Walk To School CampaignWhat is 'Walk to School'?
'Walk to School' is an exciting campaign asking parents, pupils and teachers to incorporate regular physical activity into their daily lives by walking to and from school whenever possible.
Each year, there are two national Walk to School focus weeks. The dates for Walk to School Weeks 2006 were:
Monday 22nd - Friday 26th May
Monday 2nd - Friday 6th October
October was also International Walk to School Month - giving children, parents, school teachers and community leaders an opportunity to be part of a global event as they celebrate the many benefits of walking. Last year, more than 3 million walkers from around the world walked to school together for various reasons – all hoping to create communities that are safe places to walk.
These weeks encouraged schools across the UK to come together to promote the importance of walking. Walk to School Weeks have the support of 65% of local authorities and reach more than 1.5 million pupils and their carers.
Schools promote ‘Walk to School’ in all sorts of imaginative ways!Tried and tested campaign ideas include incentives for pupils who walk to school (such as stickers or certificates), teachers incorporating road safety or environmental awareness into lesson time and Walk to School themed publicity events.
With each Walk to School Week that passes, new schools sign up. It works in the following ways:
- Promotion of the ‘Walk to School' campaign attracts media attention, not just locally, but nationally and so brings the message to a much wider audience.
- Schools want to combat the problem of traffic congestion
- Parents want their children to benefit from regular physical activity
- Pupils want to walk to school with their friends!
Despite all this, there is still so much more that can be achieved with the Walk to School campaign. More than half our children are still not regularly walking to school. The number of cars involved in the school run is increasing and as a nation we are becoming less active.
Further details on the Walk to school campaign can be found at: www.walktoschool.org.uk
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