New academic year of WOW means free resources!

Sign up to Living Streets' year of WOW and get free resources for your school

Posted by Fiona Cowan | June 06, 2017 | Events

• #living-streets
• #wow
• #walk-to-school
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• #exercise
• #walking

Are you looking for a new, fun challenge for your pupils to take on? How about one which gets your pupils fit and healthy, improves mental health and concentration, promotes quality time with friends and family, lowers air pollution and reduces congestion at the school gates?

If any of the above catches your attention, WOW, the year-round walk to school challenge, is right up your street.

WOW encourages primary school pupils to walk, scoot or cycle to school just once per week, every week in return for a monthly collectible badge. These unique badges are made from recycled yoghurt-pot material and follow a yearly theme. Along with these badges schools also receive curriculum-led learning resources based on the theme, and are able to use the WOW Travel Tracker – an interactive tool which records pupils’ journeys into school – providing valuable insights into pupils’ travel habits. Travel Tracker results can also count towards Modeshift STARS, the national awards scheme which recognises schools that demonstrate excellence in supporting sustainable forms of travel.

Sustainable travel to school is becoming increasingly important, especially in areas where increased air pollution is a significant problem. We know that one in five cars on the road during rush hour is a car on the school run. Schools participating in WOW have seen a 23 per cent increase in walking rates and a decline in congestion around the school gates resulting in cleaner air and safer roads.

Along with tackling the issues of congestion and air quality, WOW is also a great way of encouraging children to achieve their minimum requirement of daily exercise before they even reach the school gates. The Chief Medical Officer recommends children do at least 60 minutes of exercise per day. Sadly one in three children are leaving primary school obese or overweight. If we can get every child that can walking to school, we can play a part in decreasing those statistics and also help a generation of children build life-long healthy habits. Walking to school is easy, affordable and fun.

Children love collecting the badges especially if the badge of the month is one that they themselves designed. WOW badges are designed by children in our annual badge design competition. Last year over 120,000 children took part in the competition letting us know their take on the theme ‘Walk the Americas’. It was no mean feat selecting the 11 winning designs but we did it and we look forward to taking thousands of children on a journey from the tip of North America, through the vast planes of the United States, via the rainforests of Central America and ending with a festival of food and dance in South America.

WOW is so much more than a walking challenge, it’s a creative challenge which introduces children to new cultures and builds their confidence. And at the same time it tackles so many of the challenges we face today. The badges for the year 2017/18 are now on sale. It costs just £1.50 per pupil to run and the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Give us a call today on 020 7377 4911 or email us at orders@livingstreets.org.uk.