Extra play time for ‘active travellers’

[microkneesya]

We lived 2.5 miles from school. Moved mid-school year a few years ago because of being deployed by work nearby. Council allocated places and there was nothing closer with the year groups we needed. We love the school. After drop off I then have to go onward in the car to park & ride as I can’t wfh so it’s about more than the school run.

They have started awarding active travellers (children who come to school on foot, bike or scooter) extra playtime on Fridays. My DC are so upset and beg to be allowed to walk but we just can’t. I feel like the school shouldn’t do such a demonstrable ‘reward’ when for some families it’s not so easy.

Do your schools do this? Worth approaching the school?

this. Set off a bit earlier and walk/scoot the last half mile.

Also, for primary age the LA has to provide transport if the school allocated was more than 2 miles away?

How odd what do the other kids do? Extra maths?

My children’s school uses to give badges to children that walked to school. Luckily for them they also gave the children who went to breakfast a badge.

yanbu, talk to them. It’s not easy when you’re working.

My eldest’s school does shit like this and it really doesn’t take circumstances into consideration. We live less than a mile away but with two disabled children and needing to hop straight back in the car for the next school drop off, ‘walk to school’ initiatives are absolutely not in our favour. Great for those who have all the time in the world to walk/bike/whatever to school in the morning, other people have bigger priorities in the morning.

Then there’s ’get to school on time all week and win a prize!’. Again, just makes those who had a rare off day feel like shit. Same son, in school before many a teacher most days missed one morning due to an allergic reaction to his medication. He was rather sad to see everyone get a certificate and small prize but him.

These initiatives always set up a few for failure.

Do we not have enough fuckery to deal with pre-9am without adding in the guilt of kids not getting extra playtime because we have to get to work on time?

It's not unreasonable that OP is not willing to "park half a mile away" and let three kids scoot the rest (and then presumably carry the bloody things back to the car for the return half mile) before she does a days work.

Jesus Christ.

DS’s school has a similar scheme, rewarding those who walk, scoot, or ride to school. They don’t check the distance, or at least rely on the kids to self report.

You’ve said you don’t have time and/or can’t be bothered to do at least part of the journey on foot so your kids don’t qualify. End of story.

I'd like to know too, they may have had to walk to the bus stop so arguably the same as parking half a mile away.

Not everybody can get everything. This is a good lesson for children. YABU.

This.

The biggest problem around most primary schools is the number of people trying to park within 100m of school. It's quite right for school to be doing everything they can to incentivise people adjusting their morning pattern to reduce thiis

Leave the house 10 minutes earlier and park 5 mins walk from school where there's less competition for patking spaces. Walk 5 mins there and 5 mins back then carry on - you'll probably find the little bit of walking helps energise you for your day.

Sometimes kids have to learn that they aren’t included in everything. That’s life and it’s a good lesson to learn.
I don’t necessarily agree with it but it’s a good opportunity to chat to your children about dealing with things they have no control over.

Shielding kids from disappointment and things they can’t control won’t do them any good in the long run.

Thanks everyone. I do understand why the school wants to try and get more children to actively travel if they are able. It’s also an eco school so lots of stuff about not idling engines, litter, recycling, no single use plastic in lunch boxes etc. All great ideas and my kids certainly know more about the environment than I did in primary school.

I won’t raise with the school. I’ll keep talking to my DC about how it’s not an option for our family. Littlest (Reception) gets really upset about it. Middle (y2) and oldest (y5) bit more resilient but see it as unfair when they can’t change it.

I’ll see if the school would accept a hybrid thing. But our mornings are already pretty slick and we’re out the house at 0730 to be waiting at the door when they open breakfast club at 0745 so I can then drive to the park and ride and get to work for 0845 so adding a half mile scoot into the mix would not be great.

Oh and re:parking issues there is loads. There’s a huge church car park that school parents can use. But as I mentioned, we use wraparound so it’s very quiet at 0745 and 1800.

I have to do a double school run (schools in opposite directions from home) and then get to work. I have zero time for faffing around with scooters or parking half a mile away. My priority is getting everyone where they need to be and keeping a roof over our heads. These schemes are aimed at people with lots of spare time on their hands.

Fair enough if you're talking about more mature KS2 pupils but I don't think many kids in Reception are capable of grasping concepts like that. They'll just see that some of their friends are getting a treat, they're not and they can't do anything about it.

@microkneesya so what do your DC do while others get extra playtime?

if they are sedentary in that time, it's doubly mad.

Children being rewarded for things that are out of their control ? Yes, speak to the school.

(And what about children or parents with disabilities who might have difficulty walking, scooting or cycling?)

Yeah, I think it is worth raising it with the school. Your kids are being stigmatised for commuting by car, which is hardly their own choice and is, as you've explained, necessary.

I think this is a bit weird - does the school think children dictate how their parents get to work? If they really are assuming all DC have a SAHP, that's genuine prejudice against working families.

Sorry I knew there was something I forgot to add.

DC1 says they just do more work while the actives go out. DC2 agrees that the ‘inactives’ (pretty sure that’s her words not the teacher’s) stay and get another worksheet. DC3 (school hater) says he sits inside and cries while his friends have fun. He’s a drama queen though and is in reception so it’s not exactly hard graft. But he does hate it and would spend the whole day outdoors in all weathers if he could.

That is just punishment, like if they had a mini detention or something. Complain.

my kids school does this. We live close enough to walk anyway but the ones that don’t are allowed to park up a bit away from school and walk down.

I do think it’s unfair though if school don’t allow this. You can hardly walk if you live 3 miles away and your parent needs to go to work. And what if you lived right next door? You’re not very active taking ten steps to the school door.

id check if you’re allowed to park and walk a bit of the way. If they say yes, needs to be half a mile- they won’t come out and measure. So just park, do a 5 min walk and it would be fine. Im sure some of the active kids only live 2 mins away anyway

Oh our kids get badges for it though not extra play.

Dr coconut, we all gave different priorities, but plenty of very busy people with little 'spare time on their hands', manage to do school runs without cars.

*all have

They've obviously got enough time though?

We drove to school till we moved closer. Always parked a few streets away anyway as there was so much traffic.
Alternatively could you cycle? I was able to cycle on to work from school some days, it's about 3 miles to my work from school.