St Malachy's Active Travel Success

St Malachy’s Primary School in Halifax continues to go from strength to strength on its Active Travel journey, demonstrating a long-standing commitment to pupil wellbeing, physical activity, and sustainable travel.

As one of the original Active School Trailblazers, St Malachy’s has consistently championed initiatives that encourage children and families to move more. After joining the Active Schools programme in 2021, the school quickly embedded a range of interventions that not only increased physical activity throughout the school day and beyond, but also delivered clear benefits for learning, attainment, and behaviour.

That commitment has continued under the leadership of Headteacher Oliver Harper, formerly the school’s Active Schools Lead. Oliver has maintained a strong focus on children’s wellbeing, recently applying for the prestigious Calderdale Healthy Schools Award, further reinforcing the school’s holistic approach to health and education.

Building Skills, Confidence and Opportunity

St Malachy’s has been particularly proactive in supporting cycling skills through Bikeability training, offering courses to Year 5 and 6 pupils, alongside sessions delivered during Healthy Holidays. These opportunities have enabled many pupils to build confidence, develop vital life skills, and enjoy the freedom and fun of cycling.

Responding to growing demand, Oliver approached Steve Pullan from Calderdale Council’s Public Health Team to explore options for improving cycle storage at school. Thanks to funding secured from West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the school has now installed brand new cycle and scooter storage facilities. Finalised this week, the installations look fantastic, and the school is excited to see them soon filled with pupils’ bikes and scooters.

This conversation also led to further support, with the Public Health team providing balance bikes and staff training, enabling teachers to deliver sessions directly to pupils. As a result, children in EYFS will now have even more opportunities to develop their cycling skills from an early age, embedding confidence and positive habits for life.

“Healthy bodies and healthy minds are central to our curriculum, and active travel plays a vital role in supporting both. We see children who actively travel to school arriving more energised and ready to learn. Our new cycle and scooter shelters and Active Travel initiatives give pupils the skills and confidence to move more each day. Small, active choices make a big difference to our pupils’ wellbeing, our community and our environment.”

Oliver Harper - Headteacher, St Malachy's Primary School

Embedding a Culture of Active Travel

To further strengthen their commitment, St Malachy’s has recently signed up to two major active travel initiatives, helping embed a whole-school culture where walking, wheeling and cycling are encouraged and celebrated.

This week, the team from Living Streets will deliver a WOW – Walk to School Challenge launch assembly, engaging pupils in the benefits of active travel and showing them how to take part. Through the programme, pupils can earn rewards for walking, wheeling, scooting, cycling, or Park and Stride journeys. Selected WOW Ambassadors will also be trained to record journeys using the interactive Travel Tracker, while encouraging their peers to travel more actively at least once a week.

Alongside WOW, the school is also taking part in the Modeshift STARS programme, working closely with Calderdale’s new Modeshift Officer, Sophie (sophie@modeshift.org.uk). The STARS Education scheme recognises schools that demonstrate excellence in promoting walking, cycling, and sustainable travel. Throughout this academic year, St Malachy’s will be supported to develop effective travel plans and work towards achieving STARS accreditation.

Leading the Way

St Malachy’s Primary School continues to set a powerful example of how schools can positively shape children’s health, wellbeing, and environmental awareness. Their sustained commitment to active travel is not only transforming daily journeys to school but helping to create lifelong healthy habits for pupils and families alike.