What is WoW Extra?

WoW Extra is a year-round scheme encouraging primary school pupils and their parents/carers to travel actively to school (by foot, scooter, bike or by Park & Stride), as often as possible.

WoW Extra works in a similar way to the successful WoW (Walk Once a Week) scheme. Pupils record how often they travel actively to school on WoW Extra wall charts and record monthly totals in their own WoW Extra passports. Those who travel actively at least once a week (walked, cycled or scooted to school) are rewarded, monthly, with highly collectable WoW stickers, which are based on designs submitted through our yearly WoW design competition. When a child has reached set numbers of active journeys they are rewarded with a WoW Extra certificate to commemorate their efforts. If you drive or use the bus, walking at least 10 minutes of the school journey must take place for your child to be eligible.

How does WoW Extra work?

The following steps explain how to run WoW Extra.

Step 1
Each child receives a WoW Extra passport, which changes each term. This passport will need to be ticked or stamped each time a child travels to school actively (by foot, by bike, by scooter or by park and striding to school) for at least 10 minutes. The stamping or ticking can be the responsibility of a child in the class – they are known as WoW Monitors.

Step 2
The class teacher will need to put up a WoW wallchart that is used to measure walking to school. Each child’s
name needs to be written in the first column, there is enough room for 35 names. The wallcharts change each month.

Step 3
Each time a child travels actively to school (walks, cycles, scoots or Park and Strides) for at least 10 minutes they receive a tick on the wallchart and at the end of the month will have a monthly total, which will need to be worked out from the number of ticks on the wallchart. This total will need to be added to the following month’s wallchart. The wallchart, together with the passport, is a way of keeping tabs on
cumulative active travel for each child.

Step 4
Children who have travelled actively at least once a week throughout the month (at least 4 or 5 times in the month) are eligible to receive a WoW sticker – there are 11 to collect, 1 for each school month.

Step 5
When a child has travelled actively to school a set number of times they are rewarded with a WoW Extra certificate. These are rewarded for the following set number of journeys:
• 25 active journeys – Bronze certificate
• 50 active journeys – Silver certificate
• 80 active journeys – Gold certificate
• 120 active journeys – All-Star certificate
Each passport has space to record the child’s monthly total, once this total reaches the set number of journeys the certificate can be rewarded. Please note: In order to get an All Star certificate a child
will have to travel actively almost every day!

Additional WoW Extra information

Schools also have the option to take part in monthly themed competitions to win prizes for their class, associated with the sticker of the month. WoW Extra is part of Living Streets’ Walk to School campaign.

Who are Living Streets?

Living Streets is a national charity who work to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk. The campaign encourages parents/ carers and children to make walking to school part of their daily routine. As well as WoW Extra and WoW, the campaign has two annual awareness events – Walk to School Week in May and Walk to School Month in October, which are calls to action for parents and schools to try walking to school.

How else can WoW Extra support schools?

WoW Extra can also help schools in their work towards Sustainable Schools, Eco Schools, Healthy Schools and Enhanced Healthy Schools status.

WoW Extra Enquiries

Please contact David Graham from Living Streets on 0207 377 4905 or by email at david.graham@livingstreets.org.uk if you have any queries regarding WoW Extra