Living Streets - Walk to School

Leicester City Council and Living Streets, the charity for everyday walking, are offering free support and resources to encourage walking to school (funded by the Department for Transport).

Further information

For primary schools

Living Streets’ year-round walk to school challenge – called WOW  – encourages children to walk to school by rewarding them with collectable badges. Each year the badges are based on a different theme and for 2016-17 it’s “Our Neighbourhood”.

WOW reminds children already walking to school that they are doing a positive thing, whilst encouraging families that usually come by car to walk or park and stride on the days they can.

WOW is supported by a range of classroom resources including an interactive Travel tracker which uses whiteboard technology to record how pupils travel to school each day.

WOW increases walking rates (the number of children walking some or all of the way to school) by an average of 23% after five weeks.

Running WOW is extremely simple

You need only three things to get started: WOW badges, our digital Travel Tracker to record mode of travel, and children!

We’ll help you set up and launch the scheme with an assembly and parent letter and can train staff and pupils to help with the day to day running of the scheme. We’ll also send you curriculum-aligned classroom resources that fit with each month’s badge topic.

Why take part?

• Safety – Not only is it a perfect time for children to learn important road safety skills, but more walking to school means fewer cars crowding the school gates.
• Healthy body – Children should get 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Walking to school goes a long way to achieving this goal. They’ll also arrive in class fit, refreshed and ready to learn.
• Eco-friendly – It’s a cost-effective and fun way for everyone to do their part for the environment. Participation in WOW can also be used towards achieving Eco-Schools awards.
• Hidden treasures – Walking to school can help pupils build confidence and independence, and develop their knowledge of their local community.
• Fun and social – It’s an ideal time for children and their families and friends to spend together.

How to sign up

Free WOW resources are available to a limited number of Leicester City schools for the 2016-17 academic year. To sign up contact Katie, your local Living Streets Coordinator, on 07808 640305 or katie.france@livingstreets.org.uk.

Please give Katie a call if you have any questions or would like to discuss how the scheme can work best in your school. She’d be happy to pop in for a chat and show you the resources too.

For secondary schools

Free Your Feet is a week-long initiative to encourage students to think about how they travel and increase their awareness of the benefits of walking. The challenge can be run for individual year groups or the whole school and works as a stand alone event or combined with other healthy and environmental events.

Throughout Free Your Feet Week students are challenged to record how much walking they do - even if that’s combined with car and bus journeys. Walks to and from school count, along with walks made in personal time.

Students will be provided with a postcard on which they can record their travel data. Students return their completed postcards into a prize draw for a £50 high street shopping voucher.

Schools will receive posters, a railing banner, an assembly presentation and a parent letter to help promote the challenge, along with a £50 shopping voucher for the postcard prize draw.

Why take part?

• Increases students’ awareness of the benefits walking can bring to their health and well-being
• Students arrive at school alert and ready for lessons
• Reduction in traffic outside the school gates, increasing student safety
• Opportunity to increase students’ independence and knowledge of the local area
• Reduction in waiting times for parents/carers caught up in school run traffic
• Reduces the environmental impact of the school run by shortening/removing the need for car journeys
• Opportunity to socialise with friends on the walk to and from school

How to sign up

Free Your Feet resources are available to a limited number of Leicester City schools for the 2016-17 academic year. Please contact Katie, your local Living Streets Coordinator, on 07808 640305 or katie.france@livingstreets.org.uk to sign up or to discuss how the scheme can work best in your school.