Pupils in Scotland are starting off the new school year on the right foot by leaving the car at home for the school run and instead walking, wheeling, cycling or scooting to school.
Over 280 primary schools in Scotland are taking part in WOW – the walk to school challenge from Living Streets Scotland, part of the UK charity for everyday walking.
Pupils at St Brendan’s Primary School in Glasgow launched a new year of WOW yesterday with a celebration event where they were joined by Strider, Living Streets’ mascot.
WOW rewards children who walk to school at least once a week with a collectable badge each month, with ten to collect across the academic year.
WOW schools see on average a 13 per cent increase in pupils walking to school in Scotland with a corresponding drop in car use, helping to reduce congestion and increase safety outside the school gates.
Stuart Hay, Director, Living Streets Scotland, said:“WOW is simple to run and pupils love to take part. Just a few minutes of a teacher’s day is all it takes to make a big difference.
“We see a lot of dedication and enthusiasm from pupils and staff across Scotland and are thrilled that so many schools are taking part. We’re looking forward to families getting on their feet this year and experiencing the many benefits walking to school can bring to our health and happiness.”
Mrs Gemma Rutherford, Headteacher, St Brendan’s Primary School, Glasgow said: “St Brendan’s is proud to host the launch of the Walk to School programme.
“Our pupils have been using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker for years now and they love having the opportunity to log their journeys each morning as they arrive at school in a fun, engaging and easy way.”
Living Streets is being supported this year by children television presenter, Dr Ronx, who has joined the charity as the celebrity ambassador for WOW – the walk to school challenge.
The CBBC presenter and emergency doctor will promote WOW and the health benefits of walking to school for the 2022-23 academic year.
Dr Ronx said:“I’m thrilled to be the new ambassador for WOW – the walk to school challenge from Living Streets.
“With notable increases in air pollution, rising childhood inactivity and post-lockdown poor mental health, encouraging children to be more active and ditching school run drives for more sustainable modes of transport is imperative.”
Get ready for Gadgeteers, arriving online and in your local library this summer.
Science is all around you! What do you love doing? Are you a brilliant baker? Or a mega music fan? Are you the tech wizard amongst your friends? Join the Gadgeteers for the Summer Reading Challenge to discover the amazing science and innovation behind the world around you, including some of your favourite things!
Curious? Perfect! Your imagination can unlock endless possibilities… We’re teaming up with Science Museum Group for a very special science-themed Challenge that will inspire you to use your imagination and creativity!
Gadgeteers will feature amazing books, awesome rewards, and plenty of ideas for cool experiments and activities to discover the science all around you. The Challenge will be brought to life by top children’s writer and illustrator Julian Beresford.
Are you excited to join the #Gadgeteers this summer? Keep an eye on our blog for all the latest Summer Reading Challenge news!
Finance can be a difficult topic to tackle with young children, but teaching them to have a healthy relationship with money from a young age is important to lots of parents around the globe.
With this in mind, financial experts from money.co.uk have compiled a list of their top 10 tips for teaching your children about money.
1. Start with the basics of money and finance
How you introduce money to your children will partly depend on their age. A good place to start is getting children comfortable handling cash and coins. Explain to them how money is used to buy things and that it must be earned before it can be spent.
2. Speak openly about small financial decisions
Start getting your child involved with minor financial decisions, such as which brands and items to buy when shopping. This way your child is able to understand the decisions you make while also feeling in control of certain financial choices.
Older children could also help with budgeting while shopping if you ask them to keep a running total of the items you buy. Not only will this help their maths skills, but it can also help them to understand how small items can still add up in price and not everything is affordable on a budget.
3. Try simple games and toys with younger children
Creating easy monetary games such as counting pennies can help your child understand the value of different denominations of money. Try using a pile of 1p coins and asking your child to match the number of coins to the price of a higher value coin, such as 10p or 50p.
4. Set a good example with your own finances
There’s no two ways about it, children learn money habits from their parents. Showing them small activities such as checking the receipt after your shop or putting money into savings can start developing positive habits from a young age.
Encourage your child to ask questions without repercussion in this setting. While you might not necessarily have all the answers, opening up a dialogue is a healthy way for your child to learn more about finance.
5. Use pocket money as an incentive for small tasks
Using pocket money as an incentive to do chores around the house not only helps you, but it also helps your child learn more about the value of money and what it takes to earn it. Creating a simple plan with a set amount of money for different tasks, along with caps per week or month, is a great way to help your child start understanding where money comes from.
6. Use pocket money to teach children how to save
Alongside teaching children the relationship between work and money, household chores and pocket money is also a great opportunity to show children how to save. If your child has shown interest in a more expensive purchase, you could set them up with an old-fashioned piggy bank where they can ‘deposit’ their earnings or chart for them to fill out so they can track how much money they have.
7. Reward them by learning about interest
Paying small amounts of interest on the money your child has saved is a helpful way to encourage them to keep saving. Older children will be delighted to learn that the interest they earned last week can be used to earn more interest if they save until next week.
8. Use trips to the shop to learn about saving vs. spending
Another practical way to teach a child about the benefits of saving is by visiting shops. Allow them full control of their own money on the understanding that if they don’t have enough they won’t be able to borrow any more. The more they feel in control of their own finances, the more they will be able to make sensible decisions when it comes to spending or saving.
9. Use digital tools with older children
There are a whole range of online tools for teaching older children about online banking and using cards for payments. One of the leading products on the market is GoHenry, which is suitable for those aged six and up, costs £2.99 a month and allows parents to set strict spending limits, monitor what their kids are buying and where they are spending their money.
10. Teach older children about selling old toys for extra money
If you don’t want to give your child pocket money, teaching them about ways to earn money for themselves is a helpful alternative.
When they’re old enough, you could ask your child to go through their old toys, books and clothes and set aside which ones they’d like to sell.
You can then sell these on their behalf through online auction sites such as eBay or Facebook Marketplace. Not only is this a great way for your child to feel independent in earning their own money, it presents an opportunity to also discuss how to use the internet safely.
Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert from money.co.uk, speaks about why teaching children how to handle money from a young age is so beneficial.
“Creating an environment in which you are able to speak more openly with your children about your financial decisions is vital to engaging them from a young age on the value of money. Showing them how to make choices when shopping will set up good habits and understanding of managing money.
“It’s important to make sure your lessons are age-appropriate and that you continue to involve and teach your children about money as they grow. A healthy relationship with finances starts at a young age, and children learn most of their habits from their parents.”
Today Underbelly has launched a fundraiser to support artists who were due to appear at Underbelly Fringe 2020.100% of all donations received will go straight to artistsfrom this year’s planned programme and who desperately need this help.
By donating the cost of a ticket, £12, you can help artists bridge the loss of actual ticket sales they hoped to receive this year and by donating more you can make a massive difference and access a ladder of rewards.
For the first time in twenty years Underbelly has had to close its doors to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The purple cow is deflated, the Cowgate remains a carpark and the venues have been silenced of the laughter and awe of performers and audiences alike.
Each year artists, performers, producers, technicians, stage managers, lighting, sound and set designers, to name but a few, spend months carefully cultivating exciting, innovative, ground-breaking and daring work to be performed tirelessly for 25 days in a row.
Often this gruelling month of blood sweat and tears launches careers, shines light on new stars and shakes up the cultural world as we know it.
For many of those working in this field the cancellation of the 2020 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the restrictions placed around live performance will pose serious challenges financially and creatively and will no doubt force some to look elsewhere.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a place for everyone and everything, it’s important and necessary and it is vital we retain the artists that make it what it is.
220 Underbelly shows have been lost this year and countless numbers of artists and those working behind the scenes have been placed in dire financial situations, and that accounts for only a small percentage of the overall Fringe. Without their input into the creative world the cultural landscape for the future will change forever.
For those who can afford to donate a little more than the £12 cost of a ticket to the fundraiser there are lots of moo-vellous rewards on offer including a named thank you in the 2021 programme (£20 or more), Gold membership of Abattoir, the private artists bar in George Square (£50 or more), 10 tickets to the 10 hottest shows curated by the programming team (£70 or more), Backstage Meet and Greet with the artist of choice, tickets and fizz (£100 or more), Fleabag Poster from the first show performed in Edinburgh at Underbelly in 2013 signed by Phoebe Waller Bridge (£400 or more), Cocktail Party for 10 in Abattoir with mixologists Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood (£400 or more), All expenses paid trip to Edinburgh for a Fringe weekend like no other (£800 or more), or for £1000 (or more) free tickets to any Underbelly shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the next two years.
Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, directors of Underbelly said: “Edinburgh is where it all started, in a dingy cave, twenty years ago. It’s our life blood, our home, a place where genuinely anything can happen and incredible memories have been made.
“To not be there this year is heart-breakingly devastating but it is also a time for reflection and understanding that for this year, we must step back and put the safety of others first.
“We would love to support and help everyone but what we feel we should do at this time is to support those artists that were due to perform at the Underbelly this year.
We are asking you to help us support these artists to get through this most difficult of all times and more importantly keep them working in an industry that needs and values them. Without them there is no Underbelly, there is no Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to all of those have been affected by Covid 19 and our most heartfelt thank-yous to those on the frontline who have been working tirelessly to keep our country moving. We will be offering a special discount on all tickets to UK NHS staff at next year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe by way of thank you.”
Grace and Rach from Ugly Bucket said: “As a regional emerging theatre company, Fringe is a huge opportunity for our work to be seen on a huge international platform.
“Underbelly took the time to get to know us as a company, and understand how they can best support us and showcase our work. It is a bespoke, personal experience that is so valuable in a festival that can feel so intimidating! You would never find a techno filled clowning show about grief anywhere else but the Edinburgh Fringe.”
Jason Byrne added: “This is such a hard time for so many on the circuit, and the cancellation of the Fringe this year has been a massive blow to us all.
“This is a cracking fundraiser. Underbelly is making sure that 100% goes to the artists and there are some great rewards on offer. Who wouldn’t want to donate and secure all those tickets, backstage access and signed posters! Please do give what you can whether it is the price of a ticket, or a few pints too.”
On being told about the fundraiser, Gaby from Circus Abyssinia said:“We would love for Circus Abyssinia: Tulu to be included in the Underbelly relief fund.
“A huge thanks to Underbelly for setting this up, we’re very grateful especially as the cast doesn’t have a furlough scheme or any support back in Ethiopia.”
Cecilia Martin from Circa said: “Experiencing Edinburgh Festival Fringe under the umbrella of Underbelly has always been such a supportive, professional and hilariously fun experience.
he team is such a powerhouse and create an incredible atmosphere for us to thrive in as artists.”
