Primary school children across Manningham will have a new spring in their steps, getting out and about this October as part of VicHealth's annual Walk to School month initiative.

Birralee Primary School in Doncaster has led the way, once again signing up for Walk to School Month and encouraging children and families to walk, ride or scoot to school.

Andrew Talbot, a Year three/four teacher from Birralee, said he was really proud of the school community, with many parents and students embracing the initiative, parking further and encouraging students to walk the rest of the way.

“Walking to school is great, not only because of the health benefits, but because it allows more students to interact with each other, usually with students they wouldn’t typically interact with in the classroom,” he said.

“The parents have shown their desire to maintain a strong community feel at Birralee and this is one way of keeping up that culture of inclusiveness and acceptance.”

Manningham City Council Mayor Cr Michelle Kleinert said Walk to School Month is a great initiative that complements Council’s Active Travel Program, supporting schools like Birralee to get students active on their daily commute.

“This is a wonderful initiative and another example of our community encouraging children to become more active physically and socially,” she said.

“Studies found that children who walk to school, even part of the way, not only have better physical health but perform better academically, are more independent and better at making decisions for themselves.”

Manningham Council is inviting all local schools to participate in the initiative by:

• Registering your school and obtaining free promotional material at www.walktoschool.vic.gov.au/schools
• Confirming your registration with Council at CSadmin@manningham.vic.gov.au
• Spreading the word and logging your students’ walk by 15 November.

Schools with the highest participation levels are eligible to win a regional school prize.