Anyone who has driven in town between 8 and 9 during term time, and again during the school holidays, cannot fail to appreciate the difference in congestion levels.

According to the Department for Transport, the proportion of children walking to school fell from 62 percent in 1991 to 49 percent in 2005. During the same period, the percentage of children being driven to school by car rose from 27 to 43 percent.

13 percent of car trips in urban areas in 2005 were for 'escort education', which is mainly taking children to schools, compared to 10 percent in 1995/7. This is at a time of rising traffic levels generally, so to increase the percentage at the same time shows how serious the problem is. The peak time of day is 8.35 - 8.50am, when the school run accounts for one in five car trips by residents of urban areas.

While in 1971, 80% of seven- and eight-year-old children went to school on their own, by 1990 only 9% were making the journey unaccompanied, with more than four times as many seven- to 11-year-olds being driven in 1990 compared with 20 years earlier. The figure for 7 - 11 year olds in 2005 is now down to 6 percent.

It follows that success in encouraging more children to walk or cycle to school might also begin to solve the congestion problems in many of the UK's urban areas.

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 as possible. 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.

The resource enables teachers to meet a significant number of Literacy and Mathematics objectives in a topic of real local interest to the children and these objectives are defined in each of the teaching plan units. The new 2007 teaching framework references are used.

Each unit can be addressed through the use of ICT and opportunities are highlighted in the teaching plans for each unit. The project particularly lends itself to the following sections of the Programme of Study for ICT:

1a. talk about what information they need and how they can find and use it
1b. how to prepare information for development using ICT, including selecting suitable sources, finding information, classifying it and checking it for accuracy
1c. to interpret information, to check it is relevant and reasonable and to think about what might happen if there were any errors or omissions
2a. how to develop and refine ideas by bringing together, organising and reorganising text, tables, images and sound as appropriate
3b. to be sensitive to the needs of the audience and think carefully about the content and quality when communicating information
5b. working with others to explore a variety of information sources and ICT tools

and the following QCA Scheme of Work Units:

Unit 5B: Analysing data and asking questions
Unit 5C: Evaluating information, checking accuracy and questioning plausibility
Unit 5D: Introduction to spreadsheets
Unit 6A: Multimedia presentation
Unit 6D: Using the internet

In Geography a huge range of objectives can be met through the project an these are detailed in the teaching plans. The materials especially enable coverage of one of the three themes required at Key Stage 2 in a focussed block:

Programme of Study for Geography: "6) During the key stage, pupils should be taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through the study of two localities and three themes...
e. an environmental issue, caused by change in an environment [for example, increasing traffic congestion], and attempts to manage the environment sustainably [for example, by improving public transport}"

The material presents a rich source of material for PSHE and Citizenship and opportunities and curriculum coverage is identified in the teaching plans.

The themed week is delivered in four main stages:

RESEARCH
Children briefly research global climate change and the local traffic congestion, and the effects of both

REPORT
Children report and present their findings, identifying trends

SOLVE
Through discussion and further research, children devise local action plans for tackling climate change and congestion

PERSUADE
Children develop communication skills by devising ways in which to persuade peers, parents and the wider community to change travel habits

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.

(1) National Travel Survey 2005 and the same for 2001
(2) National Travel Survey 2005, page 36, table 4.7
(3) The Guardian, 2/11/2002, in turn quoting Hillman, M., Adams, J. and Whitelegg, J. (1991), One False Move... a study of children's independent mobility, Policy Studies Institute
(4) National Travel Survey 2005.