Bike trains and walking buses.

Try to negotiate the roads around just about any school in the country at the start and end of the day and you're likely to encounter pretty severe congestion. The school run is still more about driving than it is about running! But increasing numbers of schools are tackling this problem, and the connected scourges of pollution and road casualties, not to mention poor health, by organising bike trains and walking buses.

Woodford Halse CE Primary in Northamptonshire is one school that has successfully introduced a 'bike train'. Woodford Halse is described as 'a sprawling village' with some children having to make journeys of three or more miles to reach the school. Congestion in the vicinity of the school was 'horrendous' and there were also concerns for the health and fitness of pupils.

'The idea for a bike train originally came from the governors' explained Deputy Headteacher, Dom Murphy. 'We got sponsorship from local businesses to buy tabards for the children to wear and trailers for the back of a bicycle for school bags. We have three trains starting from different points in the village and roughly ten children and three adults cycle in each one. There are still more children travelling to school by car, perhaps out of habit, laziness or convenience, but there's definitely an improvement in the fitness of those that are cycling in'.

According to Sustrans Safe Routes to Schools projects, at 8.50am almost one in five cars on the road in urban areas is going to school. In 1986, 16 per cent of children were driven to school. Now, that figure is in excess of 30 per cent. This growing tendency towards leading a sedentary life from such an early age is likely to have an inevitable impact on long-term health for today's children; incidences of heart disease and strokes naturally increase with inactivity. Physical activity can help to control weight, prevent diabetes and improve skeletal health and psychological wellbeing yet too few children, possibly as few as 20 per cent, get adequate exercise. In fact, between 1984 and 1994, the percentage of overweight boys in England nearly doubled from 5.4 per cent to 9 per cent and from 6.4 per cent to 10 per cent for girls.

Air pollution associated with over-dependence on car use also increases, affecting children in particular. This has been mooted as a potential reason for the massive increase in the numbers suffering from asthma in recent years.

There are peripheral benefits associated with encouraging children to take safer and healthier routes to school. In Woodford Halse, the bike train encouraged children to get involved in the local district council's traffic calming measures for the area. Allowing the children to be privy to the discussions about what measures would be most suitable for the needs of the community meant that they had a real and valid opportunity for active, participatory citizenship.

Discouraging parents and pupils from over-dependence on their cars is no easy task. Schools that have actively sought to do this have needed to adopt a variety of methods, including basic encouragement, education about road safety and health as well as organising the practicalities of a bike train or walking bus.

If you'd like to develop bike trains and walking buses for your school, there are links and sources of further information below. In short, schools that have achieved this often take the following approach:

• Appoint a 'safe routes to school' team. This group will need to steer the school's policy on improving pupils' health, reducing congestion around the school and improving road safety
• Involve as many different agencies, groups and individuals as possible. At least the following should be part of your plans for a bike train and/or a walking bus:
• the whole school community including parents and pupils
• the local authority
• health workers, particularly those directly involved in children's health
• the local police
• Map out possible routes for the buses and trains to take. If possible, consult parents, pupils and the police on the intended routes to ensure that they have the greatest chance of success.
• Aim to develop agreements between all who need to be involved in your arrangements for walking buses and bike trains so that a commitment to success is as guaranteed as possible.
• Consider organising one-off walk/cycle to school days on a regular basis. Even though not all who take part in these one-off days will join the buses and trains on a daily basis, they at least have the chance for involvement.
• Use incentives such as 'frequent walker/cyclist miles'. Equate pupils' efforts directly with improvements to their local community and environment as well as to their health.
• If there are a significant number of children who live too far away from school to walk or cycle, or it isn't practical to route walking buses or bike trains to include them, consider helping parents to organise carpools or car share systems to ensure that all the seats in cars travelling to school are filled.
• Kick-off any new safe routes to schools initiatives with something that will inspire the pupils and get them committed and excited. Perhaps an outside speaker from an environmental charity or a local sports personality could launch the scheme.
• Evaluate the success of your bike trains and walking buses. How might you involve more parents and pupils?
• Tell your local community about what you are doing.
• Link these schemes in to the National Curriculum where possible. For example, links could be made to citizenship, personal, social and health education and geography at the very least.
• Local businesses may be willing to sponsor your bike trains and walking buses. This can help with initial setting-up costs.

For further information visit: