From the 15 to the 19 of May, the Walk to Schools Week 2023 takes place!

This is a Living Streets (the UK’s charity for everyday walking) initiative. Run as part of May’s National walking month to encourage children in primary schools to walk, wheel or stride to school over a five-day period. Pupils can earn stickers as they go with a special reward given at the end of the week.

Walk to School Week will help encourage pupils to be on their way to reaching the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Everyone can take part, with options for pupils to walk or wheel for all or part of their journey to school. If your child has special educational needs or disabilities, cannot walk far, or uses a wheelchair or mobility scooter. They can still very much take part. So, if walking or wheeling part of the journey, parents are encouraged to park legally, a little bit away from the school as this will help ease congestion, air pollution, and improve road safety. Pupils can walk or wheel the last few minutes into school and still earn their reward.

However, if walking or wheeling to school, even part of the way, is not an option, then your child can become a Walk to School Week ambassador and assist the teacher in running the challenge to earn their own reward.

 

2023’s theme – ‘Walk into Wildlife’

Each year, a new theme is set and 2023’s theme is ‘Walk into Wildlife’. This year’s theme will see pupils meet various animals along the way with opportunities to learn about the reasons to walk and the positive impact it has on individuals, communities, and the planet.

We walk for:

  • Inclusion
  • Sustainability
  • Health
  • Mindfulness
  • Friendship

The Walk to School Week Banner with the benefits included of walking to school.

Take part!

Your child can walk, wheel, cycle, or scoot to school. Classes will keep track of their progress for the week with an interactive classroom wall chart.

Each primary school will be given a pack funded by East Sussex County Council that contains resources for teachers and pupils:

These packs feature different age-appropriate activities, and each pack will include:

  • Teacher guidance
  • One double-sided classroom wallchart/pledge poster
  • Daily stickers for pupils and a wallchart
  • 30 pupil activity diaries
  • 30 end-of-week pupil rewards

For further information, take a look at the Walk to School’s web page.