UK initiative empowers school children to become ‘Active Travel Inspectors’

A UK initiative is empowering school children to become ‘Active Travel Inspectors’ in their local neighbourhoods.

The Active Travel Inspectors scheme enables primary school pupils to identify ways to make walking, wheeling and cycling safer and more accessible in their school areas.

Launched by Modeshift and Active Travel England, with support from the Department for Transport, the pupils’ findings will then be fed back to local authorities to inform active travel improvements.

“Children experience streets and entrances to schools very differently,” Modeshift Chief Operating Officer Nick Butler told Zag Daily. “Essentially, only they can tell us how it ‘feels’ to walk, wheel, and cycle to their schools from a young person’s perspective and that’s what we’re looking for here – their perspectives and experiences. Because they live these journeys daily, their insights are often more honest and revealing than what adults assume or overlook.”

Pupils will be supported by school staff to assess what factors help or limit them from travelling actively to and around school. Nick said that the aim is to provide local authorities with direct, child-led observations that highlight where infrastructure isn’t working for young people. 

“We’re hopeful that this will enable local authorities to make better and bolder decisions when it comes to infrastructure around schools.”

The scheme will also identify ‘quick win’ changes such as broken pavements or missing dropped curbs for local authorities to rectify, which otherwise may not have been reported.

Nick launched the initiative alongside UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman, and MP for Hertford and Stortford Josh Dean. 

Modeshift will provide the initiative resources for free to any school in England that’s registered with the Modeshift STARS scheme.

Earlier this year, a Westminster hall debate on active travel to school saw cross-party support from MPs calling for immediate measures to protect children and promote sustainable travel. These measures include safer crossings, reduced speeds, and improved infrastructure and education.

The initiative not only aims to improve the safety of walking, wheeling and cycling for school children, but to empower a new generation to become vocal about the benefits of active travel.

“This isn’t just about gathering data, it’s about instilling awareness,” Nick said. 

“When children learn to notice what makes streets safe or unsafe, they carry that curiosity and confidence into adulthood. It’s a foundation for long-term cultural change around how we move through our communities. We also aim to inspire them to be the next generation of engineers, transport planners, and passionate innovators who will be empowered to speak up and shape the future.”