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Want to improve your local streets and the area around your school? Download our free campaign packs, including 20mph areas, car exclusion zones and pavement parking.
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WoW (Walk Once a Week) is our most popular scheme - children who walk at least once a week are rewarded with a highly collectable monthly pin badge. Find out how your school can join WoW.
Statistics
- The number of children travelling to school by car over the past 20 years has doubled. (Dept for Transport)
- Road traffic in Britain grew by 80% between 1980 and 2005. Car traffic makes up nearly 80% of total traffic. (Department for Transport, 2004)
- In 2006, just over half (52%) of trips to school by children aged five to 10 were made on foot and 41% were made by car. (Dept for Transport: National Travel Survey 2006). In 2009, the number of journeys made by foot had fallen by 2% (50%), with 42% made by car (National Travel Survey 2008).
- The average length of the trip to school for children aged five to ten increased from 1.3 to 1.5 miles between 1995/1997 and 2009. (Dept for Transport: National Travel Survey 2009)
- Obesity is now the second biggest cause of death after cancer. (World Health Organisation 2001)
- 4 out of 10 boys and 6 out of 10 girls do not carry out the recommended minimum of one hour a day of physical activity. (National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2000)
- Walking one mile (1.6km) can burn up at least 100 calories of energy and walking two miles (3.2km) a day, three times a week, can help reduce weight by one pound (0.5kg) every three weeks. (Department of Health)
- Short-term and even superficial exposure to natural areas through brief walks have been found to have positive effects on mood, reducing feelings of anger and anxiety. (Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2003)
- Driving the average school run for a year costs over £400. (Figure is based on approved mileage rates from the Inland Revenue)
Download
We have more detailed information and statistics about Road Safety in our Living Streets and Parentline Plus report here.
Living Streets Policy, Publications and Research
Walk to School Policy Paper
Read our new Walk to School Policy Paper to see our key policy calls and why encouraging children to walk matters more now than ever before.
National Walking Month 2011: Breaking Down the Barriers
New research by Living Streets has shown in stark detail the barriers children face each day that prevent them from walking to school. In a survey published to mark the start of National Walking Month, we asked 2,000 British children aged 7-14 about their habits, concerns, and fears when it comes to their walk to school.
Read the Breaking Down the Barriers report here
Download
Walk to School Week 2010: Is it safe to let our children walk to school?
National charities Living Streets and Parentline Plus carried out a survey for national Walk to School Week 2010 which found that parents disproportionately fear their children being abducted or killed in a road accident over the more likely threat to their health from childhood obesity.
Walk to School Week 2009 Research: The effects of driving on parent and child social time
For Living Streets’ 80th birthday and Walk to School Week 2009, we commissioned some research which found that car-bound school children miss out on valuable social time. 44% of parents of children who are driven to school admit that they spend 5 minutes or less engaging in quality conversation with their child on the journey to and from school.
Walk to School Week 2008 Research: Backseat Children – How car dependant culture compromises safety on our streets
Living Streets believes that the UK has a growing generation of “backseat children” who, because they are being driven to school, are failing to develop an understanding of road safety, their environment or their role in the community.
The Backseat Children report found that children who are isolated in cars are not being allowed to learn road safety skills, aren’t able to play an active part in their community and are denied the chance to develop their independence. Please click on the PDF icon below to download the report.