Wow – Living Streets Walk to School Scheme

At Haydon Abbey School and Pre-School, we would like to reduce the number of children travelling to and from school by car as we know traffic and parking outside the school and in nearby residential areas is a huge concern. We actively encourage our pupils and staff to walk, scoot or cycle to school.

We are thrilled to have been chosen to be part of an exciting behaviour-change initiative to encourage more children and their families to walk to school. WOW – the walk to school challenge is delivered by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, to help as many children as possible experience the benefits of walking to school.

The pupil-led challenge enables children to self-report how they get to school every day. If they travel actively and sustainably (walk/wheel, cycle, scoot or Park and Stride) at least once a week for a month, they get rewarded with a badge. It’s that simple!

What are the benefits of walking to school?

• Children feel happier and healthier

• They arrive to school refreshed and ready to learn

• Helps reduce congestion and pollution at the school gates

• Helps our pupils develop road safety skills which will keep them safe as they travel further afield and more independently

• Helps children develop life skills that everyone should be able to benefit from

What if we can’t walk to school?

Park and Stride to help your child earn their WOW badges. We do not have dedicated parking at school, so have contacted some local businesses and the council to offer Park and Stride (we will update you on where these are when we hear back from them). You can park or hop off public transport at least ten minutes away from the school and walk the remaining journey. You will find a map below, showing a 5 minute walking bubble around school.

We hope that by offering this, the extremely busy road outside of school can be kept clear, so that our children, their families, staff and members of the public remain safe.

What is a WOW badge?

There are 11 badges to be earned from September 2023 – July 2024. Each badge has been designed by a pupil from across the UK as part of our annual WOW Badge Design Competition. A new badge can be earned every month if you walk/wheel, cycle, scoot or Park and Stride at least once a week. Pupils will be taking part in The British Nature Walk, earning badges ranging from the Urban Fox to Rochdale Canal, while getting closer to the nature found across Britain. The badges are made in Cornwall from recycled plastic material that was otherwise destined for landfill, including fridge trays, plastic plates and yoghurt pot off-cuts. For more information, visit: livingstreets.org.uk/recycling.

In the UK, last year, around 2,000 schools and over half a million pupils enjoyed the benefits of walking to school with WOW.