The Environmental Transport Association is urging primary schools to use an exciting curriculum resource during Walk to School Week (19 - 23 May 2008) and Green Transport Week (14 - 22 June 2008).

The Environmental Transport Association (ETA) is providing a set of online lesson plans and resources designed to promote and support both Walk to School week in May, and Green Transport Week in June, as part of an ongoing programme of educational development.

The ETA recognises that many excellent resources sit unused in staffrooms because they are not immediately relevant to the main school curriculum.

The new ETA resource aims to solve this problem by providing a full themed week aimed at children in years 5 and 6 which will address day to day planning objectives. There is enough material in the resource to last for at least half a term, and teachers will need to select what is appropriate for them. Similar resources for other age groups are planned for the future.

Speaking about the new resources, ETA Director Andrew Davis said: "We are keen to educate the younger generation about the need for more sustainable travel and this is why we are investing in a primary school programme. We hope that local authorities as well as schools will use and promote these free resources widely."

Author of the resources, Rob Hattersley of WyEd, said: "Most teachers are keen to promote sustainability but think they haven't the time given other pressures. This resource is specifically designed to provide an exciting topic for a whole week of teaching across different subjects where all the planning and preparation is already done. It would be a welcome change after SATs for Key Stage 2 pupils."

Further information, teaching plans and downloadable resources are now available online at www.eta-schools.co.uk. Teaching plans can be downloaded in editable Word format, allowing teachers to customise them for their own classes and adapt them to their own school planning frameworks.

The Environmental Transport Association launches new schools resource ahead of Walk to School Week (May 21 - 25) and Green Transport Week (16 - 24 June)

The Environmental Transport Association (ETA) has launched a set of online lesson plans and resources designed to promote and support both Walk to School week this month and Green Transport Week in June, as part of an ongoing programme of educational development.

The ETA is the alternative breakdown service, providing first class breakdown cover while campaigning on environmental issues. It recognizes that many excellent resources sit unused in staffrooms because they are not immediately relevant to the main school curriculum.

The new ETA resource aims to solve this problem by providing a full themed week aimed at children in years 5 and 6 which will address day to day planning objectives. There is enough material in the resource to last for at least half a term, and teachers will need to select what is appropriate for them. Similar resources for other age groups are planned for the future.

Further information, teaching plans and downloadable resources are now available online at www.eta-schools.co.uk. Teaching plans can be downloaded in editable Word format, allowing teachers to customise them for their own classes and adapt them to their own school planning frameworks.

In the lead up to Walk to School week, which begins on 21 May, the ETA schools website aims to educate children about the positive effects of walking to school, particularly focusing on global climate change and local pollution and congestion.

The Walk to School Campaign asks parents, pupils and teachers to think about their journey to and from school, and the many benefits of making it on foot. Over 50% of children don't walk to school regularly, and more and more pupils are being driven to school in a car. This trend is contributing to reduced physical activity and increased childhood obesity, urban congestion and air pollution.

Green Transport Week, which takes place this year from 16-24 June, was first launched as one of the Environmental Transport Association’s leading campaigning initiatives in 1993. Andrew Davis, director of the ETA, created Green Transport Week to provide members with support and information about transport and the environment. Its aim then, as it still is today, is to involve millions of people in activities that highlight our transport impact on the environment and show how it can be reduced.

Speaking about the new resource, Andrew Davis says: "The schools website aims to provide a forum for support, feedback and the promotion of best practice in this area. We hope that local authorities as well as schools will use and promote these resources widely."

Founded in 1990, the Environmental Transport Association aims to raise awareness of the impact of excessive car use and help individuals and organisations to make positive changes in their travel habits. The ETA is the ethical alternative to other motoring organisations and by providing high quality services from car breakdown to home insurance to anybody concerned about the impact of transport on the environment, funds are generated for the ETA’s campaigns. For more information about ETA products and services visit www.eta.co.uk .

This resource aims to educate Year 5 and Year 6 children about the positive effects of walking to school, particularly focusing on:
* Global climate change
* Local pollution and congestion

It aims to make it as easy as possible for teachers to integrate this into the core curriculum through the provision of a fully themed week of teaching covering as much of the timetable. In fact, there is enough material in the resource to last for at least half a term, and teachers will need to select what is appropriate for them. It is hoped that similar resources for other age groups might follow in future years.

If you use these resources we would like to know how it goes. We intend this web based resource to be a work in progress over coming years and welcome feedback and helpful comments as to how the resources can be further developed and improved. The great thing about an online resource is that change can be made very easily. We can post your news on our blog page and examples of your children's work in our gallery. We can add your further ideas on promoting Walk to School or Green Transport Weeks to inspire other teachers.

Don't forget to involve the press in your week. Your local School Travel Officer will be able to help with this.

Thanks to www.shtig.net for permission to use his wonderful cartoon above.

We are now in "beta" mode in that we have uploaded drafts of the teaching plans and resources to test the working of the website.

Please let us know of any technical glitches or errors in different web browsers. The great thing about a web-based teaching resource is the ability to adapt and amend it with ease. So if you notice any errors or omissions in the teaching plans and resources, again please do let us know.

We are aware of a problem with the Walk to School logo in older versions of Internet Explorer and are working to fix this.

Thank you.

The Environmental Transport Association has commissioned the development of a set of online lesson plans and resources designed to promote Walk to School and Green Transport Weeks. It is hoped that this will be an ongoing programme of development.

Many excellent resources sit unused in staffrooms because they remain add-ons to the main things that schools are doing. This ETA resource aims to solve this problem by providing a full themed week which will address day to day planning objectives. This site will have plans and resources for a full week of Year 5 and 6 Literacy, Numeracy, Science, ICT and Geography by the end of the Easter holidays 2007.

The teaching plans will be downloadable in editable Word format, allowing teachers to customise them for their own classes and adapt them to their own school planning frameworks.

The website aims to provide a forum for support, feedback and the promotion of best practice in this area. We hope that local authorities as well as schools will use and promote these resources widely.

Teaching plans and resources will be online by April 13th. Click here to have an email sent to you when the site is live. Then you can enjoy your Easter Break knowing that planning and preparation for at least one week in the Summer Term is being done for you!