Brake's Giant Walk
Calling all schools! Help us get over 5,000 kids walking for road safety in 2016!
A Giant Walk is a simple, fun, supervised walk organised by schools from their school gates along a safe route. Banners carried by the children remind drivers to slow down and keep children safe on local roads. It's also a fantastic way for kids to put their best feet forward for road safety: to say "yes!" to the health and planet-saving benefits of walking, and "no" to fast driving that threatens kids' safety.
It's easy to set up a Giant Walk (see the 'organising your walk' section below). Register to take part for free using the button below, and we'll send you a free Giant Walk pack including a banner, posters, tips on making the walk safe and fun, and ideas for curriculum-relevant road safety and active travel projects in the classroom in advance of your walk.
Giant Walks are also a great opportunity to raise funds for Brake's work stopping casualties and caring for the victims.
Why hold a Giant Walk?
What happens on a Giant Walk?
Organising your own walk
Four giant reasons to hold a Giant Walk
1. Great school project
A Giant Walk can be a fantastic focal point for lessons on road safety. You could run science lessons about the forces involved in road crashes or geography lessons about the ways children travel to school around the world. Students can also make their own 'slow down' and 'get walking' placards and other materials such as leaflets and posters. Get more ideas for activities linked to your Giant Walk.
2. Slow down drivers
Your walk gives children a voice, helping them tell drivers to slow down and look out for people on foot and bike. We can help you get publicity for your walk through local media, and promote the event in your newsletter or on your website, to get the road safety message out as widely as possible.
3. Help bereaved families
Children can be sponsored to take part, or bring in a gold coin donation, helping fund Brake's road safety campaigns and services for families bereaved and injured by road crashes. We can give you sponsorship forms to help your students collect funds and a certificate for the school to say thank you. We can also give you advice and ideas for other ways to fundraise.
4. Get your students walking and cycling
A Giant Walk can be a great event to springboard a school travel plan, or remind all your students and parents about travel options like your Walking School Bus. Holding a Giant Walk can help students and parents have a greater appreciation of the benefits of walking and cycling to school, and greater awareness of any safety issues in your local area that might hinder them walking or cycling.
Upper Hutt Primary School's Giant Walk
As part of Road Safety Week 2015 around 100 students from the school took part in a Giant Walk in their community. They walked from the school around the local area and back, learning about road safety on the way.
The teachers used the walk to teach the children about safe routes to school, including using pedestrian crossings. The students wore red, orange and green clothing and carried banners and signs to remind drivers to slow down around school. Police and the school's local council road safety officer also got involved and joined them on the walk.
Organisers Carolynn Webb and Shelley Holmes said the walk tied in well with other road safety activities they were running as part of Road Safety Week and during the whole term.
Organising your walk
Before your walk
Choose your date and a safe route that you've audited at the same time of day that your walk will take place. Use our risk audit form to help you.
Decide what you want to achieve from your walk, plan your road safety and environmental learning to run before and after your walk.
Make sure everyone knows about your walk and when it will take place.
Make it a fundraiser and ask students to get sponsored or bring in a gold coin donation.
On the day
Make sure children and adults wear high visibility vests as far as possible and children are told the importance of walking calmly, in twos, holding hands, in a giant crocodile. Decide what you are going to shout: 'Look out for kids' is good, but why not come up with your own demonstration chant?
After your walk
Thank everyone for taking part, pay any funds raised to Brake and share your photos with us.
Read our step-by-step guide to coordinating your Giant Walk.
Get ideas for activities to run linked to your Giant Walk.
Want to do it? Register online now or call +64 (0)21 407 953 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
You can also find advice on teaching and promoting road safety year-round here, and why not sign up to get involved in Road Safety Week too.
A huge thank you to Brake's Giant Walk sponsor, QBE Insurance.
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