Active School Travel - Walking

Walking is the easiest way to participate in the Active School Travel (AST) program and it’s a great way for families to spend time together in a busy day. All you need is a comfortable pair of shoes! Walking to school on a regular basis can improve your child’s road safety awareness and skills to help create good habits for an active life.

If you live too far away to walk from home, try ‘Park & Stride’. Consult your school’s active travel map to see how you can park further away from the school and walk the rest of the way. Active School Travel is one of the easiest ways to incorporate physical activity into everyday life.

Why walking is good for our kids:

  • They notice things along the way and meet friends in the neighbourhood.
  • It’s sociable – kids love walking with their friends.
  • Exercise makes them feel calmer and happier and ready to learn.
  • It promotes independence – children can make more decisions about their journey than they can in the car.
  • Independently walking offers older children some time to themselves.

Meet Walker

The Active School Travel character, Walker has been putting one foot in front of the other since he was nearly two years old. He loves the freedom of walking to and from school and enjoys catching up with his mates on the way. He always uses STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, THINK when he crosses the road.

Walker's top tips for travel

  • Wear a hat and sunscreen.
  • Don't listen to music on headphones as you won't be able to hear the traffic.
  • Don’t look at your mobile phone as you walk.
  • Always look for a crossing to cross the road safely.
  • Walk to and from school with your family or your friends.

Check out this video of Walker and his friends as they show you road safety tips when you’re out and about on foot and in the car.

You can also view this video on Council's YouTube account.

Read the Walking/Park and Stride – road safety tips when you’re out and about video transcript

Walking to school is super fun and super easy! All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other and you're on your way. You get to see heaps of cool stuff and you get to catch up with your mates.

Hi Walker. Hey Scoot. And don't forget, you get lots of fresh air and exercise which always makes me so happy. Hey Walker, hey Scoot. Hi Kasha. And you know what, if you live too far to walk all the way why, not ask your parents if you can carpool with a few friends. Then you could park a few streets from the school and walk the rest of the way together. We call that park and stride. And it's important to do it safely, so here are my top tips for you to walk safely to school every day.

When you want to cross the road, do it where cars can see you, like pedestrian crossings or traffic lights, but before you step out, stop at the edge of the road, look both ways to see if there are any cars, listen, can you hear any traffic on the road, and then think, is it safe to cross? And make sure you can hear the traffic noises by not wearing headphones. You can listen to music any old time, like in the car, right Kasha? Oh yes, Scoot I love listening to music in the car, but I'm always careful that I don't distract the driver because they have to stay focused on the road. It's also important whenever you're in the car to wear a seat belt. Slip. Click. Clap. Oh, hey guys we should probably walk to school. Yeah, I'm ready. Don't want to be late. Let's go let's go.

Why not check out some more fun videos from the Active School Travel characters as they help you learn to:

Related links

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Topics: active school travel

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