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Tips from other Walk to School campaigners

If you would like to encourage your child's school to increase walking levels, here are some ideas of how to campaign for change:

  • Work with your local authority – the School Travel Adviser or Road Safety Officer – and you will get more done.
  • Use the promotion around Walk to School Week or Month to get media attention for your problem, or use it as a way to publicise a positive change being introduced by the school.
  • Organising events can be fun and they don’t need to take up a huge amount of your time.

    • See our top tips here:

    Click To Download 99-running_an_event.pdf
    How to run an event guide

  • Change takes time – you will make lots of incremental steps that will add up, so don’t be disappointed if you don’t get everything you want immediately!
  • Remember that in primary schools, lots of people do need to drive to school (maybe a pregnant mum or a dad with a sick kid who they can’t leave at home for the walk to school) so be nice to people.
  • Point out the problems you are aware of but be ready to suggest solutions too.
  • Park and stride schemes might work in some schools – you can encourage parents to leave their cars some distance from the school and walk the rest of the way.
  • Get the kids involved – they can help to change the opinion of the adults and even the school.
  • Get the issue on the agenda of your school’s PTA.
  • Make links with the person in the school who is responsible for the Healthy Schools Initiative – by working together you can do each other a favour.
  • You could ask the school to introduce some ‘car free’ times around the school gates, e.g. 8.45am to 9.15am, on the basis that it is safer for pedestrians.
  • Clarify the aims of your campaign and what you are trying to achieve.
  • Target the audience you want to reach.
  • Have good information to support your campaign.
  • Make sure you are doing things at the right time.
  • Work in partnership with others who share your campaign aims.
  • Always take time to ensure that people remain involved with the campaign.



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    LATEST NEWS

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