Walk to School Outreach
The Walk to School Outreach (WTSO) project is delivered by Living Streets in collaboration with 33 local government partners.
The aim of the WTSO project is to encourage children and their families to walk to school as much as possible. This is done by supporting schools, tackling barriers and taking part in WOW - the walk to school challenge.
The project also aims to help the Government reach its target of 55% of children walking to school by 2025. We hope to push this even further, as 55% is still much lower than the 70% of the 1970s.
The project is funded through a grant from Active Travel England.
Want to join us during the 25-26 academic year? See if your school is eligible below.
Our impact during 24-25 academic year
Over 321,000 children
logging journeys on the WOW Travel Tracker
1,050 primary schools
supported throughout the year
A 7.79 percentage point
modal shift to walking or wheeling all the way to school
Over 3.4 million
car km removed from the roads at peak times
17.3 million
new walking journeys
Over 21%
of our schools from the top 10% most deprived areas of England
What our schools say
“We have been delighted to be involved in the programme – the pupils were really engaged in the launch assembly. After just three weeks we have seen the number of active journeys increase from 56% to 71%, reducing congestion outside the school and improving pupil health and well-being!”
Mr Wes Thorpe, Headteacher, Alderbury and West Grimstead CE Primary School, Wiltshire
"The children enjoy participating in the WOW scheme. Being a city centre school, we want to encourage more walking than driving to school. The scheme has certainly increased the children walking to school and eased congestion at drop off and pick up.
"Parents have also commented that walking to school has enabled them to have morning and afternoon chats. The children wear their badges as part of their uniform and they are extremely proud of them.”
Karen Rodgers, Headteacher, The Grosvenor Park Academy, Cheshire
Walk to School Outreach in action
Through the Walk to School Outreach project, schools take part in WOW - the walk to school challenge, which encourages pupils and their families to travel more actively to school.
WOW is a pupil-led initiative where children self-report how they get to school every day using our 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! It's simple to run and children love taking part.
Depending on your area and our funding availability, your school may be eligible to run WOW for free. Funded places are limited and subject to funding eligibility.
Our project partners
