NOW CLOSED: It's Walking to School Week: talk to Kia about your DC walking to school – you could win a £150 voucher and a weekend loan of a Kia Carens

[AnnMumsnet]

You may know that week starting 20 May 2013 is Walk to School Week which promotes the benefits of walking to school.

In support of this campaign the car folks, Kia, have a scheme called the Walking Bus where they supply schools with all they need to encourage children to walk to school (for example by providing high viz bibs) and parents take on the role of a 'driver' and 'conductor' to escort children on a designated route to school.

Kia say "Did you know that over the past couple of decades, the number of children walking to school has fallen sharply. In 2011, 49% of primary school aged children and 38% of secondary school aged children walked to school, down from 62% of primary and 48% of secondary school aged children in 1991".

Kia would love to know what you think about this and the Walking Bus scheme and how you're going to get involved in Walk to School Week this year.

Please share on this thread....
~ If you normally walk to school: how you find this? What are the advantages and what are the disadvantages?
~ Are you able to try walking to school during the campaign week? If so please return to this thread and share your experiences!
~ If walking to school would be impossible for you, why is this and is there anything you can do to walk some of the way or to encourage other parents at your school to try the Kia Walking Bus?
~ Would you like to see this scheme introduced to your child's school? If so, do share the link with them and let us know what they say
~ If you already take part in a Walking Bus to school scheme please share your top tips or things to avoid. What works best?

Everyone who shares a tip, story or thought on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £150 voucher for wallpaperdirect and a weekend loan of a Kia Carens*.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

• ps car loan will be dependent on acceptance of Kias T&Cs which will be emailed to the winner

We walk to school - it is very close to us and takes 5 minutes. I think most families walk to our school, but the radius for entry to the school is approx 350 meters.

I just love love love being able to walk to school - DD walks, hops, skips & jumps her way there

We live about 8 min walk from school so always walk / scoot, whatever the weather.

School joined up with a big local (city wide) campaign around walking to school earlier year as parking is a bit dangerous in places (including by a bloody great 4x4 Kia mounting the pavement ), and it had a brilliant take up.

I'll mention the school bus thing as that might be quite popular - especially with the large number of working parents dropping off by car in the mornings.

I walk to DS2's school as its 5 minutes down the road. It makes no sense for us to drive. The weather is never an issue; if it rains we have weeklies, coats and brollies.

Most of the children who attend his school walk as it is on a housing estate, however I think a walking bus would be handy, especially as quite a few of the children who walk to school alone are late.

DS1 goes to a different school and he walks with a group of friends. I would have been happier to let him walk earlier if there had been a walking bus. The pupils from his school are spread over a larger area so I'm not sure how this would work practically.

If you normally walk to school: how you find this? What are the advantages and what are the disadvantages?

We walk the 1 mile to my son's school when we're not running late! We all enjoy it and feel more awake. No disadvantages.

~ Are you able to try walking to school during the campaign week? If so please return to this thread and share your experiences!

Unfortunatly not this week as work for me is busy and I need to drive to save time.

~ If walking to school would be impossible for you, why is this and is there anything you can do to walk some of the way or to encourage other parents at your school to try the Kia Walking Bus?

~ Would you like to see this scheme introduced to your child's school? If so, do share the link with them and let us know what they say

Yes I would and I will.

~ If you already take part in a Walking Bus to school scheme please share your top tips or things to avoid. What works best?

We don't walk to school as unfortunately too far away and over busy roads with no crossings. I would love to let the children walk when they are a bit older and the walking bus sounds like a great idea.

We walk 1km to nursery, ds is 4 so walks well now, and dd in in the pushchair. When he starts school it'll be a mile, dropping dd off en route, then coming back to the station. But in London there's no point trying to drive - we have fun overtaking cars as it is.

Hopefully ds will master scooting which will speed us up a bit.

I'd like to know how much the average distance to school has increased over the years, what with 'choice', and small schools closing. I know some people will be driving to ds's school and to my nearest school, passing each other - because the nearest discriminates against non-Christians so few local kids get in.

~ If you normally walk to school: how you find this? What are the advantages and what are the disadvantages?

Yes. Fine for my dd. School is about 7mins walk away. I haven't a clue what the advantages or disadvantages are as I have always done it as a child and a parent. It's just something I do.

~ Are you able to try walking to school during the campaign week? If so please return to this thread and share your experiences!

I will be walking as usual.

~ If walking to school would be impossible for you, why is this and is there anything you can do to walk some of the way or to encourage other parents at your school to try the Kia Walking Bus?

DS attends a special school however and whilst we do walk some of the way, we also had to take 2 buses and a train until transport was offered in the form of a taxi.

~ Would you like to see this scheme introduced to your child's school? If so, do share the link with them and let us know what they say

Yes. Though dd is in nursery and will in reception in another school so I don't yet know whether they have something like this.

~ If you already take part in a Walking Bus to school scheme please share your top tips or things to avoid. What works best?

n/a

My son didn't get into any of our 3 chosen schools (all within 1 mile) and will be going to a school 1.8 miles away. I am really sad that its just too far to walk the school run esp with a 2.5yo and what will be a newborn baby. Being forced to drive the school run each day makes me sad. Not even suitably safe bike route either. Gutted.

I don't drive so we walk.
In the snow and ice it is impossible to get a buggy along the pavements so the children don't go in.
Then you get grief from the school.
I am considering learning to drive as it would be simpler and we do not have to leave as early.

~ If you normally walk to school: how you find this? What are the advantages and what are the disadvantages?

My son has moved from school to school in the past and we have different experiences based on each school. One place there was a walking bus and there was lots of support from the school and really initiated by the school and it worked well.

It probably didn't cover a big enough area to be truly useful as many had to drive to the first meeting point but at least it kept traffic a bit further away from the school.

The big advantages for me are to help children learn road safety, it is a social experience of meeting others en route to school, and it teaches them about health and being kinder to the environment too.

disadvantages are if there is lack of support from school or parents for it to run regularly. Also if it is not running promptly on time then it doesn't work well.

~ Are you able to try walking to school during the campaign week? If so please return to this thread and share your experiences!

We tend to increase amount of walking elsewhere during walk to school week instead as that is just as important in teaching children the same lessons.

~ If walking to school would be impossible for you, why is this and is there anything you can do to walk some of the way or to encourage other parents at your school to try the Kia Walking Bus?

At one school it was impossible as it was too far and too rural (ie no pavements and fast roads ). I also have flare ups of my arthritis which would make it impossible on occasions to join in.

Hence we encourage the children at other times to walk and it doesn't have to be only to school.

~ Are you able to try walking to school during the campaign week? If so please return to this thread and share your experiences!
~ If walking to school would be impossible for you, why is this and is there anything you can do to walk some of the way or to encourage other parents at your school to try the Kia Walking Bus?
~ Would you like to see this scheme introduced to your child's school? If so, do share the link with them and let us know what they say

We have to drive the dc to school as they both go to different schools, they are over 2 miles apart and there's only 20 minutes between starting times so it's physically not possible to get between them in that time. Plus it's at least 2 miles to get to the one school and then another 2 miles to get home from the other, the youngest (5) is the one that starts the latest and he just physically up to walking that far twice a day, let alone being able to do it within the right time frame.

We do tend to park a little further away than the parking immediately outside the schools - just a couple of minutes walk but enough to avoid the parking hell and congestion that is created at peak drop off times.

I know the junior school ds1 goes to has a walking bus scheme for kids that go to the linked infant schools which is very successful - unfortunately ds2 isn't at one of these so we can't make use of them.

I did know it was walk to school week - ds1 came home with a leaflet and this morning went into school early to go to the park to meet the mascot of the local football club and then everybody walked with him to the school, along with the school's lollipop lady. The lollipop lady is very highly thought of in school - she's been there a while, knows everybody and everything, is always smiling and even has her own page on the school website.

Hello - thanks for all the comments. Am pleased to say zipzap has been selected as the winner of the wallpaperdirect.co.uk voucher and the weekend loan of a Kia Carens. I will pm you!

Woohoo!

Thank you so much MN and Kia

very excited here (you might have guessed!)

Will pm you Ann with the requisite info

Grrrr, only thing I have won from MN is a cuddly toy and a dildo!