It’s Walk to School Week!

It’s Walk to School Week, and we’re sponsoring several schools in the local area - Tyneview Primary, Byker Primary and St Lawrence RC Primary. Sponsoring these schools ensures that they have the resources to take part in this all-important week, which aims to change people’s habits and promote walking to school in the longer term.

This year’s theme is ‘walk in the wild’, focusing on a different animal from around the world each day.

One in three primary school children leave school either overweight or obese, so it’s important that communities encourage children to walk where possible.

Walking trips decreased by 30 per cent between 1995 and 2013, while obesity in children is on the rise. In 2013, figures from public health England showed that 29 per cent of children were overweight and 15 per cent of children were obese.

The health risks associated with childhood obesity can include type two diabetes, skin infections, and morbidity in adulthood.

Exercise can drastically reduce health risks – with national charity Living Streets suggesting that children and young people take part in 60 minutes of exercise per day, and take part in vigorous exercise three times a week.

Walking also makes children feel good about themselves, according to national sustainable transport charity Sustrans. This is because it allows them some independence – they can choose to stop and look at things of interest, and learn about road safety. In the car, children have less autonomy to make their own decisions.

Research suggests that walking to school also improves concentration, and makes children feel calmer and happier. Walking to school has also been linked to educational attainment.

Traffic congestion is also a big problem for schools – the road outside school gates is often heavily congested in the mornings, which can also cause immediate danger for children, and longer lasting damage in terms of the negative effects that car emissions have on the environment.

To find out more about Walk to School week, visit Living Streets here.

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