Wokingham Borough Connect
 Schools
More schools join Active Movement scheme
More children in Wokingham Borough will be getting active by adding standing and movement to their daily routine in the classroom.
The Active Movement programme offers a unique approach to behaviour change in schools by encouraging children to sit less, stand regularly and move more.
We're keen to promote it following the success of last year’s pilot. This saw seven schools in the borough take part across the academic year, with more than 2,000 pupils and 82 teachers getting involved.
For 2022-23, Active Movement will be supporting an additional eight primary schools to walk, cycle and enjoy all kinds of physical movement throughout their day. Those that took part last time reported levels of activity increased across the school, with more participation in other sports as well.
Challenges and prizes up for grabs
Now children are going to get more active going to and from school as well. From 31 October to 25 November they will take part in the programme’s Active Journey campaign, which aims to reduce the amount of time spent in cars, with activities including a walking bingo challenge.
Every child will receive a bingo card and each time they complete one of the active journeys featured, they can cross it off. Once they have completed all nine, they hand it into their school to be entered into a prize draw, which features a scooter and lots of other great rewards.
The Active Journey campaign is supported by our public health team in partnership with our My Journey Wokingham active travel team.
It is hoped this will reduce air pollution across the borough, especially outside schools when there is increased traffic for drop-offs and collections, while tackling the climate emergency and making it more affordable to get around.
By encouraging active travel and seeking to provide more amenities like crossings or cycleways over the coming years, the council also hopes to address inequality by offering access to more affordable ways of getting around.
Pupil power to improve our air quality
Six new schools have joined My Journey’s Air Quality Project, which focuses on reducing air pollution around the Borough in partnership with the community.
The project runs from October 2020 until October 2023 with the aim of increasing walking, cycling and scooting to school and other behavioural changes to improve air quality in the Borough.
It provides one-off events, active travel initiatives, campaigns and educational resources. It’s funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and run locally by our Air Quality Active Travel Officer.
Participating schools that are nearby or within the Borough's Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA), where air pollution is higher and we’re taking a range of steps to reduce it.
Newcomers for this academic year are:
- Emmbrook Junior School, Wokingham
- St Teresa’s RC Primary School, Wokingham
- Winnersh Primary School
- Wheatfield Primary School, Winnersh
- Charvil Piggott Primary School
- Gorse Ride Junior School, Finchampstead
Schools that are continuing with the project are Floreat Montague Park Primary School and Windmill Primary School in Wokingham, Nine Mile Ride Primary School in Finchampstead and The Colleton Primary School in Twyford.
If you are a primary school teacher and would like to try out our new KS2 air quality animated education resources please see Lesson 1 - What is Air Pollution or Lesson 2 - Solutions to Air Pollution
Dr Bike at Hawkedon Primary School, Lower Earley
Dr Bike was really busy last week, checking over 60 bikes across two days at Hawkedon Primary School in Lower Earley to get bikes roadworthy before the Year 6 pupils participated in Bikeability Level 1 and 2 training courses.
Lots of the bikes needed tyres pumping up, brakes adjusting and their chains oiled. Others were advised if they needed new parts such as brake blocks, brake cables or gear cables.
Twyford Fun Run
The My Journey team attended the popular Twyford Together Charity 5K and Fun Run on Sunday 9 October. As ever, it was a fantastic community get-together with races for all ages, seasonal stalls and terrific prizes! We brought along our smoothie bike, Pedalicious, and lucky runners-up made themselves a well deserved, pedal powered smoothie, after the race. Residents were also able to get their bikes checked for free by our Dr Bike.
Active Poetry Competition
There is still time to get your entries in for our active poetry competition to win a visit to your school by James Carter, a poet!
To take part you need to write a short poem about walking, cycling or scooting; write in any style you like, as long as it is poetry, not prose. What do you like about walking, cycling or scooting? How do you feel when you travel this way?
Entries must be received by Friday, 28 October. For full details and some useful tips from James please visit our website.
 Next phase of greenway coming soon
Work is about to start on the next phase of our greenways scheme, a network of typically traffic-free paths linking key destinations across the borough.
Our contractor Volker Highways is set to resurface Coombes Lane and Coles Lane near Barkham this week. This will take about five days including a closure for some of that time, typically from 8am to 6pm, and follows the opening of the previous section at Woosehill Meadows.
Unlike much of the greenways network, this stretch will remain open to traffic as part of a wider route between Cantley Park in Wokingham town and Arborfield Cross via Woosehill Meadows and the adjoining countryside.
It will be more accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders than before and will be followed by a new, improved bridge at Coles Lane ford.
Given the financial pressures we’re all facing at the moment, and our own commitment to protecting vital services, we’d like to assure you that this scheme is mostly funded by statutory contributions from developers building new homes in the area. This is “ring-fenced” for the purpose, meaning it can’t be spent on services or other running costs.
 Earn rewards for walking and cycling this winter
Everyone aged over 13 who lives, works or studies in Wokingham borough has even more time to rack up points and win prizes for walking, cycling or using public transport.
The My Journey Wokingham Challenge, run by our My Journey team in partnership with the Innovation Valley Rewards smartphone app, has been extended from its original closing date on 31 October until 31 March next year at the earliest.
The app uses your phone’s GPS tracker to detect how far you’ve travelled and by which mode, then awards points called ValleyCoins as well as virtual “medals” for using greener methods. It tracks progress over time and measures things like calories burned and carbon emissions saved.
ValleyCoins can be redeemed for vouchers with high street retailers, including supermarkets, or donated to charity. Users can also earn ValleyTickets on public transport to enter draws for up to £100 worth of ValleyCoins and there are special promotions during annual events like Car Free Day.
Innovation Valley Rewards is available for Apple and Android devices.
Saddling up to smash local records
The news comes as the borough celebrates another highly successful Cycle September challenge, organised by Love to Ride Wokingham, and gears up for their next initiative, Winter Wheelers in the run-up to Christmas.
The former saw a local resident win the top prize of a new electric bike worth £2,499, which was provided by Love to Ride, while participants cycled a total of 46,259 miles - the equivalent of travelling from London to New York and back more than six times, beating last year’s total of 42,558 miles.
Look out for more announcements about Winter Wheelers nearer the time or visit the Love to Ride Wokingham website.
 100 children learned to ride pedal bikes since April 2022
Between April and October 2022, 120 children have attended the Bikeability Learn to Ride lessons run by My Journey with 100 of them successfully learning to ride in only one or two sessions.
These popular sessions aim to teach children to balance without the use of stabilisers; they start off on balance bikes (which we have in varying sizes) and then progress to riding their own pedal bike when they are ready. The instructors love seeing the smiling faces of the children (and parents!) once they have mastered the skills of balancing and pedalling.
Bikeability Learn to Ride sessions are open to children aged 5 years or over (we can accept 4 year olds if they attend full-time school). The sessions are run after school, in term-time, on Wednesdays at the FBC Centre, Finchampstead or on Thursdays at Woodford Park Leisure Centre, Woodley. As we were fortunate enough to receive a Bikeability grant to subsidise these sessions, we have been able to keep the price down to £6 for each one hour session.
Further details and links for essential online bookings can be found on our website.
 Regular cycle training and activities
- Bikeability Learn to Ride sessions (£6) at FBC in Finchampstead on Wednesdays and Woodford Park Leisure Centre in Woodley on Thursdays
- FREE Balance Bike Clubs at FBC on Wednesdays and Woodford Park Leisure Centre on Thursdays
- Animal trail at Sambourne Playground, Montague Park, Wokingham until 30 October
- Animal trail at Fullbrook Playground, Croft Gardens, Shinfield until 30 October
- My Journey and Dr Bike at Finchwood Park Sales Office Car Park, Finchampstead on 27 October
Further information and how to book can all be found on our website here.
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