Celebrating the success of clean Air day play streets

On Thursday 20^th June 2019 eleven schools across Leeds closed the streets outside their school for Clean Air Day.  Schools asked parents and careers to walk, cycle or scoot their children to school or park further away from the school entrance to enable pupils to play out safely on the street outside school. If less people depended on their car for the school pick up/ drop off and used a more active modes of travel to school how safe and less polluted the area around school would be.

The purpose of the day was to trial the impact of Play Street road closures outside school to help reduce air pollution, improve children’s health, develop community cohesion and to encourage more local play street closures in the neighbourhood.

Each school involved took part in a wide range of activities, these included a ‘Play Street Bin’ which was full of materials where pupils could use their imagination to come up with different uses for what they were provided with. Pupils used the fabric as capes and pretended to be super heroes, they also made ‘houses’ out of the materials.

In addition to the Play Street Bin activities, staff from Leeds City Council and other partner organisations were helping support other exciting games and challenges for the pupils including; Yoga, Boxing, Giant Jenga, Mini Olympics, Scooter Games, Golf, a Treasure Hunt and a Roller Bike Competition.

A massive thank you to the schools involved and their cooperation on the day. The schools that participated were; Alwoodley Primary, Christ Church Upper Armley Primary, Clapgate Primary, Hillcrest Primary, Hovingham Primary, Lane End Primary, Manston Primary, Parklands Primary, St Joseph’s Primary Hunslet, St Paul’s Primary and Thorpe Primary.

For more information on play streets visit https://www.leeds.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel/licences-and-permits/play-streets