Drop in the number of children walking to school

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released figures showing the amount of British primary school children walking to school has dropped to less than half.

In 2008 just 48% of children under the age of 10 strolled to school from home. This illustrates a fall from 62% who walked to school from 1989 to 1991.

Significantly, the statistics for those taking the car to school jumped from 27% to 43% over the same period.

The figures also reveal that 86% of children aged 7 to 10 are usually accompanied by an adult on their journey to school, compared to 78% in 2002.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the main reasons parents gave for accompanying their children to school were the dangers associated with traffic, with 58% of parents expressing concern over the issue.

Other reasons could also be due to the increased length of travel needed. From 1995 and 1997 the average trip to school was 1.3 miles. This jumped to 1.6 miles in 2008. Of the 8,000 households surveyed, 29% also cited fear of assault or molestation.

A spokesman for the DCSF said the "figures show that car usage for under-10s has remained steady" while "the fall in children walking to school has slowed. The latest annual school census and the National Travel Survey show car usage is now falling and walking to school is beginning to rise." He added that there is more work to do through the help of local authorities, initiatives and a change in societal attitudes.

Various organisations like Sustrans are also working to help create a safer environment for children to travel to school. Sustrans provides a range of school travel initiatives, resources and information for schools, parents, pupils and local authorities.