WOW - Walk to school Living Streets

WOW – Living Streets year-round walk to school challenge - encourages children to travel actively and sustainably to school (walk, cycle or park and stride) by rewarding them with collectible badges.

What is WOW?

WOW reminds children already walking or cycling to school that they are doing a positive thing, whilst encouraging families that usually come by car to walk, cycle or park and stride on the days they can.

Children that travel on foot or bike for all or some of their journey to school – and do so at least once a week every week - will be rewarded with a badge at the end of each month. WOW badges have a different theme each academic year and are designed by pupils in Living Streets annual badge design competition. Previous themes have included', 'Around the World', 'When I Grow Up', and 'Inventions that Changed the World'.

On average, WOW schools see a 30% reduction in car journeys taken to the school gate and a 23% increase in walking rates.

How WOW works

Daily journeys are logged by pupils on an interactive Travel Tracker accessed through their class computer, tablet or whiteboard. Travel Tracker shows which pupils have earned a badge and school staff can run reports to see travel habits at a whole school or class level.

This data can be used in lesson activities as well as to track and celebrate improvements in walking rates. It can also be used to inform the School Travel Plan or as evidence for Eco-Schools, Healthy Schools or Modeshift STARS awards.

Living Streets will help school’s set-up and launch WOW as well as be on hand to offer any support needed once up and running. Curriculum-aligned resources that fit with the monthly badge topics are also provided.