Social Vision Awards - Regional Winner!

We were over the moon to be chosen as the East Midlands winner of the Social Vision Awards. The aim of the awards is to find images which best capture the work of Social Enterprises.

All regional winners were entered into a national online vote, which was won by Fordhall Community Land Initiative. We would like to say a massive thanks to everyone who voted for us and our lovely picture of a Walking Bus has been made into "January" for the Social Enterprise calendar.

Avoid the nasty cold weather and order those last minute Christmas presents from the comfort of your home. We've got some great new products which would be ideal stocking fillers. This trendy new neon neck warmer is fab for keeping warm in those freezing temperatures. Equally why not try out the reflective tag which attaches easily to bags and ensures you are seen day and night. Don't forget if you spend over £10 on our website you will receive a sheet of shiny feet stickers for free!!

Lights Camera Action

Lights Camera Action

Gosh with the clocks changing this weekend saw a rush of promotional activity for us all at Brightkidz. This year the validity and wisdom of changing the clocks has been revisited - should we move our clocks forward an extra hour in-line with Europe. With the debate for double summer time becoming a political issue and discussed by all the major parties, we were able to offer our view on this emotive subject on various media, local radio and television no less!

We shall watch with interest as the bill for Daylight Saving makes its way through Parliament.

New Reflective Items

With misty damp mornings becoming the norm, why not check out our latest flashing reflector and reflective tag, great ways to ensure that your children are seen on the way to school.

The reflective tag comes in four fluorescent colours and affixes to your bag or baggage enabling you to easily locate your items. Whilst the flashing light reflector has a choice of permanent, fast or flashing settings. As it is reflective it will show up in car headlights even when not switched on. Even looks good in a disco!!

For more new products why not go to our website Brightkidz.co.uk.

International Walk to School Day

Did you know that tomorrow is International Walk to School Day where the intention is to get everyone across the world to Walk to School on this one day. Who knows you may enjoy it so much that you then want to carry on indefinitely.

The whole walk to school month is a great way of highlighting the benefits of getting youngsters walking to school. Its a great social time for the children, catching up with their friends on the way to school and it has also been shown to increase concentration through the extra exercise. From an ecological perspective it is a step to reducing the carbon footprint.

So come on, pull on a high viz waistcoat and join this great international day!

Re-use rather than recycling is greenest IT strategy - 10/08/2010 - Computer Weekly

Re-use rather than recycling is greenest IT strategy - 10/08/2010 - Computer Weekly

Interested to see this report. Another good reason for delaying purchasing a new pc.

Social Enterprise Mark

BrightKidz received the social enterprise mark at a ceremony in Leicester.

Lance Holland, Director of BrightKidz said

“We’re really pleased to be awarded the Social Enterprise Mark because it shows BrightKidz isn’t just about selling ‘high vis’ products – it recognises all the work we do to promote safe, active, sustainable travel to school”.

The organisations were presented with certificates by Lucy Findlay of the Social Enterprise Mark Company at the SEEM organised event which looked at the future role of social enterprise in delivering public services. The government’s vision for the ‘Big Society’ places social enterprise at the heart of the reform of public services

• The Social Enterprise Mark is supported by the Office of the Civil Society, the National Lottery through the BIG Lottery Fund and Capacity Builders. Visit www.socialenterprisemark.org.ukto find out more

To cycle or not to cycle!

Much has been made in the press this week regarding a couple who could face being reported to social services for allowing their children to cycle to school. The family who live in South London, currently allow their two children aged 5 and 8 to cycle less than a mile to school, but they have been referred to the school's headmaster who believes that the children should be accompanied both ways.

This item has definitely split public opinion as on one hand you have the debate that there is insufficient activity for children and that we need to get them out and about on their bikes and then the other side declaring that the parents are being irresponsible. I suppose it all comes down to personal choice and making sure that the children are safe. I wonder if they have heard of high viz!!

Great New Book to enjoy the School Run

Have you ever thought how you can encourage your children to walk or cycle to school, then this excellent new book written by Ann Kenrick is the answer. "Let me Out! How to enjoy the school run " was published in 2009 and has plenty of practical advice on how to set up your own scheme, where funding can be secured and lots of other helpful tips.

For more information check out our website Brightkidz.co.uk

Fun new teaching aids

We have now received some great new teaching aids to get the message of safety on the roads across to the children in a fun and interactive way.

Why not take a look at the large puppet of a Lollipop man which is a great teaching resource or a fun soft toy. This puppet can be used in conjunction with the Teaching mitt of "People who help us". All these new products are located on our website Brightkidz.co.uk.

National Childhood Obesity Week 5-11 July

Next week sees the start of National Childhood Obesity Week which is being launched by the National Obesity forum and MEND (a social enterprise dedicated to reducing global overweight and obesity levels), which is calling for a strategy to tackle childhood obesity and launching a charter to bring all organisations working in this area.

With such super weather this is the ideal opportunity to get out and about with the children and the week is aimed at encouraging more children and families to get active together by showing them how much fun physical activity can be. Why not check out MEND's website www.mendcentral.org to see what events are in your area.

Greener Together

Following on from Kate's post why not join in yourself? We are looking for more people to take part in this initiative. All you have to do to get started is register, fill in a baseline survey to say what you are already doing and what else you could do (make a few pledges) and start being greener.

Full details of the project are at http://www.greenertogether.coop/

If you are interested, either contact BrightKidz with any questions, or register directly at http://www.greenertogether.coop/user/register .

When you register, please make sure to select "BrightKidz" as the participating organisation.

Its Poncho Time

Its festival time once more and whilst we are all praying for the good weather to continue its always better to be safe than sorry so why not have one of our super new Ponchos. We have either the Eco Poncho suitable for both adults and children which is made from clear biodegradable plastic. Or to ensure that you don't lose your child at one of these events, there is the child's high viz option which will definitely make you child stand out.

Greener Together

I am feeling very virtuous this morning as I have just completed a questionnaire by Greener Together an initiative run jointly by co-operatives UK, Confederation of Co-operative Housing CCH and the Plunkett foundation.

The aim of the scheme is to help people to live in a more sustainable way. Its very simple you register and then complete a short questionnaire and make various pledges to live in a greener way. I have pledged to make sure that I am recycling as much as possible and remembering to switch lights off and unplug electrical equipment whenever I can. So go ahead and see what you can do for the environment by joining the Greener together initiative now!

Work out those measurements!

Ever sat in a maths lesson and either forgotten to bring your calculator or ruler, well those days are over. Why not take a look at our super new dual powered calculator / ruler so you only have to locate one item in that busy school morning dash. The calculator works with both batteries and solar power when there is sufficient light. In a stylish silver colour it will make a great addition to any school bag.

Wake up time !!

Add some fun to your early starts with a new flexible friend. This is no ordinary digital alarm clock; it's shaped like a walking man and you can change his poses by bending his arms and legs. The clip on his 'back' means you can even attach notes or reminders to see when you wake up. He can also grasp a pen.

Walk to School Week

You still have a chance to get those last minute prizes for all the excellent schemes that have taken place over this week. We have some great prizes for instance why not look at the promotional pencils which can have your own logo printed on them. So why not take a look at our website Brightkidz.co.uk and give us a call.

Reduce speeding in our villages

Brake has once more raised the question of a 20mph speed limit for towns and villages. At an international conference held in London today, they have highlighted the fact that a car driven at 20mph or lower can stop in 12 metres (about three lengths) or less, giving the driver a good chance to brake and stop in time if a child runs out ahead. Any increases on this speed then reduce the safe stopping distance of cars and the casualty outcome. Therefore we really do need to revisit the whole issue of speeding in our towns and villages.

The Social Enterprise Mark

We are in celebratory mood after having been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark which identifies us as trading for social and environmental purposes.

The Social Enterprise Mark is the brand for social enterprises and was launched 1st February 2010. The Mark identifies businesses which meet defined criteria for social enterprises and consumers will recognise that businesses displaying the Mark are trading to benefit people and the planet.

Well done brightkidz!

Walk to School Week

Everyone is at it this month with "Walk to School Week" kicking off on the 17th May until the 21st May. This year the theme is "Walk your Way" focusing on how walking to school helps children learn vital orientating skills to help them navigate and get to know their local area, improving confidence and safety.

We have some great products to help everyone participate in this great scheme

Moonwalk London 2010

On a foolish whim last year I agreed to take part in the Playtex Moonwalk in London, organised by Walk the Walk to raise awareness and money for breast cancer causes. Only now, with 3 weeks to go the full realisation that I have to walk 26 miles starting at midnight, wearing only a bra, is starting to sink in!!

Everyone here at Brightkidz is being great, offering lots of support and encouragement and you certainly wont miss me in all of my highvis gear definitely putting the company motto of "Seeing you go safely" to the test. Training is going well with a possible walk of 18 - 20 miles tomorrow. Keep a look out for further bulletins.

Bike to School Week

Did you know that next week 26 - 30 April is Bike to School Week which is an excellent way to get youngsters on their bikes. There are so many benefits for children from cycling to school, not only are they fitter, they are more alert at school and making the most of this fine weather. Whilst many parents may be concerned about the safety aspect of children cycling to school, if you don some highvis gear, be it a waistcoat, or reflector or sash, then they have more chance of being spotted by motorists.

So why not give us a call or check out the website Brightkidz.co.uk to get some promotional items to make your Bike to School Week go with a swing.

Sustainable Schools Event Workshop

At the beginning of March Brightkidz held a very successful day's workshop to provide ideas on how to promote walking to school. The session was fun and practical, getting the children outside in the fresh air which makes them more active and alert. It also helps them and their teachers understand different walk to school schemes.

The workshop was a big hit with everyone getting involved and appearing to enjoy themselves. If you are interested in holding your own workshops why not take a look at our website http://www.brightkidz.co.uk/walking-to-school/event-workshops.html for more ideas.

Easter is on its way!

Where does the time go? To think that it is Easter next weekend and the children on holiday once more. Thankfully the weather is improving, nights are getting lighter and all the bikes are coming out of the shed. Did you know that according to Sustrans research in early 2009, that 79% of British women never cycle at all. To help remedy this situation Sustrans has produced a guide called Bike Belles which is packed full of ideas, tips and advice to help you enjoy enjoy riding your bike. So go on get your bike out and experience the joy of cycling.

St Patricks Day

As today is St Patrick's day why not wear something green? Here at Brightkidz we have plenty of eye catching items so you too can have the luck of the Irish. How about a high viz waistcoat for when you are going to and from your St Patrick's day event!

Clocks changing

We've only 2 more weeks before the clocks go forward giving us an extra hour of daylight. So this means that we can all get out and about in the extra daylight. It's interesting to note that recent research by Sustrans, the UK's leading sustainable transport charity, has shown that 79% of British Woman never cycle at all. Why is that? In an attempt to get more women cycling they have produced a guide called "The Bike Belles Guide" which can be downloaded free from their site. So come on all you women lets get out on those bikes and see what we've been missing!

Bike week this year is 19-27 June.

Team Green Britain, founded by EDF energy is sponsoring this year's bike week.

Find out more at www.bikeweek.org.uk.

• Find out what events are taking place near you.
• Register your event if you are organising one
• Lots of useful hints and tips for participants and organisers.
• There is also a cycling calculator that calculates how much money you save by cycling to work.

I'm not all that impressed with the calculator as all you do is enter the miles cycled and it multiplies that by 40p which is the cost you can claim from the government for private miles. If I drive a Jag I'm sure it will cost me more to get to work than a Fiat Panda. They say that a health benefits calculator is on the way. How many calories do you burn per mile?

Walk to Work Week

The organisation "Walking Works" has announced that they will be holding a Walk to Work week from 26 - 30 April 2010 - an excellent incentive to walk off all those Easter Eggs! To help achieve this they have set 5 challenges:

• try walking all or part of the way to work
• try walking all or part of the way from work
• hold a walking meeting
• walk all or part of the way to the meeting
• take a walk during a lunch break

Hopefully with the weather improving it gives added impetus to get out there. If during your lunch break you fancy a walk, you could always pack your high viz rucksack with a brightsportz water bottle and off you go.

Adrenaline Alley - Social Enterprise in Action

How not to cycle to school!!!

Just visited Adrenaline Alley - very well-named indoor urban sports area in Corby, Northants which attracts BMXers and skateboarders from all over the UK and overseas to perform their amazing stunts. It is also a great facility for the young people of Corby... providing a good environment to practice their skills and keep them entertained.

It's in a converted old chicken factory now fitted out with massive ramps and jumps including the 'vert' ramp (as in 'vertical') which I was invited to slide down (this involved a tad too much adrenaline for me so I declined). We also saw kids practising stunts with their scooters and in-line skates.

Mandy Young is the genius behind this really successful project and she and her team have picked up a stream of awards for their success.

Adrenaline Alley, like BrightKidz, is a social enterprise - an economically sustainable business providing social benefits with any excess income ploughed back into the organisation. It's great to meet up with other social entrepreneurs and understand the passion behind their business.

Walking to School Poems

Gosh the walking bus is everywhere - on a recent visit to the Lake District I came across a super leaflet produced by Capita Symonds and Cumbria County Councils called "Walking to School Poems". These were the results of a competition run by Cumbria County Council as part of their "Better Ways to School" campaign. This initiative is aimed at reducing unnecessary car journeys and improving safety along routes to and from School. The poems are definitely worth a read and make you want to walk to school just so you can say them!

Never too old for a Walking Bus

Swansea University have come up with a brilliant idea to make sure that after a night out students can get home safely. They have set up their own Walking Bus which will escort students across the campus and runs every hour between 9 -2am. It will be interesting to see how popular the bus was - I wonder if they were wearing high vis because I know a great place to get some!!

Did you know that every day in Britain 10 children and young people are killed or seriously injured while on foot and bikes, this can be further broken down to 6 young people and 4 aged between 0-11.

To help highlight these statistics Brake, the Road Safety Charity have just announced that the next Road Safety Week will be held on 22 - 28 November 2010. The theme for the week is "Kids Say Slow Down", calling for all drivers to slow down, introducing 20mph limits where possible.

In the months leading up to the campaign we will be looking at ways you can get involved, so look out on our website for ways to help @ Brightkidz.co.uk

On Your Bike!

Half Term holidays are nearly upon us and what a great chance to get out with the children on their bikes and enjoy the fresh air. To ensure that they are seen why not have a look at our great range of spoke reflectors, these help you to be seen on your bike day, dusk and night… and they are really funky especially if you collect different colours. The reflectors are particularly good for increasing visibility from the side so helping you to be seen by traffic at junctions. As our motto is Be Bright Be Seen and get on your bike this 1/2 term.

Experiments with a kitchen composter

A few months before Christmas I bought a kitchen composter from evengreener.com. We already compost all our uncooked waste organic matter and I wanted to reduce the contents of our landfill load still further.
For those of you who don't know what they are a kitchen composter is a plastic box into which you can empty scraps of organic waste including cooked food. Each time you do this you mash the food down with a masher (supplied with the composter) and sprinkle bokashi bran on top. An airtight lid seals the waste in. The scraps of food don't decompose in the composter; they are kind of pickled by the bacteria in the bran. You keep doing this until the bin is full. You then leave it with the lid on for a couple of weeks to ferment after which time you can add it to your compost or dig it straight into the garden.

One of the by-products of the process is a liquid that can be drained off via a tap in the bin. This liquid can then be used as plant feed. It is a miracle feed. We had a tomato plant that had some green tomatoes on it that my daughter had grown at school and for months they had stayed green. We had given up hoping they would turn red. We started feeding the plant in November and shortly afterwards the tomotoes started turning red and ended up fully red.

It costs a bit to get started and it costs a bit for the bokashi bran but we are reducing the landfill and getting some composts for the garden and some wonderful plant feed. I thoroughly recommend this for anyone who wants to reduce their carbon footprint.

A word of warning though the liquid stinks so dilute it with some water on your houseplants!

Walking Buses go Multicolour in Medway with BrightKidz

Children from Medway's Walking Buses are being kitted out in new BrightKidz UK made waistcoats thanks to the scheme by the KM Walking Bus group and funding from Medway Council.

The first school to be presented with the waistcoats was St Andrews School in Rochester. Parent coordinator Sandra Mumford said

“There's certainly no groaning when I tell them to put them on now in fact they can't wait to wear them.

“They've proven so popular that I have had another eight children register on the bus since they've seen them.”

Spring Walk to School Week

Is spring round the corner? Living Streets believe so as they have just announced the dates for the Spring Walk to School week, running from 17th to 21st of May. It may seem a long way off but if you want to get your school involved its never too early to start planning.

This week is a great way to get everyone thinking about walking to school. They can try it for the week and then hopefully adopt it for the longer term. We've got lots of handy hint and tips for just the job with lots of items that can be given away as prizes and incentives for the children. why not visit our website for more ideas and to down load a booklet on ways to get children walking to school.

Be mine this Valentine

Be mine this Valentine - why not get that special someone something completely different which shows how you care for them but has the added bonus of keeping them seen in the evening. These rigid reflectors attach to clothing or bags and show up in car headlights. Who needs flowers and chocolates when this reflective heart lasts a lot longer.

Big Lottery Photo Shoot

Gorgeous sunshine today and lots of smiles.... but freeeeezzzzzzing cold for our photo-shoot with children from Kettering Park Junior and Park Infants schools Walking Bus.

Some time ago BrightKidz had funding from the National Lottery's 'Awards for All' scheme to help with one of our 'be safe be seen' educational projects. Today we fixed up a photo shoot with children from one of the schools we worked with at the request of the 'Big lottery' fund for publicity to show the kind of project they support.

It was actually a bit of a re-enactment in the lunch hour, as it's not a great idea to have a professional photo-shoot outside busy school gates as hundreds of other children and parents arrive in the morning! All the children who took part are regular 'walking busers' and really enjoyed being part of this special photo shoot in their different colour high vis jackets... I must say they looked stunning and loved the 'fame'!

School Travel Plans

Did you know that school travel plans can cut school traffic by between 8 and 15%. So what are school travel plans? The government has set a target that all schools will have a School Travel Plan by the end of March 2010. The aims of these plans are as follows:

• to bring about a significant reduction in the use of cars travelling from home to school.
• safer travel to and from school
• fitter, healthier, happier pupils
• greater awareness of environmental and health issues associated with walking to school

All admirable qualities and so easily achievable. For more information why not check out our website www.brightkidz.co.uk/walking-to-school/school-travel-plans.html.

Modeshift Training Day

Alison is heading to the dizzy heights of Bristol tomorrow for a training seminar. The event is being organised by Modeshift an organisation set up to support sustainable and active travel for young people and school communities by supporting those who are working with them to achieve these goals.

The day promises to be enlightening, spent sharing best practice on using arts and media to promote sustainable travel messages. Its a great forum for like minded professionals to share ideas in how to achieve sustainable travel.

Lunch boxes

Lunch Boxes - much has been in the press recently about healthy eating and what are we putting in the children's lunch boxes. Why not grab one of our super new sports bottle, so that you know that they have sufficient fluids to keep them going until its time to fill up again.

These super new sports bottles fit really well into our hi visibility rucksacks which can be used by both children and adults alike. So lets all get healthy together!!

Co-operative Walking Bus Scheme

Its amazing the number of Walking Bus schemes that have emerged over the last few years. It definitely seems to be a response to the media and concerns over healthy life styles. Schemes seem to be popping up all over the place as schools are recognising the need to encourage more children to walk to school.


The Co-operative group has become actively involved and made it one of their causes where by they are offering schools walking bus packs if they are located close to a Co-operative Group Store.


So get in touch with the Co-op and together we can all do our bit and get more children walking to school.

Brake to Thank Supporters at Westminster Reception

Another trip down to the ol' smoke tomorrow as I'm heading to road safety charity Brake's Annual Reception at the Houses of Parliament.



We'll be finding out their plans for the year ahead and meeting up with other businesses which support Brake's aims.



They'll be announcing the winners of the 2009 Road Safety Parliamentarian of the year Awards (ie an MP who has been super supportive of road safety initiatives and deserves a good pat on the back) and Volunteer of the Year.



It will be good to meet up with like-minded people... and of course I'm also looking forward to the canapes!

Blue Monday

Apparently today is officially Blue Monday so here are 4 reasons why it shouldn't be classed as that.

• The weather feels positively tropical
• The snow has gone so walking to school much easier with the children
• We've passed the shortest day so the nights are drawing out
  
• OK its Monday but only 4 more days then its the weekend!!

So throw off those Monday morning blues and get out and about in something bright and cheerful.

Peppa Pig Buckles Up

The production team for cartoon character Peppa Pig have decided to draw in seat belts and other safety features following complaints from parents. See the BBC article.

Reducing speed limits in villages

What do you think to a 20mph speed limit around villages? A report from the charity Living Streets shows that 1 in 5 parents say they would be more likely to let their children walk to school if speed was reduced. A further study undertaken by Hull City Council shows that following the introduction of a reduced speed limit, the council saw a 74% reduction in the number of child pedestrian casualties.

To make this more achievable, under Department for Transport proposals, these lower limits can be introduced without the need for traffic calming measures which makes the whole scheme more attractive.

Healthier ways of getting to School

National Modeshift Conference - last year Brightkidz attended this conference in Glasgow which was a big get together for all the school travel professionals. It was a very informative and inspiring meeting when like minded people gathered, looking at ways of encouraging school children to walk to school, this could be achieved with Park and Stride, Walking Bus schemes.

One brilliant scheme being run by Buckingham County Council is scootering skills to get youngsters enjoying a healthier way of getting to school - what an inspiring and simple new scheme.

10 Reasons to Walk to School in the Snow

1. No need to scrape the car windscreen.
2. It's a bit more effort but think of all those extra calories you're burning... bye bye mince pies.
3. There's less traffic around and it's probably slower.
   
4. You can be detectives with footprints in the new snow - count the pairs of smaller footprints to see how many children have already been your way. Spot the paw-prints too.
5. You can carry your bags on a sledge.
   
6. It's easier to see dog poo on the pavements... and avoid it!
   
7. You'll see your city/town/village in a new light... pretty like a Victorian Christmas card scene.
8. It may even be quicker than going by car.
   
9. You can look out for the longest icicle (best once the thaw sets in). Clue: houses with low roofs and broken gutters are great for these.
10. If you get to school and it's closed, at least the kids will see their friends and find out 'the place to be' for snowballing and poly-bagging. Enjoy yourselves!
    

Promotional Merchandise

Promotional Merchandise - so what is this you may ask? Its not just those free pens you pick up at an exhibition or event but in fact any printed item used to promote a brand, campaign or organisation.

So if you think our cute, funky reflectors are solely about being safe and seen, think again....they are also an eye-catching way to promote any message, club or group.

New Year, New Beginnings

A happy New Year to one and all. So how are every one's New Year resolutions going? How about adopting the government initiative on reducing your carbon footprint by cycling to work twice a week - not only would you be doing your bit for the environment but also helping to work off that Christmas pud! There are many ways that people can get involved; sharing a lift to work, making one less car journey a week.

Anyone who has read my cycling blog (I'm afraid I haven't kept it up - but how's this for a resolution on the fly - I'll do a monthly update!) will know that I started cycling to work a few years ago. I'm afraid to say the weather has put me off a bit lately. However at BrightKidz we do try to car share wherever possible. Even without the threat of global warming the green revolution makes sense. It is patently obvious that we live on a planet with dwindling resources. Sooner or later we'd be forced to be a bit more careful with our resources. The global warming debate has really focussed our attention. Even if global warming all turns out to be 'hot air' (pardon the pun) the world will be a better place when we are all green.