Infrastructure Victoria’s Post

Private school pupils have acccess to 10 times more #greenspace than state pupils. That's 10 times the area to run around and play in. 10 times more space for trees, ponds and #wildlife. 10 times more space for sports and excercise. And of course increased to all of the #health and #wellbeing benefits of the natural world. This #inequality of access to greenspace and the benefits it provides is entrenched in the system. There are some state schools with zero greenspace. This is not OK. https://lnkd.in/ePbiFxeU

Journalists from The Guardian newspaper have calculated that the average green space available to pupils at the UK’s top private schools (Eton, Winchester, Westminster, etc.) is 322 square metres. That’s per pupil. Contrast this to the average state school pupil with access to 32 square metres. That's a ratio of 10:1. You may be thinking, "it's always been that way, Jenny." Those who can, are happy to pay for the privilege of their children attending a school with playing fields, a swimming pool and a strong emphasis on physical fitness. Because they recognise the benefits. But that doesn’t help those who can’t. It’s no different here in Australia. Lack of access to green space impacts not just the opportunities to flourish in life but also our health. What counts isn’t necessarily redistribution (and many of the top schools do already share their grounds) but seeking ways to increase the green space available or, at minimum, retain what they have for those that need it the most. As Michael Marmot said, "Creating a physical environment in which people can live healthier lives with a greater sense of wellbeing is a hugely significant factor in reducing health inequalities". What are your thoughts on these findings? #lifestylemedicine #greenspace #nature #wellbeing

This week’s The Guardian coverage highlights that children in private schools have 10 times as much green space as those in state schools. Hundreds of state school playing fields have been developed or sold over the last 10 years alone further reducing access to outdoor space on the school estate and squeezing sport and play provision into ever more limited facilities. Not to mention the limitations on time to play. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eBSaegvp And, as our own research shows, children’s access to outdoor space in the community is worse in less affluent areas. A third of children in Britain don’t have any playgrounds within 10 minutes of where they live. Both at home and at school children’s access to green space has been eroded with severe short and long-term impacts on their health and wellbeing. Time to prioritise our children’s wellbeing and make sure that access to space is a right not a privilege. Read the full #GSI2024 research here: https://lnkd.in/ePAuDpt9

📢 YouthLink Scotland has partnered with our youth work Outdoor Learning Network to respond to Stage 1 of The Proposed Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill. 👉 We broadly support the Bill's main policy aims and welcome the positive adjustments made, including lowering the age to include primary school children, allowing flexibility in the upper age range, and acknowledging the commitment to dedicated Gaelic outdoor residential provision. ✍ We note that there is renewed clarity on the number of nights (4) and days (5) to constitute uptake of the proposal. We welcome the flexibility in determining how that can be added to the total amount. 👉 The policy memorandum shows marked steps for the policy’s inclusivity and workability and is progress from the original proposals. ✋ However, the Financial Memorandum needs closer scrutiny and encourages members of the Committee to consider how recognising and growing the youth work sector can help financially in meeting the stated policy aims. 🤜 We will continue to work alongside outdoor learning partners and youth work providers to build cross-party and civic society support for these aims and investment in supportive youth work infrastructure.  🤞 This builds on our Education Reform Bill Stage 1 calls for youth work as an interconnected partner in the education and skills landscape. This includes sustained and equitable investment and more vital coordination to ensure young people can access the support they need, where and when it’s required, addressing the purposes described in Articles 28 and 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child #UNCRC   ✊ Youth work can significantly enhance the potential success of delivering on the Bill's proposals by providing holistic support, ensuring inclusivity, and sustaining and creating new partnerships between schools, communities, and young people. 🤝 YouthLink Scotland looks forward to engaging members of the Education, Children, and Young People Committee as the Bill progresses and campaigning to ensure that this Bill and its core purpose of delivering quality outdoor residential experiences are an absolute right for young learners in Scotland.  #YouthWorkChangesLives #Education #Policy #Scotland https://lnkd.in/ebhx9CAx

So pleased to get our Schools for Nature report out in the world today - such an important topic affecting so many children + young people in communities across the UK. We know that getting out into nature is good for our physical and mental wellbeing, and schools and teachers have a vital and unique role to play in building children’s connection with nature – helping them learn about the wonder of the natural world and how to protect it. This new report finds that most pupils in UK schools are missing out on regular opportunities to experience nature with only 24% of schools providing daily opportunities for pupils to experience nature. The likelihood of experiencing nature on a daily basis at school diminishes as children get older, dropping from 30% to 12% from primary to secondary school, and there is a significant 'nature gap’ between schools in better-off and more deprived areas too. WWF is calling for all schools to be supported in allowing pupils to have regular nature experiences as a part of their educational entitlement, and this should not be dependent on school phase, type, location or the passion of individual members of staff. Lots more to come from WWF-UK on this important topic soon, so watch this space 👀 Very grateful to the BBC for covering this story widely across news channels today - see 0:26 mins into this morning's Breakfast show for more details: https://lnkd.in/excrNiFC https://lnkd.in/eKcqa-SE Jonathan Turner Rosalind Mist Charlotte Ho-Perkins Holly McKinlay Kerry Davies Barney Guiton Lisa Lee

Another great piece of work from Infrastructure Victoria was released today - Getting more from school grounds. https://lnkd.in/gJaSMCsm The research shows that there are already 1.7 million Melburnians who cannot access a community sports field within a 10-minute walk. As population grows, these gaps will worsen, as there simply aren't enough large parcels of land to accommodate the many new community sports fields that are needed to keep up with demand. Schools have a role to play in opening up the gates to share their grounds with the broader community - and about two-thirds already do, in some form. But more support is needed to maximize their use and community benefits, in the form of funding that incentivizes shared use and/or supports the additional maintenance costs, and direct engagement with school principals to facilitate a shared use arrangement, prioritising where accessibility gaps have been identified. Eventually, schools should be another community hub. It'll take more policy, funding, design, and management changes, but there are already some great examples out there, including the NSW Share Our Space and Schools as Community Centres programs, and an entire book co-authored by researchers, architects, a Catholic schools Diocese, and two Australian state governments: https://lnkd.in/gUdRqfrR

One thing I learnt growing up as a boy child and I believe the same applies for a girl child, is how important our toys were to us. The care we had for our toys was making sure that when we play house, we would make sure our toys are clean and well taken care of. With the same analogy in my mind, our society, more especially parents, should ensure that kids still hold on to this habit when they grow up. I say this looking at how young and old people have normalized the idea of throwing away 1litre bottle of coke outside the window of an accelerating taxi with no care of the environment in their mind, the idea that it is okay to stick a chewed Chappies everywhere, the idea that a even when a sign warns you to not smoke in a certain area/zone and to use the installed cigarette-butt bins, no care is given. The idea that writing on walls and scraping off your name in a school desk seems to be normalized. Society needs to learn that we have to work with what we have and therefore must take care of it. I went to Setlhabetsi Primary School as a kid, in the deep rurals of North West in Setabeng Village and one of the greater things appreciate about that school was how our principal enforced principles that shaped me as a young person today. One of the things we used to do in our primary school was: Cleaning our own classrooms and toilets, participating in soccer and netball (either as an audience or player), taking care of our school garden, mowing the grass, and ensuring that every thrash is disposed off properly. Such principles of in a primary school, created discipline and shaped our community of Setabeng. Therefore, an investment to create such an atmosphere across SA communities, will be a greater investment for our future. My hope is that as society, when a project is handed over to us, either the project is a new tar road, new school, new community hall, and even a new clinic, we make it our priority that the standard of operation as well as the environment of that facility are well taken care of. This answers to when I said, we must work with what we have. I also hope that moving forward in the future, more consideration is given (either by government or private) into opening multipurpose centers and arts facilities like Mmabana in Mmabatho, Mahikeng, Westbury Youth Centre in Westbury, Johannesburg as well as community farming centers in our rural areas. #youth #southafrica Build One South Africa Isaac Sello Seitlholo (MP) Ganief Hendricks Cyril Ramaphosa #GNU #7thAdminustration #socialdevelopment Siviwe Gwarube Gayton Mckenzie

Making attractive commutes creates early habits for life Streets and spaces between home and school affect a children’s education. Research in Denmark concluded that children who walked or cycled to school had improved learning concentration in the classroom for up to 4 hours in the day. So, active school commuting (ASC) is a strategy to help improve children's learning outcomes and integrate physical activity within their daily routines. So, if you’re reimagining your route to school, how might they look? 1.     Car-free, so safer to walk and wheel and cycle 2.     Enjoyable with play on the way 3.     Seating to pause, meet with friends, chat with neighbours 4.     Green and leafy with colour and fragrance 5.     Welcoming and safe all year round. Streets that are a joyful and social and fun to explore on the way. #landscaprearchitecture #urbandesign #healthandwellbeing Image: Re-imaging Kennington, London – designing local streets with the community.

https://lnkd.in/eNkxd7QZ Last week’s release of new guidelines issued to schools by Active Travel England recognises the risks to children’s health and wellbeing associated with the school run. With many schools struggling to effectively manage the impacts of school runs, and with considerable variation seen in the way schools within the same area set out to achieve this, many will welcome the clear guidance issued. With research[1] showing that children’s exposure to air pollution at school can be significant, when compared to home and travel exposure, the new guidance will realise health benefits through reduced exposure - children’s lungs are particularly susceptible during the early years’ development stages. My colleague Dr Antony Wiatr – Project Director for the UK-wide Local Air Quality Management Support Helpdesk (a helpdesk that supports local authorities across the UK in the statutory duties on air quality) and Business Unit Manager of Bureau Veritas UK’s leading air quality team states: “The school run has been on the radar for concern from an air pollution perspective for many years and research shows that there is a significant peak in local emissions associated with the drop-off and pick-up of pupils at schools. This not only creates local hotspots that can exceed air quality standards but also contributes to a spike in exposure of children in their daily activity patterns. We know that local authorities that have implemented measures to manage the school run, and those that have concerns on how to do this, will welcome the new guidance. Implementing the measures and achieving a reduction in car journeys through active travel choices is not only good for the pupils, but good also for reducing emissions and children’s exposure to air pollution”. [1] Microsoft Word - UUK research briefing - The toxic school run - September 2018.docx