We know that getting to school actively is important for children’s physical and mental health – it also facilitates children’s social relationships and learning, as well as improving wellbeing outcomes for their wider community and the environment. But Aotearoa was ranked amongst the lowest internationally for rates of active school travel in a recent study of 57 countries. We need to urgently turn this statistic around - we have evidence-based information on some of the changes that are essential, for example, slower traffic speeds (especially around schools where children spend their time in and out of school hours), provision of safe and connected active transport infrastructure, and strong leadership and prioritisation of active modes across transport, education, and health systems. We have less information on population-specific barriers to active school travel, including issues for tamariki Māori, which led to this study.

In this research, we undertook a narrative literature review and consultation on tamariki Māori travelling to kura. We found that tamariki Māori face barriers to active transport similar to those of other children, including a lack of access to suitable urban infrastructure and lack of safety from traffic (e.g., speeding), but these are exacerbated for tamariki Māori and often experienced in different ways. In particular, as a result of the legacy and ongoing impacts of colonisation, the transport environment in Aotearoa is shaped by structural racism and contributes to the exclusion of Māori. Factors influencing the feasibility of active transport options for tamariki Māori include availability of kaupapa Māori education, safety concerns and lack of access to places of importance to whānau Māori. We present a new model to show three key factors of importance for active school travel for Tamariki Māori - He Taonga Tuku Iho (whānau aspirations to continue Māoritanga), negatively affected by limited access to te ao Māori schooling (e.g. via increased distance to kura kaupapa Māori); Kotahitanga (feeling a sense of belonging and unity within the community), negatively affected through infrastructure that is not inclusive and through inequitable infrastructure allocation; and Tiakina ō Tātou Tamariki (keeping children safe in the community), diminished through lack of safety (e.g., speeding cars). We conclude that interventions to overcome barriers across these three areas should be grounded in whanaungatanga and led by Māori.