A fun, healthy, safe and environmentally friendly way for children to get to our village schools is being suggested for pupils in Ruddington.
A “Walking Bus” is a form of student transport for school kids who, chaperoned by adults, walk to school along a set route, in much the same way a school bus might drive them there. Like a traditional bus, walking buses have a fixed route with designated “bus stops” and “pick up times” at which they collect the youngsters.
A survey has been launched in collaboration with NHS Rushcliffe CCG, Rushcliffe Borough Council and Ruddington Mums to see if there is any interest in having one or more walking buses here.
Laura Ratcliffe of Ruddington Mums says: “We would love support from all the village, not just the schools and parents. We want anyone to help if they can and they want to. The idea for the first route is to take any St Peter’s School kids who have siblings at James Peacock School, but other buses could be running concurrently. We can have more than one ‘bus’ route – we just need the helpers.”
The concept of the walking bus was apparently invented in Australia in 1992. It was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1998 by Hertfordshire County Council at Wheatfields Junior School in St Albans. Since then they’ve sprung up all around the world. The benefits are cited as:
- Providing children with part of their recommended daily exercise
- Alleviating traffic congestion, pollution and parking issues
- Saving time and stresses of the morning commute
- Improving behaviour and academic performance
- Providing a social opportunity for children, parents and staff
The “Ruddington Walking Bus Survey” asks just 8 questions and will only take a couple of minutes to do. It seeks the views of children, parents, school staff, residents, businesses and anyone else with an interest in our village. You’re asked to fill it in by Sunday 30th September please.
You can complete it online >>HERE<<.
{Top photo courtesy of Change X.)
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2018:
Following a good response to this survey, two information evenings have now been organised at Ruddington’s schools. The details are >>HERE<<.
