Primary schools
Here you will find links to our walk to school initiatives, resources, stories and much more.
Our Walk to School initiatives for primary schools
WOW is here for 2021-22
Resources are available on our shop.
WOW is a pupil-led initiative where children self-report how they get to school every day using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker. If they travel sustainably (walk, cycle or scoot) once a week for a month, they get rewarded with a badge. It's that easy!
RUN WOW FOR FREE
Depending on your area and our funding availability, your school may be eligible to run WOW for free.
WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK
Our 2022 week-long celebration of the walk to school will take place 16-20 May! If you missed our May 2021 event, you can still take part anytime.
Join the fun, packs are available to order now.
HAPPY SHOESDAY
Pupils wear the shoes that make them happy, and help us raise funds for safer streets. Event date: May 2021.
free walking activities for families and in-class resources
#WALKINGFROMHOME ACTIVITY BOOKLET AND DIARY FOR FAMILIES
Our #WalkingFromHome activity booklet for families features 14 sets of activities for families with primary school-aged children.
Our #WalkingFromHome activity diary for families features 5 activities to complete on any week while on your walks to school or from home.
Each resource sheet includes activity variants for the little ones and for older children to support their learning of important themes while staying active.
FREE LESSON PLAN FOR IN-CLASS OR REMOTE LEARNING
With this curriculum-linked 60-minute lesson plan we look at
‘FOOTPRINTS – humans and animals walking’. This resource is very special to us as it was created in house by our expert schools team – big shout out to our Dan and Craig for this one! We created these for delivery in the classroom, but you can easily adapt them for remote learning or for families to use at home.
READ OUR TOP STORIES
Walk back to school this September
Tools and guidance to help make the walk to school safe and enjoyable.
02.09.2020
Let’s make school streets safer: a webinar
A panel of experts discuss some of the best ways to make walking and cycling to school the natural choice for families.
Getting our children walking and wheeling
Arup's Eamon Scullion looks at how we must revisit our transport infrastructure, focusing on child-friendly design.
Walking to school during a pandemic
With one half term down, we look at how some of our WOW schools are adapting.
06.11.2020
Walk to School Week 2020 - an unprecedented s…
Despite the considerable challenges presented by the pandemic, our Walk to School Week 2020 celebration saw unprecedented numbers stepping u…
Pupils put pen to paper to tackle car dominat…
Pupils in West Yorkshire took matters into their own hands when parking at their school got out of control.
is your child transitioning to secondary school?
Visit our transitions page at the link below to find lots of useful information on travelling to your new school actively and safely.
let's stay connected
During this time, it is important that we stay connected in every way we can and share any positive experiences. Tell us about your walks, and share your thoughts, pics and videos on social media using #WALKINGFROMHOME
💚 We're loving this family's #walkingfromhome snaps. Nice to see their cat is getting involved in the #dailyexercise too 🐱 pic.twitter.com/sjgUZR9pRW
— Living Streets (@livingstreets) April 14, 2020
👨👩👦👦Paralympian & Active Travel Commissioner for @SheffCityRegion, @DameSarahStorey has been telling us what opportunities #lockdown has created for her family.
— Living Streets (@livingstreets) April 8, 2020
⤵️ Read our latest #walkingfromhome blog for inspo on staying safe & active during #COVID19 https://t.co/sajrt85xZz
Great to see🌎cities finding more street space for social distancing & can't wait to see @HackneyCouncil's filtering plans. We'd like to see priority given to streets with shops, near parks and in areas with flats/high pop. density. @jonburkeUK @bricycle https://t.co/rS1P5GQovZ
— LondonLivingStreets (@LDN_LS) April 13, 2020
Inspired by #CaptainTomMoore, 6-year-old Hector has swapped his birthday party for a walking challenge to help raise money for the #NHS.
— Living Streets (@livingstreets) April 17, 2020
💚 We think Hector is awesome.
📽️ That's why he's our first #walkingfromhome vlogger!
😃 #FridayFeeling sorted!https://t.co/RpU8zAgiS6
Why the Walk to School matters
Happier children
It’s been proven that children who do some form of exercise, especially a walk before school, do better in class because they arrive refreshed, fit and ready to learn.
Less congestion
During morning peak traffic times, one in five cars on the road are taking children school, contributing to congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions.
We need urgent action on air pollution to protect and promote the Walk to School. And yet, at the same time, the Walk to School could play such a big part in improving our air quality.
Our report Swap The School Run For The School Walk lays out 21 recommendations for decision-makers at all levels to enable more children to walk to and from school.
Parents and carers
If you’re a parent or carer there are lots of ways we can help get your and your family walking.
Our Family Walk to School Kit is designed to help parents, carers and children make the walk to school work for them.
Want to talk to the team?
If you want to talk to us about getting more children walking to school, just drop us a line.