Let’s Get Walking This October! Walk to School Month 2026
October is International Walk to School Month, and we are encouraging pupils, parents, carers and staff across our school community to get involved!
International Walk to School Month is a global campaign that encourages children and families to choose active ways of travelling to school wherever possible. Schools and young people in over 40 countries can take part, making October a fantastic opportunity to celebrate walking, get active and think about the way we make our everyday journeys.
Walking to school is also a great chance for children to spend some time outdoors, connect with their surroundings and start the school day feeling active and ready to learn.
Walk the Senses
For the 2026/27 academic year, Living Streets is encouraging pupils taking part in its WOW Walk to School Challenge to ‘Walk the Senses’.
While walking to school, children can pay closer attention to the world around them and think about what they can see, hear, smell, touch or even taste along the way. Pupils can then get creative by drawing or sharing some of the things they noticed during their journey.
How Can We Get Involved?
There are lots of ways our school community can embrace walking throughout October.
We encourage pupils and their families to walk, scoot or travel actively to school whenever possible. Even making a small change to your usual journey can make a difference.
Activities we can get involved with include:
- Step Counting Week: pupils can keep track of their steps and see how much walking they can achieve throughout the week.
- Walking Zone Maps: families can use designated walking zones to help plan an active journey to school.
- Park and Stride: if you need to travel by car, consider parking a little further away from the school and walking the final part of your journey together.
- Other Walking Activities: pupils and families can come up with their own creative ways to add more walking into their day.
- WOW Walk Once a Week Challenge: schools taking part in WOW can encourage pupils to make an active journey to school at least once a week.
These activities can also contribute towards our school's Travel for Life work, helping us celebrate the positive steps our pupils are taking towards more active and sustainable travel.
Every Step Counts!
We understand that walking the entire journey to school will not be possible for every family. Taking part can be as simple as walking part of the way, parking further from school and walking the remaining distance, or choosing an active journey on the days when you can.
Throughout October, we would love to see as many pupils as possible getting involved, noticing the world around them and enjoying the benefits of a more active journey to school.
So, get your comfortable shoes ready, gather the family and see how many extra steps you can take this month.
