Active Travel

What is Active Travel?

Active travel means making journeys by physically active means, like walking or cycling.  Active travel has quite a few benefits. It’s good for health as it’s a way of being active within your normal daily routine, and our community has a rapidly growing problem with the health issues caused by people not being active enough. 

Why focus on Active Travel?

Children's local active travel to places they regularly go to provides significant health benefits from physical activity, can improve concentration, increase independence and positive self-esteem, and contribute to safe mobility.

While living in a rural area can present challenges in active travel to school, schools can equip students with the skills they need to become active travelers later in life, such as building cycling proficiency and becoming a safe pedestrian.

Six resources to promote active travel at your school

1. Resources to support your school to encourage children’s active travel, including parent surveys, facilities reviews and action plan templates are available on the Healthy Kids website.
2. National Ride2School Day, held annually in Term 1, provides an opportunity for students, parents and teachers to try riding, walking, skating or scooting to school as well as celebrating the regular walkers and riders.
3. Your council’s Road Safety Officer can help you create a safe environment for walking and cycling to school by promoting driver compliance with 40km/h school zones and when passing a school bus; supporting local enforcement of school zones and working with parents and school communities to promote safer parking around schools.
4. National Walk Safely to School Day, held during Term 2, is an annual, national event when all primary school children are encouraged to walk and commute safely to school.
5. Road Safety Education officers in the Department of Education, the Catholic Schools NSW and Association of Independent Schools NSW can provide road safety educational resources and professional development to your school.
6. Safety Town is an interactive road safety education program based on Transport for NSW’s main road safety messages for school students in Stage 3. All teachers and students in every NSW primary school are able to gain access to the Safety Town site as can families at home.

Ready to go?

Visit the NSW Health website for more active travel resources or email the Population Health team to discuss how we can support FMS at your school.  You can also join our Live Life Well @ School email list for regular updates on our school-based programs.