Walk with Wheel Week - support
Whilst the active journey to a child’s setting is an ideal time to take part in Walk with Wheels Week, we would like to encourage active travel at other times too and open up opportunities for families to engage with the event.
The following sections provide ideas to help support settings and their parents and carers:
- Support for settings and parents/carers of SEND children
- Using Park and Stride options during Walk with Wheels week
- Settings in rural locations
Support for settings and parents/carers of SEND children
At My Journey Hampshire we acknowledge that events such as Walk with Wheels Week may need to be adapted to suit the individual requirements of some children and families. For example, there may be SEND children who need to travel to their setting by car.
Here, we have provided supporting information with ideas how all settings and families can fully participate and have fun during Walk with Wheels Week.
Children’s competition
- For their competition, children have been asked to take a cut out of Basil on an active journey during Walk with Wheels Week. This active journey doesn’t necessarily need to be the journey to or from their setting. If there are other opportunities to walk, wheel, scoot or cycle during the week, Basil can be taken along on one of those journeys instead. Otherwise, he could be taken outside into the garden at home or at the setting or taken around a local park or greenspace.
- The cut out of Basil can be decorated however a child would like, or not at all if they would like to leave him blank. Settings will be provided with a green Basil if you would like to print and use that version instead.
- Members of staff at the setting may be able to take a group of children out for a walk and wheel around the grounds of the setting or out locally, giving children the opportunity to take their Basil along on a journey. If the staff are able to take a photo of the child’s Basil on this journey, the parent could then use it to enter the children’s competition.
Setting’s competition
- Settings are asked to create a Walk with Wheels poster featuring all the active ways children and staff travel. Where an active journey to your setting is not possible by a family, the child can represent a different journey on the poster. Children could be encouraged to think of any time they have used a method of active travel to add to the poster. They could include sustainable travel too, such as the bus or train.
If you adapt this challenge to meet children’s needs in a different way from those stated above, we would love to hear from you so we can continue to develop our advice for SEND settings and promote inclusivity within our initiatives. Please do contact us on schooltravelplans@hants.gov.uk to let us know what has worked for your children and what can help enable them to travel actively and sustainably.
Resources
- ROSPA teaching road safety skills to children with additional needs- advice on teaching road safety skills to help children keep themselves safe and develop awareness skills.
- National Autistic Society road safety- a guide for parents and carers
- Off to the Park! Tactile Book- illustrated by Stephen Cheetham, this is a sensory and involved experience book outlining a well-loved journey to the park, featuring using a signalised crossing.
Using Park and Stride options during Walk with Wheels week
There may be circumstances where families aren’t able to walk, wheel, scoot or cycle for the entire journey to their setting. These families can be encouraged to Park & Stride – park safely and considerately 5 to 10 minutes from the setting and walk, wheel, scoot or cycle the rest of the journey.
With the ability to use active travel for part of the journey, children can still participate in the children’s competition and contribute to the Walk with Wheels poster for the setting competition. As well as this, they will benefit from the additional physical activity and experience the walk, wheel, scoot or cycle will provide. Plus, it is a great opportunity to practice road safety skills such as looking for safe places to cross, practicing using a crossing etc.
You may find some of the information on our Guide to creating and promoting a Park and Stride map helpful or if you have a Modeshift STARS travel plan you can create a walking bubble map for your site.
Settings in rural locations
Hampshire is a diverse county with a range of city, town and village locations. If your setting is in a more rural area you may be concerned about how you can safely promote active travel to your families during Walk with Wheels Week. There are a number of adaptations you could consider to ensure your setting and your children can benefit from focusing on active travel and take part in the competitions.
- Find a nearby Park & Stride location, possibly a local recreation ground, pub, church and ask if parents and carers could have use of their car park for the week. If this is successful and well supported, you could see if this could be a permanent arrangement.
- If your setting has outdoor space, set up a route for the children to follow and offer them the choice of walking, wheeling, scooting or cycling (if you have scooter or bikes available).
- Take the children on a local walk and wheel. Use the opportunity to focus active and sustainable travel and the benefits it has for our health and the local environment. It could also be a good time to learn about road safety, Think! have a range of resources for pre-school children.
- When creating your Walk with Wheels Week poster, encourage children to think of journeys they take with their families or friends where they use active travel. They can then celebrate these journeys to help create the poster.
- Take a look at our early years curriculum materials, with suggested planning linked to the Early Learning Goals.