Sustrans Active School Travel news

Summer 2015 — Lisburn, Down and Newry
Sustrans Active School Travel news
Giant Bike for the Grand Fondo
I’d love to hear from you…
I’m Pamela Grove-White, Sustrans
Active Travel Officer for the Lisburn,
Down and Newry area. Please get in
touch if you have any great school stories or would like to f ind out more about
our schools work.
This was a short, busy term with schools taking part in lots of active school travel events
as well as classroom sessions.
Pupils found out about the bike in Victorian
times as well as considering the issue of pollution and thinking about
how to reduce this on the journey to school with other sessions on how
to fix punctures.
In June pupils from the Bunscoil Bheanna Boirche in Castlewellan were
excited about the Grand Fondo bike ride which would be passing behind
the school and past many of their houses. To celebrate this pupils from
years 4 to 7 worked in two groups to produce a giant bike using games
equipment. The year 4/5 group even added a giant cyclist .
Tel:
028 9043 4569
Mob:
07884 393 537
Email: pamela.grove-white@sustrans.org.uk
Tw itter: @Sustrans NI
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sustrans NI
Summer Cycle Skills
Around 200 pupils from three schools took
part in cycle skills sessions in the playground
this term, with small groups having 30 minute
sessions of games and challenges to test and
develop the children’s skills. Games are a fun
way to develop skills and confidence on cycles
and scooters: practicing stopping and starting
“It was really fun with Pamela. She
skills, moving through obstacle courses to test
made an obstacle course for us.”
control, and increasing awareness of others
around them on the road or shared path. Not
only is this a fun way of learning but great exercise as well and will encourage more cycling over the summer and in the future. (Photo and pupil
quote on left from St Peter’s PS in Cloughreagh)
Over 20 children also took part in Ditch the Stabilisers sessions in Ballymacash Primary, with parents and family members helping during the
session so that they could follow up with the children during the summer.
Are your pupils superheroes?
Sustrans’ Superheroes is an award
scheme recognising pupils’ skills and
achievements in walking, scooting and
cycling. Aimed at 7- to 11-year-olds,
pupils gain points for activities they
complete to become either a Sustrans
Hero or Superhero. Based on a booklet
of activities, the scheme provides the
structure and inspiration for children to
learn and practice the skills essential for
fun, safe and sustained active travel to
school and for other journeys.
sustrans.org.uk/superheroes
Sustrans is the charity that’s enabling people to travel by foot, bike or
public transport for more of the journeys we make every day. It’s time we
all began making smarter travel choices. Make your move and support
Sustrans today. www.sustrans.org.uk
© Sustrans 2015. Registered Charity No. 326550 (England and Wales) SCO39263 (Scotland)
Lisburn, Down & Newry Sustrans Active School Travel newsletter, Summer 2015
Overheard…
“It is wonderful to see so many children
cycling, scooting and walking to school.
The parents have also been supporting this
initiative - long may it continue. This is a
small step in changing the mind-sets of a
lot of people to choose the
healthier option.”
Principal, St Kieran’s PS, Poleglass
“Very pleased to get this award and to see
so many bikes in the lovely bike sheds and
so many children being a bit more active
on the journey to school. We have worked
hard to get the Bronze Award and will now
start on the Silver.”
Principal, Maghaberry PS
“I got to come to school with my best
friend on our bikes. Our mummies followed
behind us. We got to school before them as
they only walked.”
“I parked my bike in the new bike park.
It is cool!”
Schools making their mark with
active travel
Three schools were presented with the Sustrans School Mark
Bronze Award this term; Maghaberry PS, All Children’s IPS in
Newcastle, and St Joseph’s PS in Crossgar. There are more to
come next term, including some Silver Awards to be presented.
The Sustrans
School Mark
Scheme helps
schools to
demonstrate
how well they
have done in
incorporating
active travel
into their daily
activities choosing a more active way to travel to school but also involving the whole school community, importantly involving pupils
with ideas and decisions, using the active travel theme in the
classroom, developing cycle and scooter skills, and making
usef ul local contacts. Those schools working towards the Silver
Award have been keeping things going encouraging pupils to
help out and revisiting activities such as postcode marking and
whole school events with great success.
Pupils, St Patrick’s PS, Newry
“Parking and then walking gives me an
extra 5 minutes each day.”
Parent, Bunscoil Bheanna Boirche,
Castlewellan
This term in numbers
For Lisburn, Down and Newry
St Aloyisius PS had 82 ‘blinged ‘bikes and scooters.
Over 5,480 journeys made during challenges in four
schools whilst 80% of pupils in St Patrick’s PS took
part in a 3 day walk and wheel challenge.
200 pupils took part in cycle skills sessions.
New parking in place in three schools for 24 bikes.
In the region
371 pupils took part in Bikeability on-road cycle
training this term.
1st school in NI wins Gold School Mark Award.
65 new schools will be joining the Active School
Travel Programme for the 2015-16 school year.
Did you know?
7-8 years old
is a critical age in keeping girls motivated to play sport. Beyond this age, girls
become more self -conscious, lose confidence and many stop participating.
(Women in Sport and the Youth Sport Trust)
…and across the UK
Sustrans’ School Mark recognises and supports schools’
excellence in active and sustainable travel.
At last count we had 690 schools who had achieved Bronze level,
75 with the Silver award and 19 with Gold.
Schools have also demonstrated impressive increases in active
and sustainable travel after taking part in Sustrans’ Big Shift, our
a f ree-to-access online challenge which sets targets and charts
their success.
One of our officers used it to run an inter-school competition
between six primaries, representing over 2,400 pupils. It ran for
just a week, but the results were eye-catching:
* 54.5% - the % of active journeys (across all schools) at the
START of the week
* 78.1% - the % of active journeys by the END of the week
* 94.0% - the highest % of active journeys recorded by a school on
one day
* 2,959 - the number of ADDITIONAL active journeys generated
over the week
Visit bigshift.sustrans.org.uk to set
your school a challenge.
Lisburn, Down & Newry Sustrans Active School Travel newsletter, Summer 2015
Piccolo Fondo
First there was the Giro d’Italia, then the
Gran Fondo, next the Piccolo Fondo…
Northern Ireland was once more in the
pink! In June, 4 led family bike rides set
out along radial routes into the Titanic
Quarter for the Northern Ireland Festival of
Cycling. The Piccolo Fondo – The Big Pink
Pedal attracted around 400 cyclists along
greenways and quiet roads into Belfast for
a family festival of food, drink,
entertainment and the exciting centrepiece
– a street velodrome open to the public.
Hype that site: movewithsustrans.org.uk
Get your pupils excited about walking, scooting and cycling with
bright and fun ink stamps, stickers, buttons, reflective slapwraps, banners and Superheroes badges – all available at our
online shop for schools, groups of schools or local authorities.
Active School Travel is Golden
St Therese of Lisieux Primary School in north Belfast became
the first school in Northern Ireland to achieve the Gold School
Mark Award in May. The school now has more than 76% of its
pupils regularly cycling, scooting or walking to school – a figure
that has risen dramatically since the school first started working
with Sustrans in 2011. The Health Minister for Northern Ireland
presented the award to the school this term in a special
celebration event. The school also received an exciting visit
from Dino Jeffers of Deaf BMX who put on amazing flatland
display for the pupils!
Photo competition
Top tips for the autumn term
 See Events on the back page and use any themed weeks,
Caption: Smoothie Pirate
Do you have a f un or interesting photo?
Please share. Send your photos to:
pamela.grove-white@sustrans.org.uk
Or try a poem:
My bike
Shiny, fast, cool
Cycling with mum and dad
Salty sea air, wind in my face
Good time
P4 pupil, St Mary’s PS, Newcastle
dates or events to promote or discuss walking, cycling or
scooting… World Car-free Day, International Walk to
School Day (and Week) and Road Safety Week are all
coming in the months between summer and Christmas
 Start thinking about when the evenings get darker and the
importance of using lights and being visible. Diwali is the
Festival of Lights, perfect for promoting being seen after
the clocks change.
 Plan your activities for 2015/16 and take your hands-up/
baseline surveys to see how pupils are currently travelling.
Do you need to refresh a travel plan, or tweak your
information for new parents and pupils? What new things do
you want to try?
Get this resource…
 Bike to School Week may have come and gone, but our new
guide, 5 Small Steps to Something BIG, includes five
activities designed to be delivered over five days, to help you
turn any week into a Bike, Walk or Scoot to School Week.
Download it at www.sustrans.org.uk/biketoschoolweek
Lisburn, Down & Newry Sustrans Active School Travel newsletter, Summer 2015
Snapshots of active travel events
From bike marking to ‘blinged’ bikes to walk to school events to cycle skills
days to fresh air challenges, it’s been a busy term.
Dates for the diary
August
12th International Youth Day
31st Bank Holiday
September
16th-22nd European Mobility Week
22nd World Car-free Day
October
Three schools were able to take part in the ‘On Yer Bike’ cycle registration
scheme offered through the Crime Prevention Officer in Newry. Over 100
bikes were marked and put on the register.
Nine schools took part in a variety of challenges running between 3 days
and four weeks, adding a f un incentive to choosing to make a more active
journey to school. These took the forms of a Walk and Wheel challenge
and the Big Green Foot challenge as well as the Summer Fresh Air Balloon challenge. Schools ran these with the option for both individual, whole
class or ‘house’ participation.
The P2 class were the winning
class in Maghaberry PS.
Pupils from St Joseph’s
Convent PS
Some schools ran one day
events to promote and celebrate more active travel. On a
walk to school day, pupils
f rom St Joseph’s Convent PS
in Newry walked to school for
a bottle of water with over 288
bottles being collected. Other
schools ran bling your bike days
and active travel breakfasts.
7th International Walk to School Day
5th-9th International Walk to School
Week
25th Clocks change
31st Halloween
November
11th Diwali
23rd-29th Road Safety Week
www.roadsafetyweek.org
December
24th-26th Christmas
‘Blinged’ scooter and pupils from Killowen PS
Thank you for supporting our work
Sustrans’ vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the
environment, and this applies to children just as much as it does to adults . The positive experiences of all
the children that you have read about in this newsletter are the culmination of more than 20 years of Sustrans
and our officers working with schools, colleges and young people.
Without your support, many children would not have the opportunity to enjoy independent and active journeys
in and around their communities, so a huge thank you from us on their behalf. The long-term benefits of
creating healthy and sustainable journeys will be shared by every one of us – in terms of our health, the
environment and the wider economy.
If you like the sound of what Sustrans does and think that more schools, colleges and young people in your
area could benefit from our work, or you want to know more, please get in touch.
email youngpeople@sustrans.org.uk
phone 0117 915 0100
online www.sustrans.org.uk/youngpeople
Sustrans is grateful for the continued support of our schools work in Northern Ireland f rom the following:
Lisburn, Down & Newry Sustrans Active School Travel newsletter, Summer 2015