Darnley Clean Air Park and Stride

Darnley Primary School faced a lot of the issues many schools do with speeding vehicles and high levels of congestion, which made walking to school an unattractive option for many families. Our Local Group was keen to reduce the number of cars around the school gates to reduce road danger and the air pollution that lingers long after the cars have left.  

We worked with local businesses to set up our school Park and Stride scheme. By utilising Sainsburys Car Park as a safe place to leave the car, families are able to walk the remainder of the journey to school; knowing that they are doing their bit for the environment and their health.  

What’s really helped make the Park and Stride successful, is the ‘Walking Bus’ the school have set up. This is run by teaching staff and is loved by the pupils.  Meeting at Sainsburys Darnley, the children walk as a group for the rest of the journey to school. 

The children really enjoy the chance to walk together and talk about the energy it gives them for the day and say it’s amazing that they get the chance to walk with friends. 

We’ve had some really positive feedback.  Yvonne Adams, Darnley Primary’s Headteacher, says, ‘It’s lovely to see the pupils, staff and parents come together and have fun walking to school! It also promotes our health and wellbeing focus within the community and the energy it brings is just amazing’. 

The Clean Cities ‘Day of Action’ on Friday 6 May 2022 prompted us to organise a special Park and Stride. It was a way of highlighting this special day and celebrating our work so far. 

Despite the rain, we had a great turn out and several extra teachers volunteered to provide support on the day.  With staff and pupils dressed up in Living Streets t-shirts and fancy-dress props, we created a colourful snake of people walking our way to school.  The added musical instruments/percussion made sure that we didn’t go unnoticed and certainly drew some positive attention to our cause. 

It was a very successful event enjoyed by all.  As a result, we are now aiming to have a carnival style Park and Stride on a monthly basis to continue to raise awareness of the need to reduce traffic around our school and hopefully encourage more children to participate. 

Moving forward we hope to involve Sainsbury’s and get their help with the creation of our Walking Bus stops. We are also going to work closely with another local school to help them create their own Park and Stride.   

Watch our video to see how to set up your own Park and Stride