Central Bedfordshire teachers learn new skills to get pupils cycling
Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Teachers in Central Bedfordshire will soon be teaching their pupils to learn to cycle, after we were chosen to take part in the Bikeability Trust’s pilot project Get Cycling in Schools.
Our Sustainability team was delighted to be offered this funding which will benefit schools and pupils with their cycle training.
The Bikeability Trust has worked with cycle training providers to develop bespoke instructor training for teachers and teaching assistants. The pilot aims to give teachers the skills they need to get pupils confident on balance bikes and pedal cycles.
Schools involved in the pilot have received practical and online training, plus printed materials to help them plan lessons and activities with their pupils. They also received helmets and a fleet of cycles, to help tackle the barrier of children not having access to a cycle. The pilot ensures that children can learn basic cycling skills before they learn more advanced cycling skills with a Bikeability instructor.
Currently in its third phase, the pilot has received overwhelmingly positive feedback so far, with many teachers successfully teaching the essential life skill of learning to ride a bike to their pupils.
A teacher from Sutton Lower School, one of 8 schools that took part, said:
We enjoyed the course despite the weather. It was an action-packed interactive session that certainly made us think about the benefits of cycling all year round in school.
We have received free balance bikes as a result of taking part in the training session. We have now approached our PTA to help us fund 6 bikes for years 2,3 and 4 so that we can regularly deliver Bikeability in school across all year groups. This will help the children in many areas of the curriculum such as increasing stamina, coordination and resilience. We can't wait to get started!
Emily Cherry, Chief Executive of the Bikeability Trust, said:
I’m so pleased that Central Bedfordshire is one of the areas taking part in this brilliant pilot. Teaching children to cycle is such a rewarding experience and something we know teachers enjoy. It also means our Bikeability instructors can be confident that when they turn up to deliver more advanced training, pupils will have learnt the basics. We look forward to hearing how much pupils in Central Bedfordshire enjoy learning this essential skill for life!