Taking the school run in your stride

Fewer than half of primary school children now walk to school – despite the fact that the majority of such pupils live within a mile-and-a-half of their school.

International Walk to School Month in October aims to persuade parents that the benefits of walking to school – including exercise, quality time with the kids, improving their concentration in lessons and helping the environment – far outweigh any short-term advantages of a quick drive to school.

Tony Armstrong, chief executive of Living Streets, which runs the Walk to School campaign, says: "With many parents, it's a convenience issue, relating to the perceived distance and time.

"Everyone leads incredibly busy lives these days, and mornings are hectic, so some parents think they haven't got the luxury of time to walk."

However, he points out that parents who do try the walk to school often admit they'd over-estimated the time it would take.

Conversely, the drive to school often takes much longer than perceived, after loading up the car with bags and kids is taken into account, as well as traffic and parking.

"Walking to school is a brilliant way to get some physical activity and some fresh air into your day," he adds.

"When children are bundled from front door to car door, they miss out on the opportunity to socialise with friends, get to know their community, and burn off energy before getting their heads down in the books."

A recent survey by Living Streets and Parentline Plus found that a combination of long working hours, a fear of strangers, and dangerous traffic conditions, is what leads many families to drive to school.

The two charities are calling on the Government and local authorities to implement measures, including parking restrictions, good crossing points and 20mph speed limits for a wide area around schools, as well as family-friendly working practices to help give parents the confidence to choose to let their child walk to school.

However, many parents agonise over what age it's safe to let children travel to school alone, particularly after stories in the media about the parents of young children allowed to go to school on their own being castigated by the authorities.

In July, for example, it was claimed that Oliver and Gillian Schonrock were told they could be reported to social services for letting their daughter, aged eight, and son, five, cycle the mile-long journey from their home in Dulwich, south London, to school unsupervised.

The couple said they simply wanted their children to enjoy the same childhood freedoms they had experienced when young.

Armstrong says Living Streets is often asked how old a child needs to be to walk to school unsupervised.

"Our view is that we can't give an answer because it's down to individual circumstances," he explains.

"Parents know their kids better than anyone, and know how safe or not the school trip is going to be.

"It may well be appropriate for a seven-year-old to walk a short distance on their own, and it may not be.

"It depends how mature the child is, how safe the streets are and how long the walk is."

He says that part of the problem is parental peer pressure – some may be confident enough to let their child walk a short distance to school alone, but fear other parents think they're irresponsible.

"It's about culture change," he says.

"The risks haven't changed in terms of stranger danger, and the number of collisions with motor traffic has been reducing over the last 20-30 years.

"The big risk is that our kids are no longer getting enough exercise."

To herald Walk to School Month, a new online i-parent module (www.parentlineplus.org.uk/iparent) has been launched by Parentline Plus to support parents who want their kids to walk to school.