Improve your child’s health by using pedal power to get to school.

Today we continue our articles on National Cycle to School Week. Terry Hughes from Havering Cyclists writes in the Havering Daily on the importance of cycling to school and the positive impacts it can have on your child’s health and well being.

Cycling to school is a great thing to do. Not only is it much more fun than being driven in a car, it’s also great for your child’s physical health,their mental health, the environment and for your pocket. This is why the Bikeability Trust and Sustrans have teamed up to encourage more families to start using pedal power to get to school with Cycle to School Week which is taking place across the UK from Monday 3rd to Friday 7th October.

On average, according to the organisation Cycling UK, just 2.2% of children in the UK cycle to school while a whopping 35.4% are driven to school. The average journey to school is just 2.4 miles which would typically take just 15 minutes to cycle.

Children are ready to cycle to school independently once they’ve completed their Bikeability Level 2, which teaches them the skills they need to cycle confidently and safely on the roads. Children in Year 5 and Year 6 who have taken part in Bikeability should be able to cycle to school by themselves or with friends.

Younger children can be taken to school by bikes adapted with child seats or using tag-along bikes.

In Havering, we see the effects of far too many school trips being made by car with peaks in congestion at school times as well as many parking issues. Sadly we know that this very congestion is a factor in deterring people from venturing out on their bikes for the school run.

We very much hope that Havering’s schools will support Cycle to School week and if there are people out there considering it but are uncomfortable with the traffic, there are often quiet routes available. We have some listed on our website below.

Some useful resources:

A list of quiet routes in Havering:
https://www.haveringcyclists.org/quiet-routes/
A cycle route mapping tool: https://www.cyclestreets.net/
All about Cycle to School Week:
https://www.bikeability.org.uk/cycletoschoolweek/
Teacher Resources for Cycle to School Week:
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/for-professionals/education/cycle-to-school-week
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