
School Travel Policy STARS V1	23.8 KB