ROAD SAFETY AND CYCLE TRAINING working together with you,
meeting your needs on your home territory ... 

School Course Details and Guidelines
RSCT in association with the Antony Lord Foundation

CYCLING ENGLAND'S Programme for young people (click on this link to open in a separate window)

I would be happy to come and see you at your school and do a FREE ASSESSMENT (consisting of 45 minute sessions with each group) that we can use to then work out the best way forward to meet your students' needs. 

Only Year 6 (this time around) in the Primary Schools will be eligible for the grant funded scheme that is coming into Cornwall through your PDMs from the Youth Sports Trust.  Having said that, there is absolutely nothing stopping parents from asking me to run courses outside of school for those who are in the lower classes still.  If a younger person has the right kind of aptitude, you simply cannot tell them they not to ride their bike until they older, rather need to help them learn what it takes in terms of riding safely on the roads in today's traffic conditions!

Generally speaking, Level 1b/2 Bikeability, in an ideal world is aimed at all Year 5s and 6s - Cycling England has proposed to DfT to fund Bikeability such that all children would have the opportunity to do their Bikeability (to level 2) before they left primary school. As yet there is no news however, this would likely be around 400,000 children per year if CE are successful. They hope to be achieving this goal by 2010 though clearly significant scaling up is required

The course comprises of 4 x 2hr sessions (run over a 4 week period) or 1 x 2hr and 4 x 1.5 hr sessions (if run over the period of one week) - each course has a maximum of 16 trainees and can be run either in the morning, afternoon or possibly after school hours. Both weekend and bank holiday courses are also available, our main pre-requisite being daylight!   the preferred method is that one session per group is run per week so for example we could run three groups a day back to back, one day a week over a four week period.  The purpose of this is so that in between sessions, they have time to practise what they have learnt, rather than going into information overload.

Effectively it is possible if a school has large Y5 & 6 classes (and in rural areas this will vary dramatically), to run up to a maximum of 15 groups per week (if done over a 4 week period) with the school's help and co-operation with 6 - 8 children in a group if there is one fully qualified instructor.  However if there are two fully qualified instructors or or we are working with an assistant instructor, then the group would be limited to a maximum of 12.

The reason for this is that as an independent instructor having been checked twice by the appointed government consultants for the DfT, Cycling England and the CTSB, I am currently approved to work with up to 8 people at a time at Level 2, however until all the other instructors have also been checked, they are limited to a max. of 6 therefore I have to pare down any groups that I work in conjunction with a second fully fledged or Assistant Instructor.

Course Layout (*or if the entire course is run over just one week)

      1st Session:                   Playground session with all 16 trainees to monitor the bikes to be used for their
      (or Monday*)                   roadworthiness/potential problems that would need to be rectified first and
                                          ensure they possess the necessary skills to complete the course

      2nd - 4th Sessions:        Trainees split into 2 groups of 8, sessions move onto the road, starting with 
      (or Tuesday thru Friday*)    quieter junctions and gradually moving to more complex and busier locations as the
                                          course progresses - these will have been risk assessed prior to using them

 Course Times:

The course times are arranged with each individual school to ensure vital lessons aren’t missed, however a guide to timings is below. This is for up to 4 courses running over the school week should this be the method that the school specifies to run courses.  As mentioned above, the preferred method to give the students time to practise between sessions and prevent information overload, is to run one session per group, per week over a four week period.

The reason for this is very simple, in between the children can practise what they have learned that week and practise makes perfect, whereas if they are building up one day on top of another, they could end up in information overload and make mistakes that they otherwise wouldn’t necessarily make.

Monday:     10:00 – 12.00  and 13.00 - 15.00
if we did the playground bit over a two hour session, then we could double up and have 16 children for that first session

Please Note:  At the end of the day, it comes down to each individual school’s own preference and we are happy to work with you in that respect.  The DfES have confirmed that it is acceptable for cycle training to take place during PE lessons and is also a way of offering activities that meet the objectives of many associated programmes such as Extended Schools and Healthy Schools. Not only can it be an activity in its own right, it is also a means of transport to access off-site activities ~ this information can be found in the "FAQs for LEAs, Schools (Governors and Teachers) and School Sports Partnerships" on the Bikeability webby.

Five good reasons to cycle

1.    Cycling exercises most of the muscles in your legs and bum – so it’s an excellent way to tone these areas. 
2.   It’s a practical way to keep fit. 75% all personal journeys are less than 5 miles long – that’s half an hour on a bike.
3.   It’s cheaper than joining a gym! Bicycles require no MOT, no insurance, no licensing and above all no fuel. Bicycles can be parked almost anywhere for free.
4.   Switching short journeys from car to bicycle will benefit both your health and community. You'll be helping to reduce noise, air pollution and traffic congestion too.
5.   Riding a bike can help you maintain a healthy weight. Average cycling burns about 300 calories per hour and gives a level of fitness equivalent to being 10 years younger.