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C-

Teithio Egnïol

Background

Although there are no formal guidelines for active transport, active transport is widely promoted by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Excellence, Public Health Wales, Sustrans and the Department of Health as a simple and sustainable way to promote physical activity. Beyond its benefits to children’s health through physical activity, which include improved cardiovascular fitness, better cardiometabolic health, improved body composition and academic attainment, active transport also reduces car travel leading to reduced congestion, air pollution and economic savings.

Benchmarks

The benchmark used by the Research Work Group to allocate a grade to this indicator were the proportion of children and young people who use active transport to get to school and to places where they play.

Y data o arolygon
  1. The National Survey for Wales (2018/2019), secondary school children (n=950) and parents of primary school children (n=1,450)
  2. The HAPPEN survey (2018-2020), children aged 8 to 11 years (n=1,329)
  3. The School Health Research Network’s Student Health and Wellbeing survey (2019/2020), children aged 11 to 16 years (n=115,944)
  4. The Play Satisfaction Survey (2018/2019), children aged 4–18-years (n=5,111)

The National Survey for Wales (2018/2019) asked secondary school children (n=950) and parents of primary school children (n=1,450) how they/their child travels to school on a typical day. The survey showed that 44% and 33% of primary and secondary school children respectively, use active modes of transport to travel to school. A small gender difference was seen with a higher proportion of boys (46%) using active transport to primary school compared to girls (43%). At secondary school, this trend was reversed with more girls using active transport (35%) compared to boys (31%). The proportion of children using active transport was also greater in urban compared to rural primary schools (urban 47%; rural 34%) and secondary schools (urban 40%; rural 19%). In this survey there has been no change in the proportion of children using active transport since the last survey conducted in 2016/2017. However, there was an increase in the proportion (from 8% to 12%) of primary school children walking alone.

The HAPPEN survey (2018-2020) asked children aged 8 to 11 years (n=1,329) how they got to school and how they got home from school on the previous day. The survey showed that 42% of children used active travel to school and 45% used active travel to get home. A small gender difference was seen with a higher proportion of boys using active travel to (43%) and from (48%) school compared to girls (41% to school and 43% from school). The proportion of children using active transport also increased with age with 45% and 51% of children in Year 6 used active travel to and from school respectively compares to 37% and 41% in Year 4. When drawing comparisons across socioeconomic groups, there was a clear gradient, with the most affluent group reporting higher active travel (37%) compared to the most deprived (21%).

The School Health Research Network’s Student Health and Wellbeing survey (2019/2020) asked children aged 11 to 16 years (n=115,944) how they travelled to school on a typical day. The survey showed that 35% of children used active transport to get to school. Reports were found to be higher among boys (37%) than girls (33) % and reports were higher among the most deprived children (42%) compared to the most affluent (32%).

The Play Satisfaction Survey (2018/2019) asked children aged 4–18-years (n= 5,111) How they usually travel to 1) school and 2) places where they play. The survey showed that 42% of children used active transport to get to school and 73% used active transport to get to places of play. Report for both questions were found to be higher for boys (to school 43%; to places for play 76%) compared to girls (to school 41%; to places for play 70%). There was a clear gradient between age and transport to school with reports increasing with age (5–7-year-olds 35% vs >14-year-olds 60%). Report for active transport to places of play also varied by age but did not follow a clear gradient. The lowest reports were seen in the 8 to 11-year-olds (69%) compared to >14-year-olds (79%).

The Research Working Group assigned a C- to this category, considering that active transport to school ranged between 33% and 43% and accounting for the first inclusion of a question addressing active transport to a destination other than school. This grade has increased from a D+ in the last AHK-Wales Report Card completed in 2018. It is important to note that the grade increase reflects the inclusion of more data sources and in particular the inclusion of data on active transport to destinations other than school. Thus, this grade provides a more complete picture of this indicator opposed to reflecting evidence of an upward trend in the use of active transport.

There has been an increase in the data for this indicator compared to previous Report Cards. Thus, this grade provides a more complete picture of the indictor. However, this data is all self-report and does not monitor the frequency, intensity, time, or type of active transportation, this would provide a more comprehensive understanding of children and young people’s active transportation.

This is the first AHK-Wales Report Card to include data on active transport to a destination other than school and it demonstrates that transport behaviours differ according to context. More data is needed on transport in different settings that provide the opportunity for active transport, such as travel to shops, recreational facilities and visiting friends and family.