Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Health and Recreation Department
Getactiveabc is proud to be supporting the Active School Travel Programme – an exciting initiative for schools in Northern Ireland that want to see more of their pupils choosing an active and healthy journey to school.
A key date in the initiative is ‘Cycle to School Week’, which runs from Monday 25 – Friday 29 September. This is a great opportunity for schools and families to experience how travelling actively can be healthy, cheap and fun!
Funded by the Department for Infrastructure and the Public Health Agency, and delivered by Sustrans NI, the programme has been running since 2013 with over 460 schools participating to date.
By signing up for The Active School Travel programme, schools will receive a planned programme of indoor and outdoor activities and hands-on support from a dedicated Sustrans Active Travel Officer.
Over the course of the programme, the results have shown that children who regularly walk, cycle or scoot to school leads to: increased physical activity levels resulting in improved health and wellbeing; reduced congestion around schools; improved academic performance and attendance rates; increased road safety awareness; and improved confidence and independence in young people.
Local school, Bocombra Primary School in Portadown have received the Gold Award for their commitment to encouraging active travel across the school community. With the help of their Sustrans Active Travel officer, the school were also successful in getting a toucan crossing at the school gate to ensure pupils have direct access to the main cycle network around Craigavon.
