Walk Once a Week initiative
19 January 2024
Kent County Council are working with a new partner, Living Streets, encouraging schools to sign up to a Walk, or Wheel, Once a Week (WOW) programme to get families active, reduction congestion around schools and improve air quality.
Living Streets WOW programme is a pupil-led initiative where children self-report how they get to school every day using a WOW travel tracker.
It's simple to run and children love taking part. Each year, the collectable WOW badges are designed by pupils in our annual badge design competition. On average, WOW schools see a 30% reduction in car journeys taken to the school gate and a 23% increase in walking rates.
Schools in Kent who have signed up this year have said;
“Our children are so engaged with the programme. They love receiving their badges each month and get so excited to find out the design of the badge that they are working towards next. It has created a buzz around the school with children discussing with each other how they are travelling to school and the changes they have made to their morning routine in order to ensure that they are actively getting to school.”
“From day one we have seen a significant reduction in cars arriving at our school in the mornings. The children are very engaged and are enjoying recording how they travel to school. We have also seen signs of competitiveness amongst parents!”
If you are interested, please go to the Living Streets website for more information and how to apply