About this page
This page provides information on the active school travel online survey being carried out by the National Centre for Social Research on behalf of Active Travel England.
What are the aims and objectives of this online survey?
The Government funds a number of interventions to enable primary school pupils to walk, wheel or cycle to and from school. These are designed to help meet the objectives of the Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategies (CWIS). CWIS1 ran from 2016 to 2021, CWIS2 has been running since 2021 and CWIS3 will shortly be announced.
Examples of active school travel interventions include cycle training delivered by Bikeability, and Living Streets' Walk to School programme.
Active Travel England is leading research to understand how impactful our programmes have been, including a national evaluation to help us improve how we deliver our programmes. This survey is an important part of the Active School Travel theme within ATE’s wider Active Travel Portfolio Evaluation. The survey will examine how interventions have been implemented and experienced, and any changes needed to primary school travel.
As the evaluation findings will inform future policy and practice, it is important that a wide range of invited parents and carers take part in this survey so that the widest possible views are heard.
Who is carrying out the online survey?
Active Travel England is an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT), enabling people nationwide to be more active by making streets safe and accessible for walking, wheeling and cycling. Read more about what we do.
ATE has contracted the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to lead a team of researchers to carry out the Active School Travel Evaluation, including this online survey. Other researchers in the evaluation team are based at Sheffield Hallam University, WPI Economics and Mosodi.
Which schools are in scope to the online survey?
A representative sample of primary schools in England have been selected based on whether the school support one of our programmes. We have also included schools that have not, so we can better understand what happened in schools without these programmes. Not all primary schools are included in the survey.
If your child’s school is taking part, the school will have received a letter with guidance on sending the online survey to parents and carers.
How do parents and carers participate in the online survey?
Parents and carers are invited to share their views by completing the online survey they will be emailed by their school. Whole classes will be invited and all parents and carers are encouraged to complete the online survey, no matter how your child travels to school – whether that’s by car, public transport or active travel.
The online survey takes around 10 minutes to complete and can be done at a time that suits you. It does not ask for your name and you can skip any questions you don’t want to answer.
What happens to the answers given to the online survey questions?
The answers are combined, analysed and reported to help improve walking, wheeling and cycling schemes. Individual parents, carers, children and schools will not be identifiable. They are not used to make decisions about individual children or schools. Answers are not shared with local authorities or the Department for Education, and are not used to set school allocation policy.
You can find out more about the survey and how data will be collected, stored and used on NatCen’s Taking Part page.
I have a query about the online survey, where do I go?
If you have any queries about taking part in the survey, please contact the NatCen team on 0808 168 1356 or via ASTSurvey@natcen.ac.uk.
What other projects are part of the evaluation?
To complete the Active School Travel evaluation, other projects underway are:
- in-depth case studies around a small number of schools, which will include desk research, stakeholder interviews and observations
- analysis of safety impacts, using official road collision and casualty data (STATS19) derived from incidents reported by the police
- an assessment of the programme’s value for money
When is the survey running?
The survey opens in May 2026 and will close in August 2026.
Contact
For help participating in the evaluation or more information, please email the NatCen evaluation team at ASTSurvey@natcen.ac.uk or freephone 0808 168 1356.
ATE can be contacted by emailing contact@activetravelengland.gov.uk.