Nottingham pupils make the Big Shift to active travel. Hype those sites: Biggest movers & shifters. I d love to hear from you

Transcription

1 Sustrans Schools Nottingham Spring-Summer 2016 Delivered as part of the Nottingham Urban Area's successful Local Sustainable Transport Fund programme Nottingham pupils make the Big Shift to active travel I d love to hear from you Year 6 after-school bike club at Whitegate Primary Hundreds of pupils in Nottingham have been travelling actively as part of the Sustrans Big Shift challenge. Dovecote, Whitegate and Sneinton Primary schools have welcomed the programme as a way to reduce car use by encouraging more pupils to walk, cycle or scoot to school. On the busiest week of the challenge, over 220 pupils from Whitegate and Dovecote primary schools rode their bikes and scooters to school to take part in bling-your-bike activity workshops. Pupils decorated their bike and scooters with colourful neon ribbon and foil as a fun and creative way to stay visible on their journey to school. Schools also hosted Be-Bright non-uniform days to promote roadsafety awareness. Pupils and teachers wore their brightest and boldest outfits with prizes on offer for the best dressed children. Pupils that rode to school on two wheels also enjoyed a free bike and scooter breakfast with pedalpowered smoothies. Continued on page 2 Hype those sites: Schools can sign up to The Big Shift and download resources or order them from at any time of year whether taking part for 5 consecutive days or over 5 weeks. I m Dominic Sweeting, the Sustrans Schools Officer for Nottingham. Please get in touch if you have any great school stories or would like to find out more about our work. Contact: dominic.sweeting@sustrans.org.uk Biggest movers & shifters The Big Shift Nottingham: Well done to the following year 6 groups for such fantastic results! Whitegate Primary School Active travel before Big Shift - 73% Average over 5 challenge days - 85% Best overall day - 92% Best class average (Class 13) - 89% Best class day (Class 13) - 100%! Dovecote Primary School Active travel before Big Shift - 73% Average over 5 challenge days - 84% Best overall day - 90% Best class average (6TB) - 89% Best class day (6TB) - 96% 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. Sustrans Registered Charity No (England and Wales) SCO39263 (Scotland)

2 ...The Big Shift Continued from page 1. Year 6 pupils at Sneinton, Dovecote and Whitegate primary schools took part in after-school bike clubs and curriculum linked workshops as part of the Big Shift challenge. Pupils learnt how active travel can protect the environment, improve their health and reduce congestion around the school gates. They also developed map reading and route planning skills to plan a safe route to school. The sessions will help more young people travel actively to secondary school in September. Pupils learn bike handling skills at the after school bike club The Deputy Head at Whitegate Primary School, Andy Forshaw said, The Big Shift has had a real impact on our pupils and the way they travel to school. In the first week of the challenge we saw 92% of all year 6 pupils travelling to school by bike, scooter or on foot. By encouraging active travel we ll see a reduction in congestion and pollution around the school gates, and we ll help the children to be healthier and feel happier too. Pro BMX rider inspires pupils To celebrate the end of the Big Shift in Nottingham, schools were lucky enough to host professional flat-land BMX rider and a Guinness world record holder Matti Hemmings. Well over 600 pupils and staff across four schools were blown away by Matti s gravity defying tricks and motivational shows. A number of pupils where also selected to take part in coaching workshop with Matti. See Matti in action online: Tracey Barton, a year 6 teacher at Dovecote Primary School also added; At Dovecote we ve seen an average of 84% of year 6 pupils travelling actively to school throughout The Big Shift challenge, which is up from 73% of pupils before the project began. Our children have considered the physical, emotional and financial benefits they gain from cycling, scooting and walking and how it helps to protect the environment. Matti performs at Whitegate Primary (above). Pupil gets to grips with flatland BMX (right) The Big Pedal is back! Join hundreds of thousands of pupils between April for the UK s biggest school cycle and scooting event. Each day that more than 15% of your school roll cycle or scoot, you ll be entered into a draw to win some amazing prizes, from bike and scooter storage to cycle stunt and skills shows from some of the world s top riders! Choose from the 10-day or one-day challenge, and enter as a whole school or individual classes. Details and registration at: Top tips for The Big Pedal It s easy to register and each day that over 15% of your pupils cycle or scoot to school, you ll be entered into a draw to win some great prizes from bike and scooter storage to stunt and skills shows from some of the world s top riders. There are trophies for the winning schools too If you only have a couple of classes who you think can do it, just enter them in the class category Worried the 10-day challenge might be too much? Or perhaps it s difficult to cycle to your school, or you have pupils with particular special needs? Then try the one-day challenge, which also includes cycling and scooting events held on the school grounds It s your best five days which count towards your final position, so if you can t quite make all 10, don t worry. You could even choose five to concentrate on Use our other resources to help generate excitement during the event our Suss It Out activities are short, fun and can be delivered without anything other than what you ll already have in a classroom sustrans.org.uk/sussitout Using the website, compare how your school does against others locally, to generate a little healthy competition.

3 Brilliant Be-Bright Days Be-Bright events are a great way to promote roadsafety awareness and remind drivers to slow down and watch out for children. Pupils love dressing up, making use of old fancy dress tutu s and fluorescent leg warmers, borrowing safety workwear or simply showing off their colourful, brightest and boldest clothes. Blinging bikes or scooters with neon ribbons and foil ensures two wheeled transport is also visible and safe to ride. Prizes can be awarded for the brightest bike or most sparkly scooter as well as the best and boldest outfits. Reinforce the safety message through road safety assemblies and ask children to create their own brilliant and bright road safety posters. The idea of dressing up in bright clothes and decorating bikes for the day is a simple one but it brings the whole school together and gets parents and pupils thinking about how they can travel safely to school. Head teacher, Sneinton Primary School Overheard last term This is the best day at school ever! Year 6 pupil at Whitegate Primary School (be-bright day incl. BMX show & bike ride) Can we go on more bike rides after the holidays? Pupil at Dovecote Primary after a led bike ride That was sick! Pupil at Sneinton Primary after ride to Colwick We ll have [Sustrans] back in school again as often as we can SENCO leader at Whitegate Primary Did you fix my bike sir? It feels so smooth now. Thanks! Pupil at Sneinton Primary School I like cycling. I prefer horses. But I really like riding my bike Year 7 pupil from Bluecoat Academy Year 7 pupils from Bluecoat: 2 wheels vs 4 hooves Last term in numbers (Jan-Mar) Well over 600 pupils attended a BMX show 228 bikes and scooters blinged 179 pupils enjoyed bike or scooter breakfasts 103 Yr 6 pupils travelled actively for the Big Shift 64 bikes serviced by Dr Bike 25 Cycle skills sessions (9 riders av. in each) 16 classroom workshops across 5 classes 11 led rides with an average of 8 riders each 8 Active travel assemblies incl. road safety 5 pupils repaired and rebuilt 5 unused bikes 2 whole-school be-bright non-uniform days 1 puncture repair workshop with 9 pupils and the benefits of active travel You d be hard-pressed to find someone who disputes the benefits of physical activity, but do they know the numbers to back these up? Our Benefits of Active Travel infosheet sets out most of them, with all the relevant sources, but here are a few headline figures: Walking, cycling or scooting the school journey can provide pupils with about half of the recommended amount of daily physical activity. Walking the average distance to school each day burns more calories over a week than two hours of PE. Participating in at least 15 minutes of physical activity promotes a positive mood in children that s only about a 1km walk to school, or a 3-5km cycle ride. Pupils who travel to school on foot or by bike have wider social networks and are more actively engaged with their community than those who travel by car Research shows that pupils who cycle or walk to school. can concentrate up to four hours longer than those who arrive by car.

4 Nottingham hosts Women s Tour Stage 4 of the Aviva Women s Tour will start in Nottingham on Saturday 18th June as some of the world s top female riders take on the 119km race to Stoke-on-Trent. 25th-26th June Cycle Live returns this summer with even more rides to choose from. The brand new, thigh crushing 125 mile Sheriff ride has already sold out but you can still register for the 25, 50, 75 or 100 mile rides as part of the 35th Great Notts Bike Ride on Sunday 26th June. If all that sounds a little too torturous there are also 2.5, 7.5 and 10.5 rides ideal for school kids and families on Saturday 25th June. To find out more or to register visit: Go-Ride Go Ride is British Cycling s youth programme for 8-15 year olds and is a great way of introducing young people to cycling sports. Beeston Road Club is one of the closet clubs to the city. They run Go Ride sessions on Monday nights at 6.30pm at several locations around Nottingham. There are lots of opportunities to ride Road, Cycle Cross and Track at the Derby Velodrome, racing with people of the same age in a fun and welcoming club environment. All coaches are qualified to British Cycling s Level 2 standard. To find out more contact Louise O Reilly louiseoreilly2006@yahoo.co.uk / Hype that site: MOVE We are currently piloting a brand new secondary school award scheme called MOVE. Due to launch nationwide in September 2016, the award will help year olds develop the skills and confidence to travel actively and independently to school. To find out more visit: New to cycling? Guided Sky Rides start again in Nottingham soon: Did you know? Around 29,000 people die from air pollution every year in the UK. The main source of pollution in cities is vehicle emissions. (Public Health England) Hot stuff was the hottest year on record, 15 of the 16 hottest years have been in this century and, globally, February 2016 was the hottest month ever! Map your school: Sustrans can produce a bespoke map for your school, showing routes and local facilities, with tips and advice to promote active and sustainable travel for pupils, staff and visitors. Ideal for classroom activities and available in a variety of formats from printed leaflets to wall charts and online versions. Contact: externalmapping@sustrans.org.uk Top tips for the summer term Bike to School Week is pencilled in for 6-10 June perfect for celebrating all the good work your school is has been up to all year. This time, take advantage of the Big Shift our web-based challenge, which sets a school individual targets based on how pupils currently travel to school, helping them make a Small Step, Big Stride or Giant Leap to increasing active travel. We have been amazed at the difference a week can make when schools are given something to aim for Lighter evenings and warmer weather are ideal for events, led-rides, walks and after-school skills sessions See Events on the back page and use any themed weeks, dates or events to celebrate walking, cycling or scooting in various ways Earth Day, International Youth Day, World Environment Day and World Car-free Day. There are loads of local events in Nottingham coming up over the next few months too. Consider what went well in 2015/16 with your Sustrans officer, staff, parents and, importantly, pupils! Don t shy away from discussing what didn t work either everything you have experienced will help to make next year even better.

5 Hype that site: We have revamped our Teachers page (and added things), so take a moment to have a look. Everything is still there, but it may have moved around! If you can t see what you want in one of the nine tiles, please check the right-hand navigation pane. Raleigh community workshop Nottingham Bike Works new community workshop is now officially open on Ayr Street, NG7 4FX. The not-for-profit organisation recycles old bikes, provides low cost two-wheeled transport and offers bike repairs from punctures to full rebuilds. In addition to all this, they also offer a range of bike maintenance courses in a friendly and inclusive environment. So whether you want to learn how to fix a basic puncture or build your own wheels from scratch, there is bound to be a course for you. To find out more you can visit Contact the team directly: info@nottinghambikeworks.org.uk Cycling, scooting & walking to school Photo competition Win Cinema Tickets! Send us a photo of you walking, scooting or cycling to school and you could win a pair of cinema tickets valid for any film of your choice at the Broadway Cinema. We are looking for innovative, fun or unique photos that promote cycling, scooting and walking to school, along with a fantastic caption that describes why you travel actively to school in this way. Entries can be submitted by smartertravelnottingham@sustrans.org.uk or post. Contact Well done to Olivia Wroblewska from Trinity Catholic School for her winning entry shown above. Beat the Street is a city wide walking, cycling and running game that takes place in in Nottingham from the 27th April until the 8th June You score points and win prizes by walking, cycling or running from point to point and tapping Beat the Street smart cards or fobs on special sensors called Beat- Boxes which are placed on lamp posts across the city. You can tap-to-win at various points on your way to and from work, school or whilst walking, cycling or running at any time of day. The more Beat Boxes you tap and the further you travel, the greater your chance of winning prizes including hundreds of pounds worth of Decathlon vouchers for overall winners and lucky tap on the spot prizes too. There s even an additional prize goodie bag to be won by one pupil per participating school every single week. Pick up your Beat the Street card from you local library, GP or leisure centre and register online now:

6 Our work with young people in the UK Childhood obesity and the devastating impact of air pollution from traffic are almost daily headlines in the media a constant reminder of the importance of inspiring more people to walk, scoot and cycle for everyday journeys. It s not just our health that benefits increased daily physical activity has been shown to improve academic performance, widen social networks and contribute to our sense of wellbeing. You can read more on page 3 and find all the research to back it up in our Benefits of Active Travel infosheet. For this year s Big Pedal (18-29 April) we have used the reverse of the wallchart to make an eye-catching poster to display all these benefits, ideal for both class and staff rooms. If a school enters the Big Pedal, they get a giant colour version free, but anyone can now download a copy from our website go to sustrans.org.uk/teachers and click on information sheets on the right-hand side. Olympic champion Joanna Rowsell Shand has kindly lent her support to the Big Pedal this year. You can see what she has to say about cycling and scooting to school in a video at bigpedal.org.uk. The Big Pedal represents where we d like to get to, typically generating about 25% of school journeys to be made by bike or scooter at participating schools. This year the format has been tweaked to make it even easier to participate and for any school (not just the best performers) to win some incredible prizes (see page 2). Make sure your school joins more than 1,300 schools who have already signed up there s still time! We are also pleased to say that our School Mark accreditation scheme will be available online for all Sustrans schools later during the summer term, making it far simpler for schools to track their progress towards their Bronze, Silver or Gold award. Look out for this towards the end of April. Dates for the diary To help promote or celebrate cycling, walking or scooting to school April 18 th -29 th The Big Pedal 27 th Beat the Street Nottingham starts 22 nd Earth Day May 2 nd Bank Holiday 5 th Nottingham Road Safety Quiz Final 16 th -20 nd Walk to School Week 30 th Bank Holiday June 5 th World Environment Day 6 th Ramadan begins 6 th -10 th (TBC) Bike to School Week 8 th Beat the Street Nottingham ends 15 th Giant Walking Bus 18 th Women s Tour departs Nottm 25 th -26 th Cycle Live Nottm July 5 th Ramadan ends August 12 th International Youth Day 29 th Bank Holiday (Eng, Wales, NI) September 4 th Life Cycle 6 (Uni of Nottingham) 11 th Nottingham Green Festival 16 th -22 nd European Mobility Week 22 nd World Car-free Day 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. youngpeople@sustrans.org.uk phone online Sustrans is grateful for the continued support of our schools work in Nottingham. This project/activity is being delivered as part of the Nottingham Urban Area s successful Local Sustainable Transport Fund programme which since 2011 has established Nottingham as an exemplar for integrated sustainable transport. For further details visit