Boss the school run
Why cycle, walk
or wheel to school?
Come on, it's much more fun!
On foot and by bike travel is much more fun for kids. They love being out in the open air, in any weather. Plus you get to spend more quality time with them - a few minutes to talk about your day or to spot things en route. It's much more appealing than sitting in a car in crawling traffic.
Walking, cycling or wheeling is easily the least faff option at pick up and drop off time - you don't need to find somewhere to park your car, you can just cruise right up to the school gates. Plus, on foot and by bike is the most reliable way to travel as it will take you exactly the same time, every time. You'll feel less stressed and it's so much better for your physical and mental health.
And if that’s still not enough, think of how much cleaner the air will be with fewer cars on the road. Pre-pandemic, trips to education generated an estimated 730,000 trips by car per school day. Think of how much clearer the roads would be if more of those journeys were walked or cycled. And how much less hassle it will be for residents and teachers who have to deal with congestion on a daily basis.
Make on foot and by bike travel part of your routine for the school run. You'll be surprised at how good it will make everyone feel.
School run guidance
Our guidance has lots of tips and resources that can help you walk, wheel or cycle as part of the school run.
Supporting the school run
TfGM has a range of schemes to support students, parents and schools to embrace active travel
School Streets
Transforming the school run with walking & cycling-friendly initiatives
Youth Travel Ambassadors
Empowering students with the skills and confidence to address transport issues affecting their school community
Travel Plan Toolkits
Get access to an online planning toolkit for schools that encourages sustainable travel
Bespoke School Maps
We can create travel maps and leaflets for your school
Resources for Schools
There are a range of resources available for schools to encourage active travel
School Streets in Greater Manchester
Transforming the school run with walking & cycling-friendly initiatives
Greater Manchester is helping transform the school run, putting measures in place that promote cycling, scooting and walking and restricting access to motorised vehicles at school start and finish times.
The aim of the School Streets scheme is to help create a pleasant, child-friendly environment, whilst ensuring residents, local businesses and blue badge holders can still maintain access to the streets. As well as improving the air children breathe, it also aims to reduce traffic and parking pressures outside schools during term time, whilst encouraging more sustainable and active forms of travel to schools.
In most cases, a School Streets project consists of a traffic regulation order and related signage, making the road outside the school a pedestrian zone during drop off and pick up times. Each programme isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach though, with measures adapted to suit each area.
You can find out more about individual schemes by contacting the school. If you're a GM-based school interested in getting involved, please contact your local council to register your interest.
"It's a fabulous win-win situation for all of us"
Listen to GM's Active Travel Commissioner, Dame Sarah Storey, talk about the benefits of the scheme at a School Street in Wigan
"We've had lots of situations of very frightened and upset parents"
Listen to Gavin Shortall, Headteacher at St James' C of E school in Rusholme, talk about his experiences.
Youth Travel Ambassador programme
Empowering students to make change
TfGM have partnered with Modeshift to support secondary schools in making active travel the number one choice for their pupils. The Youth Travel Ambassador (YTA) programme empowers the students themselves with the skills and confidence to address transport issues affecting their school community.
YTA teams of between 6-12 students, with support from a YTA coordinator and a member of school staff, research and develop campaigns with the focus on encouraging more active travel amongst their peers. Funding to deliver their campaign is secured at an interschool “Dragon’s Den” style pitching event where each school is awarded a grant of up to £500.
The programme for the 21/22 academic year is well underway, but to register your school’s interest in taking part for the 22/23 programme, please request an application form from active.travel@tfgm.com.
Own the Ride courses
Developing cycling confidence with high school students
BikeRight! have teamed up with Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver a unique cycling experience for secondary school student aimed at encouraging cycling to school, cycling for leisure and to increase their physical activity – all contributing to making Greater Manchester cleaner, greener and more liveable
The one-and-a-half-day course is aimed at key stage 3 students and will provide:
An introduction to cycling for travel and leisure, Made to Move and the Bee Network
National Standard Cycle Training
Route planning
Advanced cycle skills and group ride
Evaluation and cycling action plan
As well as focussing on the skills required to ride to and from school, Own the Ride will encourage students to think about the bigger picture of active and sustainable travel and the mindset for increased physical activity.
The courses are free to participating schools, funded by TfGM.
To participate in Own the Ride get in touch with the team at BikeRight! on 0161 230 7007 or email info@bikeright.co.uk
Travel Plan Toolkits
Want to encourage more active travel at school but not sure where to start?
Modeshift STARS is an online travel planning toolkit for schools, which assists in:
Creating, developing, and implementing travel plans
Monitoring and evaluating the initiatives contained within them
Recognising and rewarding excellence in the promotion of active and sustainable travel.
National STARS accreditation is awarded to the schools who show excellence in promoting walking, cycling, and wheeling to and from school. There are 5 levels of accreditation: Green, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Bespoke School Mapping
Get a localised active travel leaflet and map for your school
TfGM have partnered with Pindar Creative to provide primary schools with bespoke school maps. The maps provide information on how to travel actively to and from school. They highlight walking zones, park and stride locations, safe crossings, and the best routes to school.
To request a bespoke map leaflet, complete this form and return it to Active.Travel@tfgm.com.
Resources for schools
There are a range of other resources available that support schools to encourage active travel. Here are a few useful links:
Get in touch for more support
If you would like to find out more about how TfGM can support your school to encourage active travel, contact active.travel@tfgm.com
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