Safer Routes 2.0

Safer Routes forms a key component of Waltham Forest's Serious Violence Duty (SVD) Strategy and Action Plan, supporting the borough's wider commitment to preventing violence, improving community safety and increasing young people's sense of safety within their neighbourhoods. Originally funded through the MOPAC MyEnds Partnership Programme and led by Waltham Forest Council's Community Safety Team, Safer Routes was developed in response to findings from the borough's Strategic Needs Assessment, which identified elevated risks of serious violence affecting children and young people, particularly around education settings and during travel to and from school. The programme was informed by the Safe Passage model developed in Chicago and the UK-adapted Step Together approach. It provides a visible and trusted youth worker presence on routes used by children and young people, creating opportunities for relationship-building, reassurance, early intervention and community engagement. Following implementation, early evaluation findings indicate a significant positive impact on young people's perceptions of safety, engagement with trusted adults, community reassurance and partnership working. As a result, Waltham Forest Council is committed to sustaining and further developing the Safer Routes model as part of its longer-term violence reduction approach and is seeking a provider to continue delivery of the programme. Through a combination of intelligence, local data, partnership insight and feedback from children and young people, priority routes will continue to be identified and reviewed throughout the lifetime of the contract to ensure deployment remains responsive to local need and emerging risks.