Park and Walk with PBS Tokens

At Harrisdale Primary School we are fortunate enough to have access to the Heron Park, Satterley carpark as the home to our Park and Walk. The HPS Park and Walk is an initiative that encourages parents to park in this carpark and walk to school with their children, just a few hundred metres down the road. We saw success with this in the beginning as parents were offered a free coffee to take with them on the walk. We saw a decrease in its use after this incentive ended and have therefore been working on some other ideas to encourage Park and Walk participation.

Harrisdale Primary School is a PBS (Positive Behaviour Support) school. This means that we aim to improve student academic and behavioural outcomes through a facilitative process where all students have access to the most effective instructional and behavioural practices. In 2020 we decided that as a Park and Walk incentive, when parents park at the Heron Park, Satterley carpark they can scan a QR code, enter some information and their child will receive a PBS token for their involvement. As a part of PBS, we have 5 different kinds of tokens available to students, when they show the following traits throughout their school day: respect, resilience, responsibility, safety and excellence. When participating in the Park and Walk, students will receive one ‘responsibility’ PBS token each time they walk to or from the Heron Park, Satterley Office. Each PBS token that students receive go into a draw, which results in prizes being handed out at the end of the year.

We hope that with a new and ongoing incentive, our Park and Walk will become a successful tool in encouraging students to participate in physical activity throughout their mornings and afternoons.