Pupils, teachers, parents and school representatives from across Midlothian will come together at Lasswade High School for a free day of training on Tuesday 24th March. The focus of the day will be to help boost healthy school travel across the region – and there are still places left!
The School Travel Plan Action Day has been organised by sustainable transport charity Sustrans and is one of a series taking place across Scotland through March to help school champions learn more about promoting healthy and environmentally-friendly travel to and from school.
The free training, supported by the Scottish Government, is designed to help schools proactively tackle the school run, promote walking and cycling as a healthy and fun way to get to classes, and find out more about creating and implementing a School Travel Plan.
Cecilia Oram, Sustrans’ School Travel Project Officer for Scotland , said: “Sustrans has been working with schools throughout Scotland for over 10 years so we have lots of experience in helping make school travel more healthy and environmentally-friendly.
Currently the school run accounts for a fifth of all traffic on the roads every morning and obesity levels in the UK continue to rise with 25% of 11 to 15 year olds being overweight or obese. It is vital that we address these issues by tackling the increasingly car-dependent school run in Scotland and encourage parents, teachers and children to take to two wheels, two feet or use public transport to travel to and from classes. These free training days will give representatives the knowledge and skills they need to champion green and healthy travel in their schools.”
Cllr Russell Imrie, Midlothian ’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Services said: “Midlothian Council is working proactively to try to reduce unnecessary car use, encourage healthy and sustainable travel options and increase safety for children getting to and from school. This free training event will provide an excellent opportunity for individuals who have been involved with successful local initiatives such as walking buses, infant road safety training and the Park Smart campaign to share their knowledge and experiences with pupils, parents and school staff.”
Source: Sustrans
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Sustrans offers free training for schools across Midlothian to help tackle the school run
