Investing in the walk to school Add presenters name, job title Add school logo if required.

A generation ago, 70% of us walked to school – now it’s less than half.   Walking levels are in serious decline and we’re passing this unhealthy behavioural trend on to our children: a generation ago 70% of us walked to school, now it’s less than half.

Our school is part of the Walk to School campaign run by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking. The campaign’s ambition is to reverse the decline in walk to school and make walking the natural choice and part of every child’s daily routine

Our school currently takes part in WOW, the year-round walk to school challenge. Living Streets has helped secure funding for us to take part for free [in partnership with X local authority / x funder.] WOW works by rewarding pupils who walk to school (or travel actively – scooting, cycling, park and stride) with a collectible badge on a different theme each year. There are 11 badges to collect. Journeys are logged using the Travel Tracker or wallcharts. [bring examples of badges/could demonstrate travel tracker at this point]

HEALTH There are a number of reasons why we think our school should continue participating in WOW and encouraging our children and families to walk to school Health One in three children leave primary school overweight or obese (Public Health England. (2016). Patterns and trends in childhood obesity: A presentation of the latest data on child obesity.) 79% of boys and 84% of girls fail to meet the minimum daily recommendation of exercise. (Health and Social Care Information Centre. (2013). Health Survey for England – 2012 [NS]) Children who walk to school are more physically active than those who don’t. They are also more alert, ready to learn, perform better in tests and achieve higher grades than those who are inactive. Rauner R et al. (2013). Evidence that aerobic fitness is more salient than weight status in predicting standardized math and reading outcomes in fourth- through eighth-grade students. The Journal of Pediatrics. 163(2):344-8. NHS Choices. (2015). Benefits of exercise. [online] Available at: www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/Whybeactive.aspx [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016]. Fyhri A & Hjorthol R. (2009). Children’s independent mobility to school, friends and leisure activities. Journal of Transport Geography. 17(5)377-384. Children should get 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Walking to school goes a long way to achieving this goal. WOW embeds active behaviours at a young age. (Department of Health. (2011). Start active, stay active: A report on physical activity for health from the four home countries’ Chief Medical Officers.) On average, over the recent project, there has been 23% more children walking to school through taking part in WOW.

ENVIRONMENT Transport and environment One in five cars on the road during morning rush hour are taking children to school Department for Transport. (2011). National Travel Survey: 2010. By reducing car journeys on the school run, WOW contributes to a reduction in the emission of pollutants. Reducing emissions of air pollutants leads to a cleaner, more pleasant environment for everyone. WOW addresses this challenge head on by encouraging all pupils who ‘don’t walk but could’ to walk all / part of the way to school at least once a week. The scheme has flexibility for schools to increase the number of walking trips required as more pupils adapt and increase walking journeys. In the project as a whole WOW has resulted in an average 30% fewer car journeys.

EDUCATION Education Each year WOW follows a different theme and is supported with monthly learning resources which link to the national curriculum. Schools are able to track their own engagement and changing modes of pupil journeys throughout the year by using our online Travel Tracker.   In addition to helping improve road safety skills pupils are encouraged to take ownership of their role by recording their activity on a daily basis with class monitors assisting teaching staff in the classroom.  

COMMUNITY Community Walking to school provides children and their families with quality time to talk to one another without the distractions of modern life (electronic devices in the home, concentrating on pedestrians and other road users when driving a car).   By participating in WOW children begin learning road safety from an early age which sets them up to be confident road users as they progress through their whole life school journey.

ECONOMY Community Driving children to school means bypassing local shops and businesses. By encouraging children and their families to walk to school WOW increases footfall and can help boost local economies. An independent economic appraisal by Capital of the project has shown that for every £1 spent – WOW is proven to deliver health and transport benefits worth £4.17 to the wider community. Capita. (2015). Living Streets Walk to School Outreach Programme: Economic Appraisal. Report commissioned by Living Streets.

This video introduces WOW – video You Tube link : https://youtu.be/xxEMGUPfZNs

OUR SCHOOL At our school….[add photos/quotes from your school] Add impact from individual school – from Travel Tracker/wall charts E.G. Walking / active travel rates (before and after) Number of pupils taking part Anecdotal evidence from pupils/familes/teachers

Participation in WOW costs less than £1.50 per pupil per year. During the recent project, we have received the resources and support to take part in WOW – free of charge; for x years. Now this funding is coming to an end, we want to take ownership of funding WOW; either direct from the school/PTA budget, or through fundraising initiatives. [insert details of your chosen approach] We feel this is important, to help our pupils enjoy the continued benefits of walking to school, and to continue the legacy and impact on for future years. We need your help. At less than £1.50 per pupil per year, WOW is a simple and cost-effective way of getting children walking to school. For our school this is a cost of: [insert schools costs] NB: For an average school of 270 pupils, WOW costs approximately £400 per year (based on 60% participation rate) This includes • 11 monthly badges for each pupil that walks to school • Travel Tracker subscription, or monthly wallcharts for recording your school’s journeys • Free supporting resources to help you get the most out of WOW. We are asking you for budget to help us continue our journey with WOW. Participation in WOW costs less than £1.50 per pupil per year.

WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR What we are asking for: Include a summary of the funds you require, key timings and next steps.

Thank you Thank you Next steps