Make a noise about walking to school

Herefordshire should be a much more peaceful place during the rush hour when primary school children take part in Walk to School week this month. This year's UK-wide walk to school campaign which encourages families to leave their cars at home and walk to school, takes place from 19th-23rd May.

The theme of this year's campaign is "Be a Sound Detective". Pupils will be exploring the local environment through sound and finding out just how many experiences get missed each day by being cocooned in cars - whether that's the tweeting of birds, the clip-clopping of shoes or the sound of their friends' voices. It's also an opportunity to highlight the benefits of children getting to know their communities through walking to school.

Herefordshire Council is once again offering free resources to all schools taking part. Every pupil will get a diary to complete during the week, there are booklets with stickers to insert, posters and wall charts for each classroom to record the number of pupils walking. The school travel team will be conducting assemblies at participating schools to publicise the week to pupils and parents.

All pupils can join in, even if they can't walk to school because of distance or safety issues. These pupils can car share with friends or neighbours, or their parents can park a distance from the school and walk the rest of the way. Many schools, especially rural ones where many children cannot walk to school, will be holding their own walking events. For example, Much Marcle Primary School is planning a whole school walk with a picnic.

Councillor Jenny Hyde, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "I hope all schools will get involved in this exciting campaign. Even if it isn't possible for children to walk to school, there are other ways of raising the profile of walking as Much Marcle primary school has shown.

"We live in a beautiful county and you see so much more travelling on foot than in a car. All children and parents can get involved with the walk to school week, even if it's just a case of parking the car a bit further away from school and walking in. Walking is also a great way of keeping fit and can help children develop healthy lifestyles now and in the future."

Tony Armstrong, chief executive of Living Streets (the charity which organises Walk to School week) said: "By leaving the car at home you save money on petrol, avoid parking hassles at the school gate, teach your children valuable road-safety skills and do your bit for the environment."

Walk to School week is a firm feature in the academic calendar and this year provides an opportunity to make some noise about how important the journey to school is.