Safe School Zones
Safer journeys to school for Zambian children
Practical school-zone safety support through evidence, engagement, signs, crossings, training, visibility and partner-funded implementation.
The Zambia Road Safety Trust supports safer school journeys by helping schools, communities, councils, companies, donors and public institutions identify road safety risks around schools and respond with practical measures.
ZRST’s work focuses on children walking to and from school, school entrances, crossing points, speed risk, roadside behaviour, driver awareness, traffic warden support and school-community engagement.
Why it matters
Children should not face preventable road danger on the way to school.
Many school journeys in Zambia expose children to traffic speed, poor crossings, narrow or missing walkways, unsafe roadside behaviour, congestion, public transport conflicts and weak driver compliance around school environments.
A safe school zone is not only a signboard. It requires a combination of road environment review, stakeholder agreement, visible safety measures, speed management, school engagement, community ownership and responsible follow-up.
What ZRST does
Practical support for schools, sponsors and public institutions.
School-zone assessment
Reviewing road conditions, crossing points, traffic behaviour, pedestrian movement, school frontage and risk concerns raised by schools or communities.
Signs and crossings
Supporting school-zone road signs, zebra crossing markings and visible road-safety measures where these are appropriate and approved.
Traffic calming support
Supporting discussion and documentation for humps, raised crossings, rumble strips or other calming measures where the responsible authority approves them.
School and pupil engagement
Helping schools promote safer crossing behaviour, visibility, responsible road use and practical road-safety education for learners.
Traffic warden support
Supporting teacher or warden identification, basic safety orientation, visibility materials and practical school-frontage management where relevant.
Monitoring and evidence
Keeping records such as photos, site notes, school letters, partner confirmations and implementation summaries for responsible reporting.
The ZRST Method
From school risk to practical protection.
Identify risk. Engage the right institutions. Support practical protection. Train users. Monitor and report responsibly.
ZRST reviews available data and site conditions, works with schools and relevant authorities, helps define practical measures, supports school and community engagement, and records evidence without overstating results.
Where infrastructure is involved, ZRST does not replace statutory road authorities or approve road works on behalf of councils or agencies. ZRST supports coordination, documentation, advocacy, partner alignment and implementation follow-through.
Implementation package
What a partner-funded Safe School Zone package may include.
School-zone visibility and protection
- School-zone signs
- Zebra crossing markings
- Visibility materials for wardens or school-frontage support
- Traffic calming measures where approved
- Walkway or frontage improvements where feasible and approved
Education and engagement
- School road-safety talks
- Teacher or traffic warden orientation
- Pupil road-safety messages
- Parent and community engagement where relevant
- Launch or awareness activity with partner visibility
Documentation and reporting
- Before-and-after photos
- School names and location records
- Site summaries
- School acknowledgement letters where available
- Partner implementation report
Approvals and safeguards
- Coordination with relevant authorities
- School engagement and consent where required
- Responsible photography and child safeguarding
- Financial controls and procurement records
- Evidence-based public communication
School confirmation letters
Written acknowledgements from schools where ZRST-supported school-zone works were completed.
ZRST keeps school confirmation letters, site records and partner evidence to support responsible reporting on safe school-zone work. The letters below provide school-level acknowledgement of road signs and zebra crossing markings completed around school environments in Ndola.
Masala Secondary School, Ndola
The school acknowledged ZRST-supported road signs and road markings along Luombe Road and requested further support for a paved walkway to improve pupil safety.
Dambo Combined School, Ndola
The school confirmed completion of road signs and reflective zebra crossing markings along Chitimukulu Road and noted that learner safety around the school had been improved.
Who can support
A practical partnership route for companies, donors and institutions.
Companies and ESG partners
Support visible, practical safety improvements around schools as part of community investment, ESG, HSE or road-risk responsibility.
Donors and foundations
Co-fund school-zone safety work that links child protection, safe mobility, public health, climate-resilient walking and community safety.
Councils and public institutions
Work with ZRST to identify high-risk school environments, support approvals, coordinate local action and strengthen school-zone implementation.
Responsible evidence
How ZRST reports safe school-zone work.
ZRST reports safe school-zone work by documenting what was done, where it was done, who supported it, what evidence is available and what still needs attention.
ZRST does not claim that one intervention alone solves child road safety. Sustainable school-zone safety requires continued public authority support, driver compliance, school participation, community behaviour, maintenance and funding for follow-up improvements.
Work with ZRST
Support safer school journeys in Zambia.
ZRST works with companies, donors, councils, schools, public institutions and technical partners to support practical, evidence-led school-zone safety improvements.